Climate change change has been a major international issue ever since the industrial revolution and therefore the invention of modern, gas-powered technology. Levels of CO2 emissions have significantly increased from approximately 280 p.p.m. to over 390 p.p.m. as a aresult of fossil fuel burning, cement production and land use changes (IPCC, 2007; Peters et al., 2012).
Although to some it may not seem like it, clothing consumption and especially fast fashion industry is a major contributor to climate change. Over the past few decades, the production of clothing has increased by 400%, 80 billion pieces are produced globally each year [1]. Most unused pieces are then burned or they end up in a landfill.
Fast fashion is a major contributor to this issue. The term describes 'a fast-response system that encourages disposability'[2]. It is cheap and quickly made. Apart from its disposibility, most clothing pieces are made in Bangladesh and China, where the working conditions are especially inhumane. These include environmental pollution, health hazards, and violation of human rights [3]. With the information given, it is undoubtable that something needs to change. If nothing does, then by 2030, the impact of the fashion industry will double [4].
One of the most obvious answers would be to decrease our consumption of fast fashion and unnecessary clothes in general. People usually buy a lot more clothes than they actually need. The United States consumes the highest amount of clothes and textiles in the world and about 85% of them end up in a landfill [3]. That is 1.7 million tonnes.
When a person is actually in need of new clothes, another great option would be to buy from sustainable fashion brands. What makes them sustainable depends on few factors [5]:
- source of materials (local and sustainable)
- values (producing clothes with the planet, workers, and future generations in mind)
- ecosystem preservation (reduction of carbon emissions)
- good working conditions (workers are in safe, structurally sound environments)
- reasonable hours and wages (regular full-time work and fair wages)
However, the best option one could make is to buy second hand. When it comes to decreasing the amount of new clothes produced, there is no better way to get new clothes than to buy what already exists. It is also usually a lot cheaper.
Thrift stores are stores that sell gently used goods where the profits are used for charity. The United Kingdom has approximately 9000 charity shops that took in annual revenues of 300 million pounds [6]. There used to be a kind of stigma around thrift stores, them being unorganized and dirty, but they have undergone a make-over in recent years resulting from the payment of management and staff, better locations, standardized merchandising displays, higher quality store figures, and professional promotional strategies [6]. Thrift stores have risen in popularity thanks to social media over the past few years. More and more people now engage in activity called "thrifting". It is seem as 'cool' because the pieces found in second-hand stores can not usually be bought anywhere else. Therefore, people create unique styles.
This is where digital identities come into place. By creating online accounts, we are creating a digital identity based around sustainability. One of the most well known apps for reselling clothes and other things is Vinted. As cited on their official website (dated January 2023), they want to “show just how brilliant second-hand can be.” This app is currently available in 16 countries (Spain, France, Luxembourg, Belgium, the Nethetlands, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Lithuania, the UK, Italy, Portugal, the USA, and Canada).
How it works:
- start: download the app, take a photo of what you want to sell, describe the item, post it
- if somebody has bought your item: you got a notification saying “SOLD”, print the shipping label given to you, send it within 5 days, wait
- payment: if the customer confirms everything arrived alright, you get your payment without any fees
Other available options for people who don't have Vinted in their country are online reselling groups. Platforms like Facebook have groups available for people to swap things, that are not just clothing. The exact method of paying, swapping or shipping usually depends on the person.
I myself have created an account on Vinted and I have both bought and sold a few items.
Even though I haven't engaged much, I am also a member of a Facebook swap group based in Prague, where I often check whether somebody is trying to throw away something that would be useful to me.
[1] Garg, P., 2019, Introduction to fast fashion: Environmental concerns and sustainability measurements. In: K. Shukla and N. Kumar (Eds.) Environmental Concerns and Sustainable Development (Singapore: Springer), pp. 409-427. doi:10.1007/978-981-13-6358-0_18.
[2] Joy, A., Sherry, J.F., Jr, Venkatesh, A., Wang, J., and Chan, R., 2012, Fast Fashion, sustainability, and the ethical appeal of luxury brands. Fashion Theory 16(3), 273-295. doi:10.2752/175174112X13340749707123.
[3] Bick, R., Halsey, E., and Ekenga, C., 2018, The global environmental injustice of fast fashion. Environmental Health 17, 92. doi:10.1186/s12940-108-0433-7.
[4] Napier, E. and Sanguineti, F., 2018, Fahion merchandisers' slash and burn dilemma: A consequence of over production and excessive waste? Rutgers Business Review 3, 159-174.
[5] Štefko, R. and Steffek, V., 2018, Key issues in slow fashion: Current challenges and future perspectives. Sustainability 10(7), 2270. doi:10.3390/su10072270.
[6] T. Z-T. Ting & J. A. Stagner (2021) Fast fashion - wearing out the planet, International Journal of Environmental Studies, DOI: 10.1080/00207233.2021.1987048.
- 2023-1-18 I put everything on Git Hub.
- 2023-1-16 I finished writing.
- 2023-1-9 I wrote first two paragraphs.
- 2023-1-3 I anotated my resources.
- 2022-12-5 I created a list of resources.
- 2022-12-4 I created an outline for my essay.
- 2022-11-30 I found few websites that could help me with my project.
- 2022-11-29 I consulted my ideas with a teacher.
- 2022-11-11 I narrowed my topic down to second-hand clothing.
- 2022-11-10 I thought about the topic i want to focus on, climate change.
- 2022-10-25 I attended week 4 class.
- 2011-10-19 I copied my notes to Git Hub.
- 2022-10-18 I created a Git Hub profile.