Fast-fashion, one of the most unspoken problems currently plaguing the United States. Yes, there is the plague of obesity, fast-food, and discrimination, but average Americans have an astute understanding of those problems.Many people wouldn’t believe there was such a thing as fast-fashion, just fashion, plain and simple. But what is fast-fashion, and what makes it so appealing? Fast-fashion is the rapidly changing styles commonly starting with celebrities than moving down the consumer chain to the average American. The appeal and falsified glory of it comes from being able to buy clothes so easily and at such an affordable cost. The prices are so low it’s making it increasingly harder for people to say no and wear the clothing that they already …show more content…
At the start of the process, there are pesticides, dyes, and poor wages for the workers producing the goods. In fast-fashion producing countries like India, villagers who live around the plant have reported their water being one color one day, and a completely different color the next as a result of the tremendous amount of dye seeping into the soil and water supplies around the factories (Cox). By having these dyes consistently flooding their water, people’s bodies eventually react to the toxins and start decaying faster than they should. Clothing has never been produced this fast before, thus no one has had the chance to do a sufficient study on the health risks associated with consumption of the dye. Furthermore, while these issues appear to take place far from the wonderland of the United States, the U.S. is not as perfect as it seems. The pesticides used in cotton growing are eroding the soil because of their harmful chemicals (Cox). The cotton produced in the U.S. is then exported to countries like China and Mexico where it will become a product back on department store shelves, to be purchased by American consumers, where the fast-fashion cycle comes to an end in their closets. Often these clothes will not be worn more than just a few times before they are either donated, thrown away, or fall apart from being created quickly and cheaply. It does appear that donating clothes is the best solution, yet a large proportion of these clothes are sold off by the pound to companies that bring the clothes to other countries to be sold for a third or fourth time. While this might appear to be beneficial, much of the clothing is sent to Africa, where pieces such as North Face jackets have little
In “The man behind Abercrombie and Fitch.” An interview conducted by Benoit Denizet-Lewis displays a glimpse into the life of Mike Jeffries and his views of his company only hiring “good-looking” people and targeting “good-looking” people to wear his clothes. This has been done in order to force his audience to recognize that the issue of acceptance one’s peers and exclusion of a community mentioned by Mike Jeffries, is a result of cultural perceptions and individual self-image. Denizet-Lewis skillfully shows that while Jeffries remarks of not wanting the “not-so-popular” kids to shop in his stores, it poses a question to consumers asking what change in our attitudes will come or if there will be any change at all. Thus comes the issue of how consumers today have a shift in the reasoning behind why one buys clothing and the motivating factors that influence one to buy certain clothing. Denizet-Lewis also demonstrates the different messages that controversial advertisements and statements affect different groups of people and how what they project is really what people desire, though deemed by many people as unacceptable or inappropriate. The author also examines how in the news media, the image has become more important than the message and how images have taken precedent over actual issues and character. As a result of this, various communities have formed by the construct of selling to “beautiful people” and how popular appeal has become an extension of a person.
Have you ever seen people that follow a mixture of religions,dress differently in public all over
Throughout history, there were many things that influenced fashion and the ideal body image of the time. Things such as politics, and changes in social roles were some things that had an influence on the fashion of the day. One particular shocking thing that had influenced on the fashion around the 1800s were sickness and diseases. Not only were diseases and sickness caused by different fashion trends, but it set the tone for certain ideal body images and also influenced the fashion of the time.
Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a whole, has been notorious from green issues caused by their lack of sensitivity to the environment, conspicuous and unnecessary consumption of materials, encouraging an “throw-away” society and image issues that support women and young adults to look a certain way to feel “beautiful.” This is an issue that has increased over the past decades. Not just women, but men also feel the uncontrollable need to do whatever it takes to look like the celebrities they see on television and on the runways. The thought that the materials to make those desired items may have caused the life of animals or the destruction of mother nature does not come into mind. Countless people are concerned about conserving planet Earth and keeping it healthy. The fashion world has been targeted for many corruptions.
...d up in Salvation Army bins. The U.S. textile recycling industry enables Africans to dress well for very little money. In 2003, used clothing was by far America’s largest export to Tanzania, and it ranked fourth worldwide as a customer for America’s castoffs, with competition from countries such as Beijing, and the Republic of the Congo.”
The strengths of the book come from its’ accessibility. The book is easy to follow and provides readers with a great deal of information about the production of mass-manufactured clothing. As well as brings awareness to its’ many issues which we inadvertently take part in when we purchase such products. The book is well written and thoroughly researched but does have its’ share of weaknesses.
