I am of the opinion that fashion trends need to be banned as a solution to quell our insatiable overconsumption. And not just fashion trends but trends overall, including interior design trends, sport equipment trends and consumer electronics trends.
Feel personally attacked? Well, let me explain why I am of such a steep opinion. You might be surprised how many of my reasonings actually come with you and your wellbeing in mind. Because overconsumption will in fact be the doom of us all very soon indeed.
This article will focus on the individual consumer’s point of view because as a collective we have enormous power. But I do emphasize that the final responsibility for genuine change is on the brands and their supply-chains. I’m going to justify my views from multiple angles: personal, political as well as economic. So, let’s dig in!
How trends accelerate overconsumption
You know the drill: a fast fashion brand churns out a new collection of 100 clothing pieces each week. This collection is marketed as a “must have!” because otherwise you’re out of step with eeeeveryone else on this planet. And because the pieces are ridiculously cheap you go: “Why not?”
All of a sudden you have a wardrobe full of clothes. Some of them don’t fit, others you don’t actually like and most of them you’ve already worn once so that’s that. Now, is that reasonable behaviour that should be expected from supposedly the most intelligent species on this planet?
No, it sure isn’t! But it also isn’t your own doing.
- You would never behave that way unless you were psychologically manipulated to do so.
- That’s why trends are based on psychological urgency.
- The whole industry manipulates you via social media influencers to make you buy shit that you don’t even want if you stop and think about it.
And if that wasn’t enough, all the pieces are such low quality that they will fall apart in no time. Which then means another “urgent” shopping spree. As a result, if I asked you what your personal style is like, you couldn’t tell me.
You’ve allowed an abusive industry to dictate how you dress so you have no clue how you would actually dress yourself. I say fashion trends need to be banned entirely to bring some sense back to how we actually shop and express ourselves through fashion.
More on the topic: Unique Style is Better Than Being ‘Trendy’ – Here’s Why!
Why trends need to be banned?
The previous chapter was the personal angle I promised. But there are actually more pressing matters that trends are to blame for. Like the alarming state of this planet and its capacity to sustain us. Yes, putting it bluntly, when this planet doesn’t have resources to offer us anymore, we cease to exist. It’s that simple! You can’t eat or drink AI algorithms, can you?
For us to have even a glimpse of hope, fashion trends need to be banned along with all other trends. In addition to the harm trends do on a personal level, these reasons make my opinion pretty damn valid (even if I say so myself):
1. This planet can’t sustain overconsumption
We are all aware of the ecological issues that producing polyester clothes (which cover 70% of the global clothing production) entail. We also know about the massive issue called fashion waste: landfills full of toxic chemical clothing spilling over into our oceans.
Yet we think it’s all so far away from us! Actually that toxic chemical clothing is already on your plate. So no, it’s not just something bad happening far away, it’s in your house. And you’re willingly poisoning yourself while adding more toxic pollution into our soil and seas every time you throw a batch of clothes away or return them.
We know that rapid trend cycles use this planet’s – aka our – resources way beyond sustainable limits. By ‘resources’ I mean drinking water, land that could be used for farming instead, and people. We’re at the deep end of the damage now so we need quick and radical solutions. Which is why I say fashion trends need to be banned!
2. We must reduce pollution and microplastics release NOW
The ‘poisoning of yourself’ that I mentioned in the previous chapter is referring to microplastics. They are already an irreversible nuisance in our food system and drinking water. That’s a direct impact of overconsumption driven by trends.
Fashion trends need to be banned because it would drastically slow down consumption. This would force fast fashion brands to lower production volume, which automatically cuts emissions across the whole supply-chain: manufacturing, transport and disposal.
See how we consumers actually have a lot of power? Once we shop less, brands produce less. When we shop less but better (because we know our personal style) we don’t discard garments like we used to. That means less dye and chemical discharge and fewer microfibers entering our ecosystems.
3. Textile waste and incineration are already a huge problem
Which leads us nicely to my next point: textile waste! The main source of microplastics in our food. Fashion waste isn’t limited to just overflowing landfills, oh no. We also have “luxury brands” incinerating unsold garments and accessories which for the past 10 years haven’t been made of leather but plastic as well.
So, we don’t just have plastic waste in our food but also toxic fumes created from burning plastic clothing floating in the air we breathe. Again banning trends is an automatic way to reduce waste because it would allow us to get back to seeing the value in durability and our own style instead.
Read also: Returning a Broken Luxury Bag – Here’s How It Went
4. We can’t allow labor and supply-chain abuse in the 2020’s
We’re living in the 2020’s with all the information all over the world available to us at our fingertips. Sorry babe, you can’t say you didn’t know about the human trafficking, physical and mental abuse as well as the dodging of labor laws in the countries where your cheap clothes are made.
Biggest fast fashion consumers are well educated middle class people who make enough money to afford to make better choices in life. They know what they’re doing is harmful, yet they choose to continue to do so. That right there is the ultimate privilege!
Because privilege = choices. And if you, despite having the knowledge and the ability to choose what you spend your money on, choose fast fashion… Well, you are a bad human being.
Sure, not all responsibility rests on consumers, absolutely not! But as consumers we have collective power to dictate how much shit these brands produce. At the same time we really need to demand more supply-chain transparency!
Fashion trends need to be banned because that combined with pressure on the supply-chain can create a rapid change for the better!
