Can Fashion Be Sustainable? How Influencers Shape Trends.
You saw it on Instagram and the next moment it was everywhere! Online shops, fashion stores, your friends are wearing it.
“Wow that must be very trendy,” you think, “I must get it, otherwise I‘ll be left behind in fashion”.
Fashion trends are popping up and selling so fast like fresh-baked croissants. But how do trends emerge and how can they be harmful to our environment? The fashion industry is a multibillion(if not a trillion) business. It profits from peoples‘ emotional need to be likable, attractive, and wealthy.
We love clothes! The way they make us feel, the status they represent, the lifestyle they imply. But how these insticts of ours can lead to an environmental crisis?
Let‘s see first how trends are born.
The fashion industry is not forecasting trends. They are creating them. How? Thanks to technology and the internet, fashion agencies are using algorithms to identify trends. By the frequency something is used and how it performs online. If too many people posted or liked a picture with a floral dress, in the next two to four weeks that‘s a trend.
Then the test-and-learn stage comes where retailers put their research data into a test. Online stores promote those specific trends to see how they will rate and how much they will sell. Analyzing those statistics they identify if something it‘s trendy or not.
The items are produced in demand. Many designers follow those trends as well to increase their sales. The manufacture of these clothes has become easier and easier. As a result, new trends can take from 1 to 2 months to be available in the market.
Shoppers are being exposed to new items through social media. The dress or outfit they liked on someone else‘s picture or pinned it on Pinterest they can now buy for themself. Particularly Instagram has made online shopping even easier. Letting the user shop within the app whatever they like on the pictures.
As a result, consumers shop for every trend they see online. But how sustainable is it to shop for something new every two weeks or in some cases, every day? Following up with the trends is harming our wallets and our environment.
As a matter of fact, 33% of women in the UK consider an item old if it‘s worn TWICE. Donations services can‘t cope with all the amount of clothes. Meanwhile, more clothes are produced to keep up with the trends. As a result, the use of resources such as energy, water, and chemicals is increased.
On the other hand, influencers, are keeping posting OOTD. Shaping the fashion industry. Their role apart from influencing is to appear as a virtual friend to the followers. People, especially young demographics identify themselves with them.
Social media is nothing more than virtual reality. Followers, try to copy a perfection that doesn‘t exist.
Unfortunately, the “perfection” never comes. Regardless of the time and energy, someone spends on achieving a certain look. The next day that might be “out of fashion”.
But for how long are we going to overconsume to be fashionable and why that matters?
We have done a great deal of damage on this planet. Continuing to pursue the ideal image is not going to fix it.
As a minimalist, I only own a backpack of clothes and shoes. I can reassure you that you don‘t need all the clothes in the world to look good and feel good. Some of my happiest moments were when I was wearing just a pair of jeans and a top. It was hiking in the mountains with my friends that made me happy. My clothes didn‘t represent any trend. They are practical tools that enrich my life with beautiful memories.
Don‘t get me wrong. I love clothes, I want to be fashionable, but buying new trends, is not the answer to that. Instead, buying preloved clothes has been my hobby. As it‘s not only the fact that I can find something in very good condition and good quality. I also saved money for traveling and save the environment by not buying another T-shirt.
If tomorrow all influencers started posting outfits with second-hand clothes. Supported circular economy, fashion agencies would have followed that trend. The production of clothes would have been reduced. Saving energy and keeping water clean.
Think about it. Why do you need your clothes brand new when you can find almost brand new items in any vintage, second-hand store. You‘ll save a significant amount of money and above all, you‘ll protect the environment.
Next time you‘re tempted to buy a new trend online think about these:
- Why am I REALLY buying this? Do I ACTUALLY need it?
- How is this going to serve me for at least a year?
- Is there any way that I can find this on a second hand-store
- Great outfit, but how great would be to go on that trip that I‘m planning for years?
- Nice dress! Is that a sustainable fashion brand?
Remember there are many fashion brands out there and fashion apps that are supporting the circular economy and protecting the environment while supplying you with fashionable outfits.
If you want to learn more about minimalism and how to be sustainably fashionable. I‘ll chat about that at PowerToFly on May 12th.
