For my new brief, fashion sustainability, I have begun conducting research into the topic, exploring a range of different companies and designers that, together, are advocating for change for a much more sustainable and long-lasting fashion industry that supports equality of workers rights as well as working towards a greener future e.g. reducing waste, etc.
After conducting research, I wanted to get the conversation going surrounding sustainable fashion and to see what other people of my generation thought about the topic. And so I decided this would be a great opportunity to take to my social media, using polls and stories to allow other users to vote.
1. I first asked users about whether or not they like to shop second hand, and this can mean not only in charity shops but also on online sites such as depop, which has massively grown in popularity over the course of the pandemic, ebay, vinted, etc.
I was pleased to find that 73% of my followers/users said that they did like to buy second hand. I personally think that second-hand shopping for clothes shows really great hope for the future, whereby we are sustaining the lives of clothes that would ordinarily have been thrown out. I also believe that second-hand shopping encourages people to find their very own, unique style, aside from simply following the latest trends and styles that everyone else is wearing.
It's great to see that the popularity of second-hand shopping for clothes has
grown in recent years, especially over the pandemic where online apps/shops such as ebay and vinted allow people to search and shop for specific items from home.
2. I next asked users whether, when the shop, do they mainly look for the style/trend of the clothes or the quality. It was shocking, but not particularly surprising to see that 78% of users favour style over quality.
I think, and I am also guilty of this, that when we are out shopping we are generally looking for items that suit us and look aesthetically pleasing rather than really thinking about, actually, how long these garments are going to last and what the quality of the fabrics/production is like.
All too often we buy clothes for one-use occasions, treating them in this almost 'disposable' manner. I think a big issue is the fact that we can get trendy, stylish clothes that follow the latest trends for cheap prices at fast-fashion brands. The cheap prices almost encourage single-use wear, hence making us want to come back and buy more each time the latest trends change.
The final question I asked was whether or not users think that fashion can be timeless e.g. would they want to wear clothes now, that where perhaps more stylish in the past. It was encouraging to see that 100% of voters believe fashion can be timeless.
A lot of influencers at the current moment look to the past for inspiration e.g. there was a recent craze over the 'y2k' / 2000s fashion trends and styles such as cargo/low waist bottoms, which have come back into style. I think it's really inspiring that our generation our looking at past trends to inspire their style. I feel this also leads into the increase of popularity of second-hand shopping as people can buy unique, statement, vintage pieces that are one-of a kind.
Overall, I found it really interesting and exciting to get the conversation going surrounding sustainable fashion and to find out more about what people of my generation think of certain topics surrounding the idea.
It's really encouraging to see that many voters are in favour of second-hand shopping, encouraging giving clothes a second life where they would normally be thrown away. It's also interesting to find that our generation are starting to look at the past for fashion inspiration, shopping for unique and timeless pieces that they feel can live-on into todays fashion.
A larger concern, however, is that fast fashion brands are perhaps encouraging the purchase of single-use stylish items that are really cheap to buy, but might not stand the test of time. The problem is, people would rather spend money of stylish, in-the-moment clothes rather than actually thinking about quality and how long an item might actually last. Trends are moving so quickly at the moment, also, that it really makes it difficult to want to spend the money on a high quality garment when it will just be out of fashion next season.
What would be interesting is to compare these results to perhaps an older generation, whereby they didn't really have the influence of the fast-moving trends we see on social media today. Fast fashion was also something that wasn't wildly around at the time, so I'd be interested to ask the question as to weather people of older generations would shop for quality or style in their clothing.
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