Confessions of a modern consumerist: why can’t we resist fast fashion?

Dear diary,

trying to find clothes in a sale is like entering the hunger games. You have to be prepared to sift through the rails quickly and clutch onto your basket as someone reaches over your head. Today I was shopping in Norwich, and I saw a woman clear a rail of clothes as if she was spring-cleaning. I witnessed her husband rolling his eyes as another handbag went into the basket. There were frantic eyes of sales-assistants waiting to see which customers they could prey on. The shop music was interrupted by scanners beeping and ‘that will be £100 please, cash or card?’ Meanwhile, I kept my head low and admired tiny neon handbags. I would pick one up – look at it – then quickly put it down. I imagined this tiny £3 bag in a new Instagram picture, someone might comment ‘I LOVE that bag’. Or maybe people wouldn’t care.

I didn’t need to buy it though.

Actually, I find myself asking more these days – do I need to buy anything? The cost of living is increasing and a student food shop is nearing £30 a week. Yet, I live in a society where we are inclined to look our best at all times. So, the pressure to buy clothes means it can be hard to ration my spending.

I rarely ask though – where do my clothes come from? I bought a top from ZARA and the sequins came off within a day. I exchanged it in the store as there were hundreds of the same style. During this exchange, I was only thinking about myself. As a consumer I need to conform to the latest look at my own financial cost – but, perhaps it is at the expense of others as well.

Dear diary,

Fast food, fast cars and fast fashion all have something in common. They are accessible to us quickly, making our lives easier. Our society thrives off anything that short-cuts a lot of effort required. In terms of fashion, it means retail companies mass-produce catwalk trends for a cheap price. But these clothes are not from a sustainable business model. Factories or sweat shops are set up in places where there are lax labour laws. As a result, hundreds of garments can be quickly made, whilst exploiting the workers.

However, fashion companies are good at disguising their secrets. This makes it hard to know what brands to avoid. Every company website has a ‘mission statement’ that claims they are environmentally friendly. The question is, are these statements impactful or just empty promises?

Zara, owned by Inditex, claim they will be sustainable by 2025. No-one needs a BA Fashion Marketing degree to realise 3 years to re-build a business model seems inauthentic. The store has more than 20 collections each season so it could be highly unlikely Zara will risk losing money over sustainability. Then, H&M have a clothes recycling programme – but what happens to clothes that can’t be recycled? They would be burnt in excess inventory, which is wasteful. When you start to look closely at companies, the frays show and the sequins fall off.

Dear diary,

I’ve been invited to 5 Christmas parties this year! The pressure is on to buy different outfits, even if it is expensive. It is tempting when in the recent Black Friday sales, Pretty Little Thing were selling dresses for 5p (this isn’t a joke). Therefore, I could buy 5 dresses for 25p. The maths is correct but it still doesn’t add up.

It is a fact that the exploitation of workers has been happening across the U.K. The Times went undercover to a Boohoo warehouse which was described as an ‘aircraft hangar-sized facility’. No-one would guess that inside workers described themselves as slaves. There seems to be a theme with the disposability of fast fashion applying to the clothes and employees. Is our society stooping this low for a party outfit? It all seems rather disturbing.

Dear diary,

I logged onto SHEIN’s website and a kaleidoscope of colours filled my brain. It’s easy to be lured in to buying something as each page is coated in layers of addictive clothes. When I clicked on ‘latest trends’, I noticed they looked different to last weeks? I just bought a pair of loose, cargo trousers as it was a popular look at university. And now models filled my screen wearing leather style trousers. I always feel one step behind buying clothes. (Then, I spilt coffee onto my pyjamas and made myself feel worse!)

The pressure to look on trend is another reason why my shopping habits are hard to change. Recently, Hubbub did a survey that showed 41% of 18–25-year-olds feel inclined to wear different outfits. Fashion brands aim their demographic towards this age as they know they can lure in customers more easily.

SHEIN, set up in 2015, is one of the biggest ultra-fast fashion companies. Yes, ultra-fast fashion is another sector of the industry where clothes are mass produced even quicker. By 2030 there could be drones dropping clothes into our back gardens. SHEIN is a relatively new business – but highly successful – showing fast fashion is a growing trend. On the SHEIN website, they state that their customers are ‘on phones, online and social media’. When I go onto Instagram, there are fashion influencers advertising the clothes. SHIEN are notorious for using young content creators to promote their products. These further fuels my image of what people my age should look like and be wearing.