5. Supporting circularity and durable design deserve a comeback
My mum grew up in the 1960’s and 70’s, and back then shopping second hand was seen as ‘poor people behaviour’. High quality durable clothing that could be re-styled again and again was a sign of prosperity. And of course clothing repair was an obvious skill that everyone had. The question is when did this tip to its head?
When did something that costs 0,50€£$ become worth having? I mean, it literally has no value whatsoever! And let’s be honest, none of us look prosperous in those dish cloths ordered in bulk from Shein…
But as long as fashion brands see creating bad quality clothing as profitable, we can’t expect much of a change. Small steps are already being taken politically for example in the European Union. They have just banned incinerating unsold stock and are now working on a directive called Right to Repair.
Directives like that give a strong incentive to consumers and fashion brands to buy/create durable designs. And more importantly, designs that can be repaired, reused, resold and recycled rather than disposed of.
6. Tackling the high economic price of overconsumption
Fashion trends need to be banned not just for the sake of the planet, but also for our sake. Or at least for our wallets’ sake! While fashion is ridiculously cheap, you’re fooled to think that you’re saving money #girlmath. But when you constantly order more to stay up to date with all the trends you actually waste a lot more money than you would without the trends.
By removing trends we remove the constant “buy now” imperative. Then you can finally take your time and consider what you’re actually buying. Does it suit you, does it fit you, is it you?
When you buy with a quality-first mindset you actually spend less in the long run. Yes, even if the price tag is many times bigger (excluding “luxury” brand items!) That price actually reflects the value of the item, and that value is the durability. Wouldn’t you want the clothes you love to last?
7. Money has no value but culture and craftsmanship does
And talking about value, that’s the ultimate scam: convincing us that cheap shit is valuable. Not valuable in terms of money, obviously! But in terms of status or being part of a certain collective. I’m sorry (not sorry) to break the bubble: dressing cheap is just that, cheap.
We’ve been brainwashed so effectively that we think a factory-made Chanel bag truly is worth 10 000€£$. Of course it isn’t! If it was still made by actual human hands, then it could be worth thousands, but still not 10 000€£$. So, where does this valuation come from?
From your imagination. Yes, that’s literally it. It’s the age-old story of diamonds and how they were branded not for their value but for profit. It’s all just great marketing that still works on us today.
In reality diamonds have a human cost that greatly exceeds their market value, which is completely made up. Same goes for “luxury brands” in the 21st century.
We live in a world where we no longer understand what is valuable and what isn’t. Isn’t it time we woke up? It’s time to revive appreciation for timeless design and craftsmanship, which are valuable skills. There’s absolutely no value in mass-produced novelty! But it seems that trends need to be banned for us to remember that…
How could trends be banned?
You’ve probably thought to yourself already how we could possibly ban fashion trends? Well, I’ve thought about this as well! Without going too much into detail, here’s a rough idea of what needs to be done:
- Tighter regulation and restrictions on fashion brands’ marketing that encourages, even badgers us to buy new, new, new all the time. For example drop models and push notifications could be banned or heavily restricted.
- Forcing brands to create garments and accessories with a minimum durability requirements and possibility to repair broken pieces easily. Fines or other sanctions could be imposed on those brands that fail to comply with these requirements.
- Brands must publish clear, transparent and authenticated reports of their supply-chains: who does what and at which cost? This would make keeping track of their environmental footprints and lifecycle information possible (which it isn’t now…)
- Taxing or capping production volumes and virgin textile inputs would act as strong incentives towards better recycling and using regenerative materials. Production caps would probably be a better option because extra taxes are usually just pushed on the customers.
- Supporting brands in moving towards a circular infrastructure. This means that fashion brands need to organise accessible repair services, as well as textile collection and processing. Right now only 1% of the clothes you take to fast fashion stores for recycling is actually recycled.
Capitalism can exist but not as an unregulated shit-show that it has been for the past five years. And it’s still getting worse! Fashion trends need to be banned as the first step to tackle the shit-show before it’s way too late.
Conclusion – How to live without trends?
If you’ve grown up consuming mindlessly by following the latest trends, this article has probably shocked you. To ban fashion trends is like banning all joy from life! But if you really think about it, do you even enjoy shopping? Like, really? Adding random pieces into the online basket, most of which you know you won’t keep, isn’t exactly an experience, is it?
I’m not going to say you need to stop cold. Instead, how about trying out a new way of shopping? Just try it for a month, let’s say. You could try it out and see if you actually find more joy in the shopping experience once you actually put a bit of thought into it. Like this:
- The first step is to figure out what is your personal style? You’ve dressed in enough clothes surely by now to know which styles complement your body and which don’t.
- Once you know what you’re actually looking for and find the perfect piece, STOP. You can add it in the basket but sleep on it. Consider do you actually want it? Where will you wear it and what will you wear it with? Is it something you want to wear long-term? When you love the pieces you buy, you end up buying less but better quality. TIP: prioritise timeless silhouettes.
- Although it’s nowadays pretty difficult, try to find pieces that are made of natural or recycled materials. This takes a bit of research because most brands are deep in the greenwashing ditch. But it’s worth it: natural fabrics are a million times better for your skin and the planet.
- When you buy better, you can repair, tailor or swap those pieces. Or sell them in secondhand stores, which no longer accept low quality shit from Shein (go figure…)
Will you give it a try and shop less but better from now on? ♥
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