Getting a steal on that new jacket you've been wanting for weeks, or finally getting those pair of jeans you were looking at can be one of the best feelings in the world, so it may come to no surprise to you when I say that most people actually like getting new things, new clothes, and new accessories. But where do all of these products come from?
If you've ever tried to research or simply Google where certain companies make their products, the results turn out to be very frustrating. In fact, most companies don't provide their consumers with where their products are manufactured or give insight into the process of how these products are made. So what's the big deal?
Over the past few years in the fashion industry, retailers such as H&M and Forever 21 have begun to offer clothing that is both economical and stylish. These brands have flourished over the last decade and continue to make huge profits off of their customers.
But why are their products so much cheaper than other retailers? In order to answer this question, one must first understand the basics of fast fashion.
Fast fashion can simply be described as buying more clothes for cheaper prices and getting rid of those clothes when they are no longer wanted or needed. Retailers play with this idea and have created a new standard.
Instead of retailers having three or four seasons in which they switch out their old products for new ones, they now put out a new clothing line nearly every month. This means that customers are more likely to come back regularly, rather than just a few times a year.
Although this sounds great in theory, the fast fashion industry is has a devastating impact on people around the world. Both the factory workers (people making the clothes) and consumers are being negatively influenced by this new form of shopping.
Big fashion industries are outsourcing their products, meaning that they are paying factory workers in other countries to make and produce their products. These companies find the cheapest places they possibly can to produce their clothes, such as Bangladesh, and continue to pay workers the absolute bare minimum salary.
These “salaries” are not enough to make a living off of, let alone enough to provide for day to day needs. The factories are also in extremely poor conditions and workers demand for higher wages. Factory workers are often underpaid and work in very poor conditions, unable to provide for themselves and their families.
Meanwhile, consumers are starting to rely on materialistic items for their happiness, which will not ultimately fulfill their desires. A consumer might feel great after purchasing a new item, but that is only a temporary pleasure.
If one continues to go along with these fast fashion practices, they will find themselves making more and more purchases and temporary pleasures. Not to mention, the clothes themselves are very cheaply made and are known to rip, tear, or shrink after just a few uses.
These fast fashion companies are making billions of dollars while others struggle to make ends meet and in extreme cases, stay alive. The environmental and social impact that practices such as fast fashion have on our world is absolutely devastating.
We, as a society, should start to pay attention to the world around us and support clothing brands that sell good quality items and who pay their factory workers enough to make a living wage off of.
We must ask ourselves, "Do I truly need these clothes or am I just bored with what I already own?" By supporting more sustainable brands and by being more cautious when shopping, we can begin to change the fast fashion industry as whole.
