How is fast fashion consumption patterns in younger generations link to textiles qualities and their effect on the environment?
Introduction
In today's economy, everyone loves a deal or sale of some sort; who does not? Everything seems so expensive, and we are always looking for budget-friendly necessities. Even with cheap price tags, what other costs are we paying that is not currency?
Fast Fashion has begun to skyrocket in the global market. The reason clothing can be made so quickly and cheap is because of labor costs. In countries all over the globe, it is legal for factories considered as “sweatshops” to be operational even with poor working conditions and mass consumption of a variety of resources such as water and plastics. It provides clothing for a small price and certain brands attempt to keep up with fashion trends. As a result, this type of business is very marketable to younger generations through social media and other methods of technology. Fast fashion is categorized as “liner fashion.” Rather than the fabrics being reused or recycled, they are tossed away into landfills. This aspect of the fashion industry is so embedded in our economy that some companies that are mass producing products and we do not even realize it; as a result, it ends up harming the environment on a large scale.
Literature Review
73% of clothing ends up in landfills and less than 1% is recycled into new clothing in addition to clothing production being doubled in the last 15 years (Moorhouse, 2020).
Per capita fiber consumption almost tripled from 1950 to 2008, increasing from 3.7 kg to 10.4 kg per person. In addition, from 2007 to 2014, textile fiber production increased by an additional 20.2 million tons to 90.8 million tons, and this number is expected to grow by 3.7% compounded annually (Bailey, Basu, Sharma, 2022).
The fashion industry is responsible for the consumption of 79 trillion liters of water annually, contributing to about 20% of industrial wastewater (Bailey, Basu, Sharma, 2022).
The United Nations names the fashion industry as the second most polluting of all industries, resulting in 8% of all carbon emissions and 20% of all global wastewater in August 2021.
Fast fashion is categorized as “liner fashion.” Rather than the fabrics being reused or recycled, they are tossed away into landfills.
Fast fashion satisfies customers’ demand of short term quality and style, keeping prices low and reducing the time cycles from production to consumption (Mason, Pauluzzo, Umar, 2022).
Generation Y, individuals are known to be a highly consumption-oriented group characterized by low price sensitivity, hedonism, high purchasing power, fashion awareness, and technological literacy (Mason, Pauluzzo, Umar, 2022).
Research Objectives
In this research project, the goal is to highlight the trends that are in adolescents and analyze their consumption rate and compare how much waste is generated. The data that will be collect will be based on patterns and trends taking place in a common demographic (college students and other adolescents). The goal is to examine distinct factors that can affect the population’s consumption and waste management ways such as
income
certain opinions on environmental issues
social media influence, and more
Justification
The methods that are going to take place will be made sure to include populations of all backgrounds and different demographics. If the populations being tested are expanded, it will yield more accurate results pertaining to the research study. To achieve the most accurate data collection, the target want is to gather information from people from all backgrounds and interests such as people whose passion is the fashion industry to people who could not care at all about clothing to grasp at common themes. In addition, to ensure that the data itself is valid, it is key to structure the surveys and interview questions to be unbiased and open-minded. The goal is to steer away from leading questions and to gather information without a skewed intention of the researcher.
SURVEY
Broad patterns that are happening in the population
Connecting certain similarities and identifying what outlying factors are in place
INTERVIEW
Perspectives that go beyond statistics and numbers such as opinions and personal lives
Experiences and reasons as to why the populations do what they do
References
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