The biggest fashion event of 2021 was reunion with Carrie Bradshaw, thanks to the premiere of Sex and the City reboot “And Just Like That”. Although Mr. Big has broken our hearts at the end of the first episode and left us with a huge disappointment, outfits of our beloved SATC girls never disappointed us. When I saw famous blue Manolo Blahniks of Carrie after a decade (and I also spotted a Gucci belt bag, a rose brooch and a belt from old episodes,) I realized one more time how valuable to keep our favorite items in a good condition and rewear them again and again, rather than purchasing tons of new items every season and wear them only once.
Source: Marie Claire Australia
Excessive shopping has nonreversible effects on environment.
The topic of my last article was excessive shopping fueled by Black Friday promotions and its dangerous consequences on the environment. If that article has not convinced you yet to stop unnecessary shopping, I am trying one more time: Why don’t you shop from your own closet? It is fashionable to repeat outfits, if you don’t believe in me, ask Hollywood stars, Princess Kate or Carrie Bradshaw! Joaquin Phoenix declared that he would wear the same Stella McCartney tuxedo throughout the film awards season. Angelina Jolie recycled her design gowns for her daughters. While members of royal family members wear the same outfits for several times, why do we still feel a pressure to wear a new outfit for every occasion that can be posted on Instagram? Less “likes” on Instagram does not kill anyone, but fast fashion is killing the planet.
Source: lifeandstylemag.com& metronews.co.uk
A research conducted by WRAP, an environmentalist NGO, in 2020 demonstrated the skyrocketed clothing consumption. The report suggests that clothing production has approximately doubled worldwide from 2000 to 2015, the growth of textile industry outpaced global GDP growth. According to surveys WRAP conducted, about 30% of consumers consider an apparel old when it is worn once or twice. Since textile industry is threatening environment as a result of excessive water consumption, water pollution, waste of non-biodegradable fabrics and CO2 emission, growth of this industry brings deep concerns for the environment. Beside environmental harm, uncontrollable growth of textile industry contributes to other societal problems such as poor working conditions, underpayment of labors and child labors in underdeveloped countries. If we keep consuming textile products as much as we did recently, the industry will reach to three trillion dollars globally in 2030.
Social media’s contribution to the shopping frenzy is undeniable.
Unfortunately most consumers still can’t resist the temptation to buy trendy clothes of the season; however, those shiny little things cannot be worn more than a few times. BBC declared that British consumers buy five times as many clothing items as they did in the 80s. One obvious reason behind this increase is the accessibility of cheap items as fast fashion rises. I also suspect that social media, especially Instagram awakens the shopping monster inside us. Some research findings seem to support my hypothesis. A study conducted by credit card company Barclaycard, showed that 9% of survey respondents purchase clothing only to take a photo on social media. Our favorite influencers’ carousel of revolving #OOTDs inspired us to adopt, “wear once and done” mindset. Throwaway culture is still dominant in social media; however, fortunately some opinion leaders raise their voice to slow fast fashion.
Fashion influencers are part of the problem, but they can help stop the madness.
The rapid growth of fashion industry in the last decade can partly be attributed to fashion influencers. By sharing more fashion content on social media and collaborating with fast fashion giants, fashion influencers contributed to a global increase in textile consumption. Yet, today many fashion influencers have seen the dark side of fast fashion agree that the growth of fashion industry is unsustainable. In recent days, we see fashion influencers repeat outfits more frequently, and it is promising for the future of fashion and our planet. If somebody will shift the paradigm in fashion industry, they are fashion influencers. When fashion influencers demand high quality, eco-friendly, ethically produced items, their followers will change their consumption habits, too. When fashion influencers buy less in quantity but high in quality fashion items and wear them multiple times, in different occasions, followers will not look for new outfits for all Instagram posts.
My beloved influencer friends, I am kindly asking you not to ignore the latest fashion trend: Repeating outfits. Buy less, buy better. Wear them many times, show your followers different ways to style the same piece of clothing. Show them your creativity. Wearing the same outfit multiple times is not a fashion crime. On the other hand, wearing once and throwing it away is an environmental crime. I promise, your followers will not think that you are out of fashion or boring when they see the same clothes multiple times. On the contrary, they will think that you are a creative, clever and responsible person who care about the planet, the labors in Bangladesh and post-COVID economic crisis.
Do you think Influencers can change the way that the fashion industry is working? Let us know your thoughts down below.