Blog post 1 – Lectures reflection
I have watched few of the Better Lives lectures and I have to admit that I am very pleased with the unit as a whole, from the themes to how the unit is structured. I found the themes crucial and forward thinking. We are all familiar with the current state of the planet, we well know what that means to our health and it is no news that the fashion industry is a major contributor to this problem, which is why I am well pleased with the Better Lives unit. Providing tomorrow’s decision makers with the right tools and knowledge has never been this crucial.
I was particularly inspired by the “Making for a change” project designed and directed by Claire Swift. However, I would like to first talk about some issues that were brought up in the Fashion and Power lecture. I will be looking into the side effects of excessive advertisement and how this obliquely affects the environment and our health then, finally share my insights on how these lectures have influenced my thinking as a consumer.
Malcom X said: “the media is the most powerful entity on earth, as a tool it has proven to influence minds, ideas, behaviours of the masses”. The fashion industry like most industries in today’s capitalist-consumer world driven by profit heavily invest in advertisement to widen their reach, consequently maximising their profit. The birth of smart phones, social media to be more specific has exponentially heightened the amount of advertisement we consume and as a by-product of this over saturation we have become catalysts of overconsumption.
“The average American is exposed to 4000 to 10,000 ads a day” as reported by Forbes and the majority of these ads are cleverly crafted to influence it’s targets to make a purchase- things we desire but do not really need, like cheap and short-life clothes that we might take to that one date, dispose of and end in a landfill.
According to True Cost “we consume 80 billion clothes every year, which is 400% more than we consumed two decades ago”. One may argue, well, the world’s population has relatively increased. It has, however, the underlying problem is “85% of these 80 billion garments end up in a landfill or incinerated” as stated by True Cost.
We are exhausting the planet making demands of clothes we do not need to be produced, fast fashion is destroying our planet and deteriorating our health both physically and mentally in the process. Mental health issues like depression, and anxiety have risen significantly in young adults as a result of not feeling up to date or not having enough, partly due to social media.
As a consumer and part of the problem my personal takeaway is to contemplate the drive behind every single purchase I make. Not only do I have to scrutinise more the brands I make purchases from but most importantly take my time to ponder over the ramifications of the purchases I make.
References
Electronic Frontier Foundation. 2020. Techactivist.Org Presents: Malcolm X – The Media’s The Most Powerful Entity. [online] Available at: <https://www.eff.org/event/techactivistorg-presents-malcolm-x-medias-most-powerful-entity> [Accessed 10 May 2020]. Simpson, J., 2020. Council Post: Finding Brand Success In The Digital World. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesagencycouncil/2017/08/25/finding-brand-success-in-the-digital-world/> [Accessed 10 May 2020]. The True Cost. 2020. Environmental Impact. [online] Available at: <https://truecostmovie.com/learn-more/environmental-impact/> [Accessed 10 May 2020].