Mending the impact of fast fashion

through art education

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the social and environmental impact of fast fashion. The research reveals the negative effect of the fashion industry and how society's need for more has been detrimental to the earth. In examining this issue, research also discusses the negative impact of greenwashing on the visual culture that surrounds the industry. As this issue progresses, many non-profits are working hard to educate consumers with the hope of changing their shopping habits. As habits change, students should know the basics of sewing and be offered practical lessons in fashion design. Students should learn how to repair garments instead of always reverting to replacing them. To conclude this paper, I share how art education can shift the conversation away from blame and instill agency in the next generation. 

Introduction

      Over the last 20 years, the fashion industry has capitalized on society's growing need to attain more. According to Sustain your style, "a root of the problem lies in our excessive consumerism: we buy 10 while our grandmothers bought 2" (What's wrong with the fashion industry, para 52). We are buying more, and the cost of these garments is drastically less than what our grandmothers might have paid. On the surface, one might assume this is good, we can have more for less, but we must ask ourselves – what is the true cost of these garments? Maiti (2020) shares that "according to the UN Environment Programme, the fashion industry is the second-biggest consumer of water and is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissions – more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined" (para 1). Shocking information to discover and information that can make one feel ashamed and guilty. Through art education, teachers can work on shifting the conversation away from blame and towards constructive action. In doing so, I plan to uncover the environmental and social repercussions of fast fashion, introduce the concept of greenwashing, and explore our emotional connection to our clothing.

Impact of fast fashion

      Maiti (2020) reports that "according to Business Insider, fashion production comprises 10% of total global carbon emissions, as much as the European Union. It dries up water sources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles" (para 5). Additionally, as consumer's need for newness in their wardrobe grows, lead times in the industry are shrinking. A lead time is the length of time between a garment being imagined and making into a store. This quick-to-market mindset and nonexistent factory regulations in Asia have contributed to the increase in inhumane working conditions. According to Sustain your Style, "the European Parliament is using the term "slave labour" to describe the current working conditions of garment workers in Asia" (Inhumane working conditions, para. 2). Having worked in the fashion industry at all price points, I can honestly say that garments are being made far too fast to be made genuinely sustainable regardless of their store price. In my experience of being faced with setbacks due to environmental regulations, upper management would often request more to "make up for the lost time." These requests would end with employees across the globe working long hours. "Garment workers are often forced to work 14 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week" (Sustain your style, Inhumane working conditions, para. 6). In looking at the overwhelming evidence and data of the wrongdoings of fast fashion, it can be easy to assume that companies are not willing to lose time or money to make the right changes.

      As consumers become more aware of fashion’s misconduct, there has been an increase in advocacy for significant changes to the industry. This push for living a more sustainable life has seeped into the visual culture surrounding fast fashion, making sustainability a prevalent and profitable marketing tactic. The growing concern of climate change has increased greenwashing from corporations. According to Lyons and Montgomery (2015), greenwashing is “communication that misleads people into forming overly positive beliefs about an organization’s environmental practices or products” (p. 223). The Walmart corporation is continuously guilty of greenwashing. Walmart’s website claims that their “sustainability efforts prioritize people and the planet by aiming to source responsibly, eliminate waste and emissions, sell sustainable products and protect and restore nature” (Sustainability, para. 1). In contradiction of their statement, Hardcastle (2017) states that in 2017, they “agreed to pay $1 million to settle greenwashing claims that allege the nation’s largest retailer sold plastic products that were misleadingly labeled “biodegradable” or “compostable” in violation of California law” (para. 1). This example is one of many, making it challenging to identify companies that are honestly being socially responsible. Dickson and Eckman (2006) advocate for corporate social responsibility based on “a philosophy that balances ethics/morality with profitability, which is achieved through accountability-based business decisions and strategies” (p. 188). Many of those pushing for change in the industry believe that the only way is by a shift in consumer habits. Bick, Halsey, and Ekenga (2018) claim that “trade policies and regulations will be the most effective solutions in bringing about large-scale change to the fast fashion industry. However, consumers in high-income countries have a role to play in supporting companies and practices that minimize their negative impact on humans and the environment” (p. 3). Art education can enhance consumers’ role in this effort, but one must first understand consumers’ relationship with clothing.

Mending the impact

      Understanding the gravity of the impact of this industry can often be fleeting. From personal experience, it's often washed away by an emotional response to shopping and purchasing new clothes. Clothing is very personal and often helps individuals express themselves and their culture; asking people to change their shopping habits overnight is challenging. Petersson McIntyre (2019) explains that "in order to change consumption patterns, it is essential that one considers the complex roles clothes play in consumers' lives, emotionally, practically, and morally, including the ability of clothing to mobilize human actions" (p. 2). Petersson McIntyre (2019) reviewed clothing consumption diaries of 34 individuals of varying ages and occupations over three months (p. 3). The outcome showed that individual shopping patterns were not entirely intentional, and subjects "wanted to consume sustainably but found that they actually did not" (p. 17). This realization and the desire to be "good" left shoppers feeling guilty and overall led them to take the blame for the fashion industry's downfalls. Petersson McIntyre (2019) explains that it appears the industry "was seen as something monolithic, and change was thought of as something that their own choices had to be subject to" (p. 18). Through a practical approach to teaching fashion in art curriculum, teachers can introduce students to the industry's impact while also empowering them to take a stand as they grow. Art education that incorporates lessons asking students to rethink while sharing practical ways to reduce, repair, recover, reclaim, and recycle their clothing will be far more impactful than telling them to buy less. These lessons should go beyond a once-a-year Earth day unit that uses a few recycled materials. Understanding our personal connection to clothing means teachers must work to understand students' culture and economic standing in their classroom to ensure that sustainability efforts are respectful and attainable.

      Giving students the tools to understand the entire life cycle of a garment helps them better visualize this issue's gravity. Ensuring that our students can dissect the visual imagery within fast fashion is essential. Etherington (2018) explains that "enacting a critical visual culture curriculum provides an opportunity for students to learn how to connect with and participate in democratic society beyond the walls of school" (p. 27). Analyzing the marketing imagery that surrounds the fashion industry will facilitate a better understanding of greenwashing. Furthermore, pushing for environmental advocacy in the classroom means constantly developing student's relationship with their environment. Using the Reggio Emilia approach in the classroom encourages students to develop a deeper understanding of their environment. (Eckhoff & Spearman, 2009, p. 10). According to Eckhoff and Spearman (2009), the "inclusion of reclaimed objects in the classroom encourages the rediscovery or "rethinking" of an object once viewed as having little or no value" (p. 12). The art classroom is the appropriate place for students to rediscover and recycle garments. Fashion Revolution is a non-profit company that is has created an educational curriculum relating to the fashion industry for schools and students of all grade levels. Stills (2017) describes the impact these programs have had in London schools (para. 1). According to Stills (2017), teachers felt fashion lessons have had "profound influence on pupils, as it revealed to them what most of us only had a vague idea about: that the things we buy are made by people far away and that our choices can greatly influence whether the purchase is associated with heaps of negatives or is a purchase that causes positive change" (para. 15). The clothing we wear will always be personal, and students will continuously relate to its importance. I hope that by changing the rhetoric in the classroom, students will grow to understand the visual culture behind their shopping habitats. Educating students about fast fashion will not repair the impact overnight; the hope is that the next generation will not stand for society's inability to hold corporations accountable. They will not stand for society's laid-back reaction to the atrocities of an industry that creates so much beauty.

Reference

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