theconversation.com: Environmental action group Extinction Rebellion is disrupting London Fashion Week to highlight the harms of throwaway culture and the concurrent climate emergency that the clothing market contributes to. Calling for the cancellation of future fashion weeks in acknowledgement of the crisis, it plans to target show venues and hold a funeral procession called “London Fashion Week: Rest in Peace”.
5 comments:
I clicked on this article so damn fast. One of my best friends is studying fashion at Cornell and we recently had a super in depth discussion about fast fashion and the fashion industry in general. I’ve personally begun thrifting most of my clothes, and taking part in purchasing clothing from “slow fashion.” What’s frustrating, and part of it this article touches on, is the fact that the fashion industry has had these very damaging problems for a long time, and there has been no solution. Capitalism has been the driving force in the industry and that’s really frustrating to see when our planet is not doing well. The fashion industry is driven by desire, partially due to capitalism. We all have enough clothes, but we WANT more → that’s what drives the industry. The mushroom materials that this article covers are FASCINATING. The fact that companies exist and are creating products that are sustainable, versatile, and animal-free is awesome. These alternative companies are focusing on using mushrooms or fungi to provide a “leather-like” alternative. Considering how damaging cow farming is to our ecosystem → this is one small step in the right direction.
I spent a good amount of time in high school in an environmental science class discussing the effects and solutions to fast fashion. As the article outlines, the high water usages, pollution, carbon footprint, and horrible working conditions that end in a cheaply made garment that will quickly find its way to a landfill. Ending this cycle and finding a solution that is sustainable, has a positive effect on quality of life (pertaining to long and short term safety, working conditions, compensation, etc.), and consumers are willing and able to handle the changes in cost and treatment of the garments that come of this system. As wonderful as sustainably fabricated clothing is, in my experience and research, the most challenging aspect is to shift the market away from the known, and likely toxic item, towards the sustainable, unknown option. While the article states that slow fashion is “currently in vogue”, the reality is that the idea of something being “in vogue” means it is the bleeding edge, and the wild majority of the population is not able to attain this status. While I hope efforts like these continue, I am hesitant to get excited about any one of them, until I see it creep into practice of the majority.
This article addresses a difficult issue because there are two clear yet different solutions to curb the waste produced by the fashion industry: reduce consumerism or create new types of textiles. One of those options is much easier than the other one, but both options are very very hard to accomplish. Because of social media and today's conformity culture, consumerism in the fashion industry is not going to decrease any time soon. If anything, it is going to grow with the help of "influencers" and other public figures urging society to buy new clothes. I grew up loving fashion, which is an industry that is fueled by the changing of styles. However, whenever I shop, I can always hear my mom's voice in my head saying, "It's nice, but how many times are you going to wear it?". That question should be asked to every person who buys clothes because I feel like consumers can get so caught up in making "wear once" purchases (I'm not sure if that is a common term but I'm using it as one). In other words, society sometimes shames people for re-wearing outfits. As someone who views fashion as an art form, I feel like this mentality diminishes the value of clothing. Clothes are simply meant to be worn...more than once. Because of the mentality I have, I do not shop as much as some of my friends do. That doesn't make me love fashion any less, which is something that people are paranoid about.
To get back on track of this article's topic of sustainability, this is definitely an interest of mine. When we think about pollution, we think of plastic in the oceans, not fabric sitting in a landfill. However, like the pollution of our oceans, the wastefulness of the fashion industry is also a growing threat. I wish I could talk more on the technicalities of this topic, but the article did not give me the amount of information I need on the process of recycling fabrics, which is the first solution I would think to offer. However, this article did open my eyes to the fact that cotton, which is a natural fiber, is still harmful to the environment because of the agriculture that goes with it. I agree that using fungus is a step in the right direction as far as natural textiles are concerned, and I would love to learn more about its versatility.
With the massive increase in frightening news of our planet’s rapid decline, there has been a greater urgency to make changes to the issue. Society is searching for any active uses of waste to be alternated for something environmentally friendly. This article made me realize how much of the fashion world hurts the environment, but it also gave me hope that effort is being made to search for solutions. The examples of the fungus leather was especially intriguing. Not only is it environmentally friendly, but personally, I enjoyed the aesthetic. My love for the industry was further pushed from this article because it showed the effort being made to fix the problems within their own industry, but also how creative they can be to do it. If anything, it has made me more aware about how I will shop for the future and how I should apply these issues into my own work.
Fast fashion is surely a large contributor to negative environmental impacts across the globe. Not only does it cater to a worryingly large collection of consumers who focus only on the newest, brightest, most material objects that the fashion industry has to offer but the effects of production in this industry also plays a part in the release of toxic chemicals and the ever increasing levels of textile waste. “Slow fashion” has become more popular recently, but most people don’t think about the original ethic of the garment which have already impacted the earth. Granted, it is surely preferable to buy something second hand as opposed to buying from a retailer such as H&M or Forever21 but it is superior to consider all practices of ethics as though they were the original consumer. I think it’s interesting that so many people are exploring alternative, natural textiles but they are, indeed, a long ways off from becoming the norm in the fashion industry. While it’s amazing that some companies are attempting to be more ethical in the way they produce clothing and textiles, I think it’s important that we acknowledge the fact that change will not come about if others will not accept it.
Post a Comment