👀 Fast fashion past fashion
#307 | What journey do your clothes take?
Over the last couple of years, I've developed a strange relationship with fashion. I simultaneously dislike 90% of my clothes and recoil at the thought of purchasing more. My sense of style is basic at best, and I still struggle to put together something for work on the daily.
Fast fashion and its consequences are constantly on my mind. With the ease of online shopping, clothes can magically appear in your wardrobe at the click of a button. Disappearing, though, not so much.
Sure, returns are carried out with ease (and hence, the try-on haul videos abound). But what happens to the clothes? They end up in a landfill. Usually in the Global South.
A lot of brands now tout themselves as sustainable and eco-conscious. Some just use buzzwords, some genuinely mean it, and some outright lie (we all know who I'm talking about hmm?). It's tough to know which is which. Plus sustainably produced garments can be expensive.Â
So how do I grapple with clothes and fashion in this climate?
1. Exchange clothes with friends (note: never offer this JOT writer denim)
2. Only buy items I absolutely cannot do without
3. Research, research and more research before every purchase
4. Have fun with what I have
A lot of these pointers I got from today's Thing - this interactive game, Threads, which talks about fast fashion by tracing the journey of clothing from thread to garment. And surprise surprise, it's not eco-tourism, even for the simplest of t-shirts.
Maybe next time you see clothes in your wardrobe, think about where they come from, and when you want to know the exact route, go try today's Thing!Â