Week 1 - Be Green

Week 1 (BLOG #1)

Fara Suiza

ASA141

April 28

When the Be Green Challenge was initially introduced, I wasn't entirely fazed by it. Buying new clothes is not a thing I do on a whim. The only time I really buy new clothes is when I'm with my mother and sister since we use shopping as a way to bond when all of us are together, but with both my sister and I in separate colleges now, the idea of shopping for clothes has not been on my mind since the Christmas holidays. However, it was only recently that I felt like the Green challenge may pose to be an actual challenge when I saw that one of the brands I'm trying to support Privé Alliance, which is luxury streetwear, announced they were having a sale. Now, what is usually $80-$100, it is only around $50-$80, which is a great deal for me. 

However, this class has made me question the ethics behind big and small brands. For instance, Privé Alliance is considered affordable luxury, and because of this, I expect their ethics to be better than those of retailers such as Forever 21. When buying clothes, I do think of the long-run. For instance, when thinking about sustainability, I often choose clothes that I know will last, even if it comes at a higher cost. In the article "Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands" by Annamma Joy, she argues that fast fashion is "low-cost clothing collections based on current, high-cost luxury fashion trends". This includes places like Forever 21 and H&M. Before taking this class, I already had negative feelings towards Forever 21 because their clothes often ripped, faded, or simply wore out too fast, which was NOT a trade-off I could swallow despite spending between $17-$20 per clothing item. 

Fast fashion is not sustainable, but thee desire to keep up with trends is creating a consequence that the planet cannot keep up with. However, one of the focuses of thee Green challenge is to reuse or borrow clothing for this period of time. In a YouTube video by The Economist titled "The True Cost of Fast Fashion", they address the unsustainability of fast fashion (with the biggest culprits being big brands like Forever 21 and H&M), however, the alternatives to helping slow down the waste created by individual needs to keep up in trend IS to borrow clothes from one another. and reuse the articles of clothing we have.

Because of this, I am a little swayed to buy the Privé clothes now despite the fact that they are on sale; however, because I know that more expensive goods tend to have more ethical standards behind closed doors, I can’t stay I will feel bad if I do buy Privé in the future.

CITATION

Annamma Joy, John F. Sherry Jr, Alladi Venkatesh, Jeff Wang & Ricky Chan (2012) Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands, Fashion Theory, 16:3, 273-295, DOI: 10.2752/175174112X13340749707123

"The true cost of fast fashion | The Economist." Youtube, uploaded by The Economist, 29 November 2018, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfNUD0-8ts