It’s no secret that some women believe fashion portrays who they are. Therefore follow every season’s new trend. This leads to spending money that they don’t have. Waller Lea, a journalist, suggest that “for some communities, purchasing knockoffs or generic products are frowned upon, forcing minorities to spend more money. Now businesses and companies are targeting minorities, causing more debt problems.” Addicted to retail or brainwashed? Opponents claim that fashion is simply a creative way to express themselves. There are others ways to express ourselves that are no based on our appearance. Through drawing, painting or through our thoughts and ideas. What happens when someone can’t afford expensive clothing or doesn’t have access to fashionable clothes? They are singled out and excluded from society for being different.
In the early 1800s, France was the sole fashion capital of the world; everyone who was anyone looked towards Paris for inspiration (DeJean, 35). French fashion authority was not disputed until the late twentieth century when Italy emerged as a major fashion hub (DeJean, 80). During the nineteenth century, mass produced clothing was beginning to be marketed and the appearance of department stores was on the rise (Stearns, 211). High fashion looks were being adapted and sold into “midlevel stores” so that the greater public could have what was once only available to the social elite (DeJean, 38). People were obsessed with expensive fashions; wealthy parents were advised not the let their children run around in expensive clothing. People would wait for children dressed in expensive clothing to walk by and then they would kidnap them and steal their clothes to sell for money (DeJean, 39). Accessories were another obsession of France‘s fashion; they felt no outfit was complete without something like jewelry or a shrug to finish off the look and make it all around polished (DeJean, 61). As designers put lines together, marketing began to become important to fashion in the nineteenth century; fashion plates came into use as a way to show off fashion l...
The fashion movement of the 1960’s was a cultural one, incomparable to any other. Not only did we see a change in the way people dressed, but there was also a change in the way people thought and chose to live. Empowered by its nature of deliberate actions, this cultural rebellion fueled the uprising that burned in the hearts of America’s youth for many years to follow.
The textile manufacturing industry is one of the biggest industries in the world that is currently worth nearly three thousand trillion dollars. The industry is constantly growing with the wants from consumers around the world. In order to meet and satisfy these wants from customer, “Development in the textile and clothing industry has focused on technological and cost aspects. Emphasis has been placed on keeping the price of the final product low and increasing efficiency in production.” (Niinimaki & Hassi, 2010, p. 1876) At the same time, with this expansion of the textile manufacturing industry and its consumption, pollution, climate change, fossil fuel and raw material depletion, and water pollution and shortage are constantly occurring
It is certain that people are getting more used to wasting products that are still reliable to use and, especially in fashion, not that many people are aware of the concept of sustainability. Although concept of recycling paper, plastic and glass has now spread a cross the states, people still doesn’t know how to recycle or reuse their clothing. “65 pounds of clothing and textiles a year are improperly discarded and only an eight of that goes to charities for reuse [1].” This indicates how unaware people are when it comes to taking care of their garments. Or rather, the way in which fast fashion industry promotes the value of cloth is very low, and it is because the fashion industry wants people to get rid of their clothing as soon as possible in order to sell their new colle...
Gardner, Marilyn. "Fast Fashion Is a Problem." The Fashion Industry. Ed. Roman Espejo. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "Fashion Industry Gives Rise to a 'Disposable Culture, '." The Christian Science Monitor. 2007. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 22 Nov.
Fashion in the 21st century is a big business, as its production employs millions of people and generates billions of dollars in revenue. Fashion has for the past century been, and is still today, used as an indicator of social change and progress, as it changes with the social norms of the society and the political changes of the world (Finkelstein 3). Works Cited Finkelstein, Joanne. A.S.A. & Co. Fashion: An Introduction to Fashion. New York: New York University Press, 1998.
Fashion is a word that can mean many different things. To some it means what models wear on the runway. To others, fashion means the clothing styles that people wear on a daily basis. A good place to start this discussion would be to define what Fast Fashion is; it is the rapid conversion of design trends into multi-channel volume.
This cloth recycling process is known as the “Indian shoddy industry (where clothing is completely destroyed in order to permit the reclamation of its constituent fibres)”(Norris). A modernized and westernized India has seen a growth in western name brand clothing such as Levi’s Strauss & Co. Jeans, and other brand name clothing that are favored by adolescents of western society, and have gained increasing popularity amongst Indian adolescents as well. Western clothing has become so popular in India that its own government now considers it a part of traditional Indian clothing. This is a clear example of India's loss of culture as foreign brands are becoming more prevalent within the Indian mainstream. Not only has western clothing such as jeans and t-shirts been accepted into the Indian mainstream, but India itself has delved into the clothing and fashion industry with the creation of new designer brands that perfectly capture western clothing styles.