Pandora Sykes, journalist and author of ‘how do we know we’re doing it right?’ wrote an essay on the obsession of clothes. Sykes talks about ‘Cinderella Syndrome’ (avoidance of being seen in an outfit twice) and how this started during the early 00s. It was a ‘seismic time for pop culture’ and gave rise to fashion stars such as Paris Hilton. I’d argue the start of this celebrity obsession with what others are wearing only became stronger with social media. With Instagram, it’s easy to see what styles are popular and who is wearing them. It is an exciting generation that is full of culture but also a lot of pressure. My life sometimes can feel like I’m trying to look like the shop mannequins or the plastic presenter on the TV.

Dear diary,

A friend of mine told me they considered being a ‘fashion influencer’. It doesn’t sound like a proper career but it is nevertheless a growing digital business. The endless hashtags, promo codes and haul videos on my feed prove that the world is changing. There are less posts about activism but more ‘look at this top that went viral on Tik Tok’. Arguably, this is about the accounts I choose to follow and influencer marketing is a good consumer tactic. Even though celebrities such as Love Island winner, Molly-Mae could afford sustainable clothes, she still promotes fast fashion. Her followers are more likely to engage with her content if she wears more relatable brands than clothes that are too expensive.

Personally, I will be more willing to buy a top from the high street if my favourite celebrity wears it. Seeing someone famous in a H&M top is a statement saying that high street fashion is wearable for the rich. Perhaps, part of the problem is our societies need to pedestal celebrities and take inspiration from them. Or, maybe digital media is not ready for total sustainable activism? Sophia Li, who is a journalist and influencer posts about her ‘journey’ to shopping better. Her account doesn’t claim to promote total sustainability but more about how she is learning to work towards it. I would argue this is the relatable content that more influencers should follow. A lot of young consumers ‘influence’ off ‘influencers and this new marketing bazaar of fast fashion seems tempting to go to.

Dear diary,

All my friends were chatting today about the new Lucy & Yak store that opened in Norwich City Centre. This brand started in 2017 by Lucy Greenwood who initially made handmade clothes from a camper van with her partner. The right ethics are there but it still isn’t affordable.

People recognise Lucy and Yak’s funky, corduroy dungarees and colourful beanies. The shop has bright pink doors that lead you into a world of organic fabrics and soft materials. However, the ‘best-selling dungarees’ on the website are £59 and it’s hard to find clothes under £35. That being said, it’s not the most expensive brand as sustainable Levi’s cost £87 for their straight leg jeans. I’d argue that as a student I have to find cheaper ways to be sustainable.

Dear diary,

My main winter addiction is buying coats. If I could, I would buy a different one for each day in the month. I recently bought a Mango coat off the app ‘Vinted’ for £12 – it would have originally cost around £50. Yes, it might not be the latest trend or newly made but it hasn’t been chucked to a landfill dump. It was a cheaper alternative!

Vinted is a growing trend for consumers. It is an online market place where you can sell or exchange second hand clothes. There are other apps as well such as Depop or eBay which offer a chance for people to sell beloved items. People can download an app at the press of a button without having to trek their items to a car boot sale. Then, a potential buyer could be mindlessly scrolling in bed and all it takes is one click for a transaction to be made,

The hardest part I find about shopping sustainably is changing my mindset that everything I wear has to fit the latest trends. There’s a pressure to post Instagram pictures and comments such as ‘didn’t you wear that yesterday?’ circulate around friends. This makes it harder to change habits as the popular clothes are fast fashion. However, the rise in second-hand shopping apps such as Vinted, Depop and eBay fuels the online shopping void temporarily.

Dear diary,

This is my last confession. Growing up, one of my favourite films was 2009’s Confessions of a Shopaholic (based off the Sophie Kinsella books). My favourite scene was where the protagonist walked past the shops and the mannequins would start dancing to entice her into the world of clothes. This is a visual which shows the psychological aspect of shopping. It is easy it is to be sucked into a store, even when on a studying break in the city. This film is timelier than ever with the need to be lured into spending more. But my attitudes are evolving towards fashion.

For the future, I do think factory workers need to be protected and that more laws should be in place to monitor workers. Fast fashion brands should continue to be exposed for their exploitation of employees. Hopefully, this leads to re-building business models and realistic ideas about the future of fashion. I want to support brands that are going to change and not lie to the consumer.

As a student, I have to budget my finances. The point of these confessions wasn’t to try and make myself perfect. Sometimes, I need to go Primark for a few cheap jumpers over a more sustainable one. That’s not to say I won’t be aware of my habits – it is just a matter of balance.

No, I’m not going to unfollow brands from my Instagram or boycott my spending. Realistically, the small steps I take and the knowledge I build will make a difference. And if there’s a reader, confessing your habit’s might make you realise what needs to change as well.