Blog Post 2: Themes Reflections
Before I started Better Lives I was aware of the themes sustainability, diversity and social responsibility, but my knowledge was not profound. After attending the lectures at the beginning of the course and the Fashion Activism lectures I have learnt the importance of the themes within the fashion industry. The themes are all individually important, however Better Lives has sparked a passion for sustainability within me.
The research mentioned in my previous blog post reveals that we as a society dispose vast amounts of clothes every year causing overconsumption in the clothing industry. As an aspiring stylist, I found the facts and numbers astonishing which has influenced me to change my creative practice in the future. Upon further reflection of the theme sustainability, I am determined to re-use and up-cycle materials I have used for photoshoots and, limit my purchases from fast fashion brands such as, Topshop, Pretty Little Thing and Misguided that I would use to style a model.
Fast fashion is a phrase used by mass-market retailers to describe inexpensive clothing that meets new trends. I believe there are four elements of fast fashion- low quality, rapid production, competitive pricing and trend replication, creating a huge impact on the workers involved in production and the environment. Each year ‘more than 300,000 tonnes of used clothing goes to landfill in the UK’, these garments alone are increasing the carbon footprint by five percent. Not only does fast fashion have a negative impact on the environment but also the garment workers. The people who make fast fashion clothing are underpaid, underfed and pressured because there are no other options. Alternatively, contributing to conscious fashion is sustainable and ethical, reducing the carbon footprint and a movement towards fair labour, lasting clothes and natural materials. It can be done through purchasing from charity shops and ethical brands.
Furthermore, we are currently under uncertain times from Covid-19 but in my opinion it can create a change for better. The fashion industry ran on four seasons per year where designers would work months ahead to plan and predict what the consumers would want for each season. However, the pandemic is a calling to make the industry reconstruct into what it can be for the consumers. Globally, brands are donating to the cause such as, Burberry delivering 100,000 surgical masks to the NHS workers which may have never happened if Covid-19 didn’t occur. If that same approach is alternated to readjust the industry intentions to sustainability, diversity the same way many have responded to the crisis the fashion industry would be able to create a new cycle.
In conclusion, I will be attentive of how economical my styling choices will be in my everyday life and my upcoming projects.
References
The Times, (2018), ‘Clothes worth £12.5bn are thrown in the bin’, [online] Available at: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/clothes-worth-12-5bn-are-thrown-in-bin-b8rqfrcg2 [Accessed 18 Apr, 2020]
Independent, (2020), ‘Coronavirus: How fashion brands are supporting the Covid-19 relief effort’, [online] Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/fashion-beauty/coronavirus-fashion-industry-relief-effort-charities-support-vulnerable-people-a9439516.html [Accessed 18 Apr, 2020]