How to Shop Sustainably: The Impacts of Fast Fashion, the True Cost of Drip
Drip, style, swag, however, you say it,
the act of expressing ourselves through clothing is one of the strongest indications of who we are.
More often than not, we are attracted to what we find comfortable, visually appealing, and convenient.
However, the price of clicking a button on our device may be more than we know.
In this article, we reveal some of the ways that the fashion industry impacts us all, and what actions and efforts are being done about it.
The Questions at Hand
When we consider the production cycles and supply chain cycles of the brands we all know and love, we begin to gain an understanding of the complexity of the issues in the fashion industry.
I want to first acknowledge the cliche question of “Whose fault is it anyway?”.
Do we leave the definition of ethics to the hands of business owners and the governments that regulate them, or do we as consumers make all the demands?
Well reallky, the answer is somewhere in between.
The balance that we should be striving for is mostly in the dynamic between consumer demand and corporate responsibility. So, what exactly are we asking accountability for?
Impacts of Fast Fashion
See, the fashion industry is arguably one of the largest pollutant industries to date.
The tremendous amount of water that is consumed annually by the textile value chain is over 215 trillion litres of water, gone, each year…
It is a number that we hardly even fathom… and despite initiatives to combat that usage, and technologies aimed at water renewal, that water will likely re-enter the environment in a toxic state.
This only becomes doubly concerning once you factor in the afterlife waste cycle.
We are taxing the earth heavily on the front and back end of our excessive ways. Add in unsafe working conditions, labor exploitation, and animal cruelty, and well, you get the picture.
The high fashion and jewelry market is even more notorious for exorbitant amounts of waste and exploitation that only reflect our inability to regulate our wants and needs.
Again, the question is, who is to blame? How heavily does our greed play into the problem, or are we unable to resist the target marketing in today’s sea of ads?
This is where the power of conscious consumerism comes into play.
Quality, uniqueness, and fit, are the things we love about fashion, that are more likely to be found in the options of thrifting, shopping with local designers, and upcycling.
Believe it or not, even renting clothes has become an emerging trend that offers a unique and more sustainable alternative for conscious consumers.
The point of it all is that we as consumers assign brand value, we can look away from the ads and toward our communities.
Sustainability and Fast Fashion
There is often great debate about whether or not fashion truly is the second-largest polluting industry behind oil and gas due to the many considerations there are to factor in.
The complex lifecycles of fashions supply and demand taxes the environment multiple times over, making the rabbit hole of our “self-expression” daunting.
Fortunately, students and professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted a study known as “The Green Button” exemplifying the power of measurement and transparency in our modern online supply chains.
The Green Button
The Green Button case study challenged consumers willingness to be patient for the delivery of their products by surveying 1,000 respondents and asking them;
- What is the most effective way to provide consumers with transparent and reliable shipping details?
- How does knowledge of the environmental impact of fast shipping incentivize patience?
- And what are the demographics of those who are willing to wait?
Imagine that, you’re on your phone or computer, and have your cart full of items ready to check out.
Rather than seeing shipments prioritizing speed, you see options for what is more environmentally friendly.
Instead of paying more for speed, you are offered a discount or credit back for patience!
See, when you allow for the consolidation of items to ship all at once rather than multiple trips, you dramatically reduce the amount of emissions it takes to meet demanding expedite requirements.
Research showed that 49% of respondents were willing to wait for their orders just by showing the information of emissions saved.
This number increased to 65% when given the option of economic incentive via credit or cashback.
Taking information displays even further, presenting verifiable data and measurements about your shipping decision, the number of participants who were willing to wait increased again to 93%!
Check out this video for a more in-depth discussion of the topics discussed in this article.
Conclusion
While we are still some ways away from mass application of this technology, transparency as an industrial standard is a win for suppliers, consumers, and policymakers.
The fashion industry is only a subset of the online shopping world, and providing different shipping methods is only one of the ways we can improve both cost-effectiveness and consider environmental impacts.
While I personally believe it will always come down to the balance of supply and demand between consumers and corporations, businesses will always have the upper hand in pivoting and making actionable changes.
Hence why it is so important to voice our demands to corporations.
I want to thank you for taking the time to read the article and encourage you to check out our YouTube and all our other content where we cover various topics of sustainability!
I am here to help scale sustainably for you! So you can earn, save, and grow as best you can in this modern era!
