What Influencers can do about Fast Fashion
By Clare Boegel
With the rapid growth of the world that exists within the internet and social media, new types of jobs and actors have recently emerged. The concept of an influencer, someone who makes money from social media marketing, changes how people shop. Especially in fashion, influencers help decide what is trendy and what to buy each season.
Influencers have great ability by nature of their following to change how people perceive the world around them, societal expectations, and even self-perception. With this inherent power over peoples’ perception of what is good versus bad, influencers have a responsibility to represent positivity and good consumption patterns.
The current state of influencers in fashion is perpetrating an idea of no “outfit repeats”, an idea that someone should only wear an outfit, or even a piece of clothing one time. Far more often than not, influencers will only post one picture of an outfit or them wearing a piece. This is problematic for a few reasons.
First, the number of resources that go into making one garment contrasted with the treatment of the garment as a single-use product is unsustainable. At that rate consumption habits in fashion alone would be catastrophic for the environment in terms of pollution and resource use. Secondly, most people cannot afford to purchase an entirely new outfit for each day of the year. This “no outfit repeats system” makes people feel bad and ostracized from society for actually doing what is best for themselves and the environment. Finally, the quick movement from garment to garment each season has created a trend cycle where clothes become unfashionable within months of introduction. This is part of a larger issue of fast fashion, that clothes are not made high-quality, or to last. They are meant to be briefly worn and thrown away. Fast fashion leads to clothing brands who profit off exploited workers, who are often women and children, and unethical production methods that pollute and harm the environment.
Influencers, especially those who are well established, must take responsibility for their role in this larger issue. With their ability to change public opinion, influencers are in the unique position where they can help play a major role in changing the fashion narrative. Transitioning away from fast fashion will require help from these influencers to make outfit repeating, high-quality, and ethical products the newest trend.