I like to serve piping tea and have a cute conversation but this is some serious business we’re getting into. Let’s talk about fast fashion (mass production of in-trend styles).
(Photo Credit: Giphy.com)
You would think choices about what is right or wrong would be easy to make. I would rather have fresher air to breathe and cleaner water to drink than a shirt that a thousand other people are wearing. I’d rather have animals still alive in their habitats and have forced child labor banned than a pair of denim that’ll go out of style with a snap of my fingers. Yet, here we are, buying clothes, left and right, that are made in the masses while our earth and its’ inhabitants are dying.
(Photo Credit: Gifwave.com)
In the past decade alone, fast fashion has been one of the leading global warming factors, with a whopping 8.1% of greenhouse gas emissions. In the world, people buy 80 billion tons of clothes a year. Imagine everyone washing clothes and tiny pieces of synthetic fibers get washed into our water sources. The dyes also contain harmful chemicals that are washed out onto local areas that devastated the surroundings. Not to mention, there are 170 million kids that are engaged in child labor, and many of them are doing textile labor just to eat.
(Photo Credit: Tenor.com)
Our society nowadays is all about wearing clothes to take a picture and they forget about the outfit later on. It could be a problem with the rise of influencers and social media but also with all the big stores in our malls are mainly unethical companies such as Forever 21, Nasty Gal, and H&M. Since we recently had Black Friday as well, many companies force employees to pump out the needed volume of clothes just to make greater revenue. I mean in the US alone, these companies have made $200 billion.
(Photo Credit: Giphy.com)
Can someone tell Kylie to chill out with the codes for Fashion Nova?
(Photo Credit: Giphy.com)
We should be able to express who we are, yes, and as a feminist, I love to see people wear what showcases their personality. We can do that without having to buy clothes and then throwing it away. Little things like donating or reusing clothes for other things will help with clothes waste.
Don’t get me wrong, I blame everyone as much as I blame myself, and that acknowledgment is one step closer to having a better future. It’s to understand that we ourselves play a role in creating ecological and ethical issues. All I know is that if we don’t do anything now, everything is going to get a whole lot worse. So next time you tryna look cute for the ‘gram, just remember all the pain that was made in what you’re wearing.
(Photo Credit: Giphy.com)
ShoutOut! James Madison University 