Sustainable Fashion vs. Consumer Culture

TRANSCRIPT:

Christina Thompson (Anchor, EarthxNews): We live in a world driven by consumerism, and some might say, “just buy less.” But that’s a concept that may be difficult to embrace, especially in the fashion industry. The very nature of the business is to create new trends—all with the goal of encouraging shoppers to buy more. That’s despite various warnings that shopping is no good for mother nature. So, will shoppers ever care about the destruction to the planet?

Joining us now to discuss is TV news and fashion host, Katrina Szish. Katrina, thank you for coming on.

We’re talking today about the global apparel consumption right now. It is at 62 million tons per year, and it is not stopping! It’s poised to hit 102 million tons by 2030—almost doubling. Why is this?

Katrina Szish: It’s incredible because there are so many elements of fashion production—from merchandising, from textiles—that all include water. Some include plastics, and it’s just nearly impossible to keep up with the waste product that is a result of all of the fashion production.

Basically, the production is outpacing the removal of the waste and the landfills. And it’s nearly impossible to keep up.

Christina Thompson: So, some fashion industry observers who are trying to change this, they say that the messaging that’s being used about sustainable fashion is just too boring. Do you think that’s true?

Katrina Szish: I think that can be an element, but, to be honest, I really think that—as you mentioned in the beginning of the segment—we are a consumer driven culture. And, beyond that, our brains are literally wired to enjoy consumption. Dopamine is actually released into our brain when we’re shopping, when we purchase something new, when we put on something that makes us feel good. So this isn’t simply about consumers saying, “gosh I really want to save the planet so I’m going to change my buying habits.” This is something that would require pretty much an entire rewiring of our society’s brains and behaviors, and I believe that that is the biggest reason that we’re not seeing a lot of forward momentum with this issue.

Christina Thompson: Next time my fiancé comments on how I went shopping, I’m just going to use that excuse—my brain is wired for it!

Katrina Szish: Retail therapy is a phrase for a reason, and it’s true!

Christina Thompson: I’m just kidding, but recently I have seen some pretty prominent influencers and fashion icons—they’re re-wearing and repurposing vintage designer pieces. For example, Kendall Jenner is pretty well known for this. I’ve seen her photographed multiple times stepping out in vintage fashion. One piece, I’m thinking of a ’90s Dolce & Gabbana skirt that she wore as a dress.

Does this give you some hope that repurposing pieces will one day become the norm?

Katrina Szish: I think more and more we are seeing people either shopping their own closets, doing clothing swaps with friends, going back to vintage, archival, iconic items. And there’s definitely a cool factor associated with that. So I think that is something that more and more fashion lovers—and people in general—will embrace. But, again, that’s not something that’s completely new. But I think now we may see people doing it for different reasons than they did before.

Christina Thompson: And, Katrina, your advice to the consumer who wants to be sustainability-minded, sustainability-conscious, but they do… I mean we do need to shop, right? You might have kids that are growing up. You might need to buy them new clothes. Your size might be changing. What’s your advice to them?

Katrina Szish: I would say… Go along with what I would say is called “fashion math.” Buying the cheapest of fast fashion may seem like a good idea at the time, but then what that does is it drives you then to buy more and buy more and buy more. And a lot of those items are the ones that are not environmentally friendly. So, if you’re going to buy a piece say, a sweater, invest in the best cashmere sweater, for example, that you can buy. And then you’re going to wear that sweater, say, a hundred times. And then you’re actually going to end up calculating, say, in your mind the cost of that sweater. Say it’s a $100 sweater. You wear it 200 times. Well, guess what? You’re going to be actually doing pretty well on that fashion math, rather than buying one thing for 20 bucks at a fast fashion store that you wore once and throw it away.

So, it’s about quality, not quantity. And you’re going to look better, and you’ll also feel better.

Christina Thompson: Katrina, what’s your hope for the future? When we look out and we see the photos of the landfills, we see all the items the fast fashion that’s being discarded, what’s your hope for both the environment and also the fashion industry?

Katrina Szish: I really hope that first, the fashion industry doesn’t have to curtail its creativity. I hope that consumers don’t have to give up that literal brain rush—that dopamine rush. What I do hope to happen is that, on the back end, the manufacturing side—uh, also the way clothes are produced and the materials with which they are produced—I really hope that on the manufacturing side… Again, on the back end—that’s where those dramatic changes happen. And it doesn’t compromise the creativity or the fun of fashion.

Christina Thompson: Katrina Szish, thank you so much for your expertise.