"Disposable Fashion" and Environmental Impacts
Are Today's Fashion Trends in the Earth's Best Interest?
© Tiff Coe
Oct 5, 2009
In any given year, Americans spend an astounding amount of money (and time) on fashion-related purchases - both apparel and home goods - for themselves and as gifts. Both a necessity, as well as a thoroughly ingrained aspect of the social fabric, dressing/accessorizing is one of humankind’s most ancient of traditions - yet one that is continually evolving.
While styles will continue to come and go, it is important to note several industry trends that have taken hold in recent years. Among such accelerating factors are the concepts of “fast fashion” as well as that of eco-conscious shopping - both of which have vast implications in both the short and long term.
Fast fashion – and where it ends up
According to a 2007 report published by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, globalization has made it possible to produce clothes at prices so low that many consumers consider such clothing to be essentially “disposable” - a concept dubbed “fast fashion” (the “clothing equivalent of fast food,” as it were) by industry insiders.
An increasingly frequent byproduct of fast fashion, then, is an excess of used - and in many cases only gently so - apparel. In some instances, an individual’s cast offs end up in the second-hand market - but such rags (as used clothes are known in industry lingo) also end up in landfills with great regularity. According to the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Solid Waste, Americans collectively trashed nine million tons of reusable clothes, footwear, towels, and bedding in 2005.
Eco-fashions – style plus sustainability
To address the environmental impacts of fast fashion and carve a fresh niche in the market, some manufacturers have developed "eco-fashions" meant to simultaneously appeal to a customer’s sense of style and the greater good. The International Standards Organization (a nongovernmental network comprising national standards institutes of 157 countries) has defined eco-fashion as "identifying the general environmental performance of a product within a product group based on its whole life-cycle in order to contribute to improvements in key environmental measures and to support sustainable consumption patterns."
Eco-fashion is here to stay
Interest in eco-fashions is booming from both the industry and consumer perspective as both new and established brands devise innovative and fair-minded ways to address collective concerns as diverse as labor conditions, pesticides used in the growth of textile-related crops, the mounting problem of disposable fashions, and myriad other health and environmental considerations. Rogan Gregory, creative director of the “eco-centric” Edun and Loomstate brands, insists that “sustainability isn’t a fad but that, ‘It’s here to stay’” - a conjecture seemingly corroborated by evidence.
Fashion’s interest in ecology is being embraced by companies of all stripes - from handcrafters that operate on a very small scale; to mass merchants (Wal-Mart is the largest purchaser of 100% organic cotton products); to high-end labels. And the timing, as suggested by Anne Wallace of National Geographic’s Green Guide, couldn't be riper.
Conscious consumers vote with their wallets
Playing into this societal shift are an array of customer lifestyle trends including what Paul H. Ray and Sherry Anderson (in their book, The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People are Changing the World) describe as a fundamental change in which a “large group of leading edge consumers” are making “conscientious purchasing and investing decisions based on sustainability and social values.” It is important to note that this subset of the population covers a demographically diverse base - yet its members are “surprisingly unified in their ‘green’ values.” And these eco-minded consumers are increasingly making a statement through both their lifestyles and their wallets.
Do you really need that new dress – or can you at least recycle the old one?
Consumers face myriad decisions every time they enter a store or visit an online retailer. They must choose when to use their dollars to make a social statement either through the purchase of eco-friendly products or through restraint. Before going out and buying a new outfit, it is a good idea to take an inventory of what is already hanging in your closet – is it possible to dust off an old dress or shirt and pair it with accessories in a new way? Or do you have clothes are just sitting around, never to be worn again? For a few ideas on how to turn your old clothes into something new and useable, see some ideas that were posted on Huffington Post earlier this year. Here’s to eco-fashion in all its forms!
