We know that there are many clothing brands that are liked or disliked, preferred or not preferred, recommended or not recommended in our world. In fact, these clothing brands continue to increase day by day. However, since social media has taken so much place in our lives, some clothing brands have started to take advantage of it. In fact, this benefit has reached such a point that the place of these brands in the market has completely changed. Some popular and more preferred brands began to lose their effect on consumers, and some brands that were normally not preferred that much began to attract excessive attention. While brands that know how to use social media correctly and choose to take advantage of it to the fullest have reached a good point, brands that refuse change and continue their old marketing methods either stood still or lost customers.
Mass Production in Garment Industry
We are aware that the garment industry went through major changes. The more traditional production of products in the past has now been replaced by a fast and innovative production. Speed become what is important in the new garment industry. As this is the case, competition increased and many different garments were produced very quickly and sold at affordable prices. Brands that make mass production include some of the world’s biggest brands. These brands choose mass production in order not to disappoint their customers. From the outside, mass production makes more sense than traditional production, it seems even better. Because it’s affordable and the margin of error is low. It creates the opportunity to make high profits for the brand and also pleases the end customer. But is that really the case, or are we just ignoring the downsides of mass production?
First of all, what you need to know is that the fashion industry is the most polluting industry after oil. And the biggest reason for this is mass production. Millions of fast garments are mass-produced in large production facilities around the world. They are produced so much and so quickly that most of them are destined to go to waste. Unused and unsold products pollute the environment and cost the manufacturer and retailer dearly. A report, published by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation indicates that, an estimated $500 billion is lost each year because of the garments that barely worn on a global basis. These clothes, which are preferred by consumers because they are very cheap, cause great environmental costs. Producing more clothes than necessary is not the only thing that causes pollution in mass production. With such mass production, quantity outweighs quality, and the fabric used to make the garments seems insignificant. However, it’s much more important than we think. The chemicals used in the production of synthetic fabrics pose a great danger to the environment because they are almost impossible to decompose in nature. It takes hundreds of years for these chemicals to decompose. Therefore, fabrics made using these chemicals also take hundreds of years to decompose. Since this is the situation, we should be aware of the danger mass production causes the environment.
Social Media Boosts Fast Fashion
As I mentioned earlier, social media has changed the places of the brands in the market. Some brands have gained so many benefits from social media that their profits and brand recognition have increased. Unfortunately, most of these brands were the brands that use mass production. If we consider the impact of social media on people, boosting fast fashion in social media causes greater ecological and humanitarian issues.
To give an example, “haul videos” is one of the few trends that promotes these products and increases their popularity. The trend is to purchase hundreds of mass-produced garments in order to test, comment on, and promote them. Because so many influencers got on board, sales of mass-produced clothing increased. Because they are already so inexpensive, the number of clothing purchased per individual has also risen.
Haul videos were just an example. Like this trend, there are many projects on social media that brands do to increase their sales. As in any business, this is a marketing technique and in fact it can be seen as very normal to do. However, if we consider the power of social media, the whole situation is debatable. Can we or should we promote something that threatens the environment that much?
What Can We Do?
No matter how bad the situation may seem, we must do our best. There is so much we can do to protect the environment.
- We can stop using mass produced clothing that increases environmental pollution.
- We can prefer the local brands or clothes made from recycled fabrics.
- We can find and follow sustainable brands.
- We can follow the influencers who support sustainability.
Don’t forget to follow us for influencers you should follow to learn more about this issue. And don’t forget: Spreading the word is in your hands!
Next time we’re shopping, let’s breath and try to think about the consequences of fast fashion.