Why is it Critical for Us to Enact Sustainable Fashion Practices?

This website, as you may know, is dedicated to raising awareness for education. We also take time to discuss rather important concepts that serve to enlighten and empower our readers into understanding more about our world and what goes on in it.

Fashion and Humanity has long had a relationship. However, modern fashion practices leave much to be desired. Today, Faculti Media discusses the concept of sustainable fashion practices and why we need them.

Fashion is something that humans make use of to express their identity. Back in the day, nations used to use fashion as a way to establish their cultural identity as well. When the monarchies were alive and well in Europe, each monarch had their own particular style. They also dictated the style of dressing that their subjects would wear. When the monarchies were deposed, people then had the freedom to establish their own styles and trends.

In today’s world, fashion is a multi-million dollar industry. There is a constant demand for what is new and what is considered as the height of a fashionable trend. As such, manufacturers sought to produce more clothing at a fraction of the cost. As a result, fast fashion was born.

What is Fast Fashion?

These are the pieces of fashion or clothing that is easy and cost effective to mass produce. It is the brands like Forever 21, H&M, and several others that continuously pump out more and more fashion sets and produces at a high rate.

Fast Fashion pieces are also notoriously bad regarding their quality. In the haste and affordability of the materials meant that it was something that could break easily. Not that it mattered to those who patronize fast fashion. As the prices of production were quite low, there was very little need to put on incredibly high prices on the product. As a result, fast fashion is often highly affordable.

How Does Fast Fashion Affect Consumers?

Fast Fashion is built on the need for “more”. More new outfits! More photos with these outfits! It caters to the concept of “FOMO” or Fear of Missing Out that is heavily subscribed to by the younger generations.

Fast Fashion builds a cycle of purchasing that is fairly consistent as fast fashion outlets will nearly always be on sale. This is due to the fact that their production is fast and they will need to clear out old stocks before the new stocks will come in.

There will also be a fabricated sense of urgency in order to get rid of certain stock. There will always be “limited edition” pieces in order to stimulate the fashion addiction of many in our society has ended up developing. Fast Fashion consistently puts out substandard pieces because they know that no matter what, people will buy their clothes. It is after all, what is hip and trending.

How Does Fast Fashion Affect Our Environment?

Fast Fashion is all about what is new and trendy rather than what can last long and be timeless. In doing so, consumers now buy and throw out clothing at a really high rate that they are now filling up landfills faster than ever. Fast fashion is quickly becoming a reason why more and more of our resources are being depleted.

The burden of production often leads to massive factories rife with outsourced labor. These places do place the environment as a high priority. As such, a majority of the materials used are new and not recyclable. Thousands of pounds of fast fashion pieces find themselves thrown away in a month. Imagine that number after half year. Now imagine that number after a full year. Eventually we are going to run out of space. Not to mention the fact that the materials that are harvested for the production of fast fashion are depleting. It can mean an ecological disaster for our planet.

What is Sustainable Fashion?

A concept that sprung in the 1980s, sustainable fashion is all about fashion and fashion design utilizing sustainable materials. Sustainable in the sense that it hails from a system or a source that can continue to replenish itself naturally without putting any additional burden on our resources.

Sustainable fashion is all about minimizing the harmful effects of fast fashion upon the environment. Sustainable fashion is also all about the rise of ethical shopping and social responsibility.

Why Do We Need Sustainable Fashion?

Much like the concept of fast food, too much of the stuff is ultimately bad for your arteries. This is why home cooked meals are such a popular thing. Home cooked meals are far healthier in terms of quality and substance. The same concept applies to sustainable fashion.

Sustainable fashion prides itself on clean production. This means that the way sustainable fashion pieces are manufactured does not make use of any aids or chemicals that are highly harmful to the environment.  We need sustainable practices in order to have a healthy market of consumption. Humans will not stop consuming things—that much is true.

What must be done is to change what we consume and how we consume it. Sustainable fashion is often made of fibers which are gotten from all natural materials like Alpaca wool. It is something that remains in abundance and will consistently grow in a fast rate. The farmers that keep them will have a consistent source of income. It is a healthy market that benefits all.

As sustainable fashion is considered slow fashion, there is a natural cycle that is kept that does not force sources to strain their production. As such, if the source of the materials is animals, they are treated more ethically as opposed to fast fashion.

Sustainable fashion is highly recyclable. In the event that it is thrown out, it will decompose naturally unlike the synthetic fibers that are often found in fast fashion. Many celebrities and fashion establishments are moving away from fast fashion after seeing the harm it does to people and the environment.

Will you make the much needed move to sustainable fashion?