Responsible Consumption and Production
By Mollie Semple
Let’s be honest here, the majority of us have a consumption problem. As in we consume way too much. We consume plastics, technology, television, film, fuel, fashion, travel - you name it, we guzzle it up like there is no tomorrow. Well, guess what. If we continue to consume everything in such a mindless way, there may very well be no tomorrow for this planet.
When I look around my house and my life in general I think two things. I think about how extraordinarily lucky and privileged I am to have everything that I may need and more, and I also think about how wasteful I can be and how, perhaps, I have too much. When you think about how little people can survive on combined with how disparate wealth and comfort is around the world it really makes you consider how much you truly need.
At the same time, I don’t want this post to be a lecture on how awful we all are and how we should all live with next to nothing. I do believe that we can still consume and enjoy ourselves whilst simultaneously being responsible and giving back to society and our environment.
I think a really good example when it comes to responsible consumption and production is the fashion industry. ‘Fast fashion’ as it is called is damaging in so many ways. It is environmentally damaging and it is hugely exploitative of labour in developing countries in order to produce cheap clothing quickly. For an environmental example, microfibres from fabrics end up in the ocean and affect aquatic life, and clothes made of synthetic fibres don’t breakdown and end up clogging landfills. And on the human cost side, 71 leading clothing retailers in the UK believe that there is a 77% chance of modern slavery being used at some point in their supply chains.
Yet, despite these glaring problems people continue to shop at stores that provide fast fashion, excessively filling their wardrobes with clothes that have a morally dodgy origin.
I am going to be completely honest here: I do this. I contribute to fast fashion by buying clothes from stores that over-produce and potentially exploit a vulnerable labour force. I buy clothes that I don’t technically need because I am interested in fashion and I like dressing well. I could do that whilst also being sustainable and responsible, but I don’t. That is something I ultimately need to change in my life. World changing solutions often start with the individual and have we have to take our own responsibility for that.
The thing is, fast fashion is so popular because it is so affordable. And, due to societal messages from advertising and marketing we are constantly told that buying stuff makes our lives better and it makes us feel good. So, of course when something is cheap and nice and we have been conditioned to feel good buying it is going to be an extremely successful industry. I think also, and this is another point to elaborate on another time, but this affordability can get us into trouble when it comes to classism. In the UK certainly, it is all very well for the affluent to invest in sustainable fashion and feel morally superior, but what about those who can’t afford it? Do they not deserve nice clothes or to be fashionable?
The question is: how do we solve these problems?
This blog post is going to be way too short to tackle the very many issues in the fashion industry. It is tied to so many other worldwide flaws that need to change in their own ways. However, like I mentioned before, change starts with the individual. So, to end this post here are some things you can do to responsibly ‘consume’ sustainable fashion and to reduce fashion waste:
Swap and borrow. If you own an obscene amount of clothing it is likely you have friends that do too. You can reduce waste and minimise spending money on fast fashion brands by sharing and swapping clothes. There are even apps you can use such as Stitch Fix and Vinted to swap and borrow clothes from strangers, so there is a whole community to get involved in.
Charity shopping. In the UK we call them charity shops, in the US they are known as thrift stores, but whatever your country calls it you can find some really lovely and fashionable clothes from people who have donated them. Also, you are giving to a deserving charity at the same time. Again, this reduces waste and stops supporting the fast fashion industry.
Donate. You can contribute to charity shops and the like by donating any clothing that you do not need. It is also worth researching charities that give your donated clothing to those who really need it.
Buy from sustainable fashion brands. There are lots of brands out there that are committed to the sustainable and fair production of their clothing. This can sometimes be on the expensive side but it generally means that the quality of the material is better and the clothes will last much longer, so less waste!
Reduce the amount you buy. This final tip is pretty simple. You do not need to buy clothing all the time. You can reduce waste by repurposing or restyling the items you already have. At the end of the day, we can reduce consumption by simply… refusing to consume. Think hard about whether what you buy will be really valuable or useful to you. It is okay to want to be fashionable, but there are so many more sustainable ways of doing that.
Sources:
https://www.rubicon.com/blog/14-sustainable-fashion-facts/