Where your clothes come from matters. Today, fast fashion has
taken over the industry and consumers care more about paying less than buying
quality pieces. This not only means that we are going through clothes faster but that corporations
are doing whatever it takes to get the lowest price. Corporations move their
production to whichever developing country has the lowest labor/manufacturing
costs and pay minimally. The people who made those clothes often don’t even
get paid enough for basic essentials like food and housing. Moreover, the
conditions that they must work in are dangerous. A horrendous example of this was
the Bangladesh Rana Plaza building collapse that killed over 1000 workers. This disaster could have been avoided if corporations invested more into and took responsibility for
their manufacturing. Additionally, many current production methods hurt the environment.
For example, rivers- that provide drinking water to towns in developing countries-
are polluted by the dying of fabric.
What can you do?
There are not enough options for accessible, fashionable, clothing
that is produced sustainably making your best option for fighting this is be changing
your shopping patterns. Here are three steps to build a more sustainable wardrobe!
1.
Invest in
quality over quantity. Instead of buying heaps of cheap clothes or going on
random shopping sprees invest in a few key essentials (I’ll be posting an article
on what mine are soon!) that are of high quality. They will cost more but are
worth it! If your clothes are better quality then they will last longer- and
usually look better- making it so you have to buy new clothes less often.
2. Spend
your dollars wisely. Every penny you spend is vote for what company will
survive, if people continue “voting” for damaging companies then they will continue
their hurtful practices. So, invest wisely and avoid fast fashion companies.
There are many lists online of specific fast fashion retailers, however, an easy way to determine if a retailer is
a fast fashion company is by looking at the quality and price of their clothes. Any
shirt under $10 is too good to be true- so be wary.
3. Be
informed and spread your knowledge. The only way to end the fast fashion
crisis is to come together and stop supporting companies who aren’t sustainable
or responsible for their supply chains.
For more information check out these websites J
