Social media and overconsumption

Overconsumption: 

In the late 90s to early 2000s, viewers of the media looked to celebrities, magazines, and fashion shows to see what was in style. The group of people influencing the public was a very small percentage, which led to trends lasting years before they declined. Due to the rise of social media, microtrends are created daily, and only last around 3 months. As the media’s audience struggles to purchase clothing to follow the trends, viewers end up neglecting or throwing out the clothes as the trend declines, which leads to overconsumption. An average American throws out around 80 pounds of clothing every year. To put that into perspective, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 26 billion pounds of textiles end up in landfills each year. The environmental impact of fast fashion brands is not worth the low prices.

sales by convincing their audience that they are a good cause to support. The main forms of greenwashing, according to the UK’s Competition and Market Authority, include companies identifying items as "recycled" or "organic" when the percentage of materials this relates to is relatively low, and brands promoting limited, seemingly sustainable capsule collections in a way that indicates their whole range is sustainable. 

How to shop trends and be sustainable:

Many companies have realized that a good product is not what all consumers are looking for now. Products should also align with personal values. 

Before you invest in a clothing brand, research to see if they are sustainable. A helpful resource is the website, https://goodonyou.eco/, which provides ratings and further research on how ethical a fashion company is.