Fast Fashion Insider
A lot of people including myself have contributed to fast fashion and we don’t even realize it. Fast fashion includes cheaply made clothing that is produced rapidly by mass-marketers in retail that respond to the latest trends. Just by reading that brief description of fast fashion we might think well fast fashion doesn’t sound too bad, but fast fashion has more effects than we realize. Fast fashion is responsible for a large percentage of global warming and has a significant negative impact on community’s environmental state in third world countries, fast fashion is also responsible for child labor, harsh working conditions, water pollution, and waste. Fast fashion may seem insignificant, but once you know the background of fast fashion it makes you think twice. I know from personal experience how hard it can be to not fall into the loop of fast fashion especially with how convenient it is. However, it is important to do your research and take into consideration what companies you invest your money in and what they do with it. Just because clothes are expensive does not mean that they are not related to fast fashion and vice versa with cheap companies. You can easily look up companies and their backgrounds and history of association and make decisions based on that and see what values you see associated with the company. Fast fashion is slow violence against the woman, children, and communities that have to deal with the repercussions of poorly made decisions by companies and their negative impacts that we don’t have to see or deal with. It is also an environmental issue that pollutes our air and contaminates water sources in poor countries with dye and materials.
For my fieldwork report I wanted to explore and discover new views of fast fashion to look beyond research information that has been gathered. I wanted to view local sources and what general people thought about fast fashion, if they even knew what that was, their opinion on it, and how they choose to respond to it. As we all know, Forever 21 and Shein are some of the most popular fast fashion companies right now. With that being said I wanted to use those two places specifically to talk about with the people I interviewed. I interviewed a total of four people, two from my current job, and two from my previous job. I asked them questions such as: “Do you know what fast fashion is?”, “Do you contribute to fast fashion?”, “Based on the background knowledge I have given you on fast fashion will you continue to contribute to fast fashion?”, “Do you know any companies who are dedicated to not contributing to that kind of work?”, and “How long do your clothes from fast fashion companies last?”. All four of my interviewees did not know what fast fashion was and when they said they weren’t familiar with the label I would explain what it was and then ask the rest of my questions. It was interesting to see their responses and how they all had some regard for the consequences of fast fashion, but the main response to them still contributing to fast fashion sources were a yes because to them it was the most reasonable pricing for their budgets. They explained how they wouldn’t contribute to it if it was more expensive or if they could afford clothing from non-fast fast companies.
Another interview strategy I wanted to include interviewing the places, so I interviewed my local Forever 21 and the Shein website over the course of two weeks. I wanted to see what some of their tactics were and how this would affect young adults with low budgets. I went into Forever 21 and examined the store, the prices, deals and styles. I did the same with Shein, but I looked at their website, prices, styles, and deals. I also wanted to compare any differences or similarities I found within these interviews. When I was in Forever 21, I noticed how many different styles of clothing there were for every kind of style and aesthetic, I noticed how hot and packed and cluttered the store seemed and how there were still a ton of styles from winter and how low their prices were from already low prices. I noticed the same thing on the Shein website. It seemed packed and cluttered to me in the sense that there are neverending styles for every season and just when you think things can’t get any cheaper, they do.
After doing these interviews and reviewing the discoveries I made, it made me wonder why the companies mass produce so many clothes. I know that these items are cheap to make and cheap clothing is in high demand, but these companies are not selling a million of the same items at the same store. Is it just for wasteful purposes because they can or is it because they really expect to sell every single one of the shirts, pants, jeans, and shorts to that many customers and do they expect a majority of the clothes to end up in landfills? It also makes me wonder if they realize how harmful they are to the environment and peoples lives. If they know that there are alternative ways to produce their products that would probably benefit them and their products better.
While conducting my fieldwork report I realized how important it is to at least try and be more environmentally friendly. This report has really helped me see beyond internet research and basic views. I was able to really see what people who don’t have background knowledge or experience in environmental writings really view these issues as and how they perceive their severities. We already contribute to pollution, water waste and population, and much more that we don’t even know about. Even if you do contribute to fast fashion, how are you trying to make a difference in other ways? Do you recycle, do you only wash clothes once every week and a half? Do you conserve water? All these ways are helpful in being mindful of what we do to our planet. If you have no choice but to contribute to fast fashion or other environmentally harmful scenarios, are you at least trying to limit the amount and make an effort to be better in any ways at all that you can control? That is the most important question. It is important to inform ourselves and others of the knowledge we gain about things we didn’t even know about ourselves because more than likely those people won’t know either. Knowledge is power and there is power in being informed and trying to make a difference.
