We live in two societies, reality and digital. One, where we are constantly perceived in the digital landscape, moments, and outfits, forever immortalized. We fear our digital footprints, including our digital lookbooks.
As I traverse through SoHo, my journey is all but smooth as I encounter sidewalks obstructed by long lines for stores like “Edikted” and “Brandy Melville”. I see brown paper shopping bags that make me think that the brand iconography printed on it might as well say “We just sold you the illusion of sustainability”. Every day, there are more fast fashion clothes rotting in landfills, than there are in stores, on racks, in closets, or on bodies. You might as well use that same brown shopping bag to throw away that “must-have” $50 top (that you’re only going to wear to one concert), at least then you would be reducing, reusing, and recycling. In a world where second-hand luxury is called “thrift” despite the price tag being higher than what I have in my bank account, the actual current thrifting state is fast fashion’s rest stop before its final destination, the landfill. How do we combat over-consumerism in this all consuming world of late-stage capitalism? What is the answer to keeping clothes out of landfills and achieving sustainable and affordable fashion? Have we had these answers all along?
The fast fashion industry, according to the UN Environment Programme, makes up 10% of global carbon emissions and is the second largest consumer of water. Fast fashion production emits as much carbon as the 27 European Union countries. Without interventions, by 2030 the rate of emissions is said to increase by 60%, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Boston University, reports that Americans discard more than 34 billion pounds of textiles, which is equal to 100 pounds of textile waste per person.
Additionally, people of higher socioeconomic standing are 76% more likely to waste clothes compared to people of lower socioeconomic status. The clothing of rich people ends up in landfills that are 2.8 times more likely to be located in proximity to BIPOC, marginalized, and/or lower socioeconomic communities, who are at greater risk of suffering adverse health outcomes from the decomposition of wasted clothing. The impact of fashion waste is more than just clothes ending up in landfills. Communities, wildlife, and the environment are curdling and collapsing right before your eyes as you decide to blindly throw away your clothes. You can’t be an “overconsumption, micro trendy, cutesy, fashion person” when the globe is so deleteriously warmed to the point where you can’t wear any clothes. The good news is, you already have everything you need to become a more sustainable fashionista.
The fear of impending doom because of climate change is more rational than the fear of being labeled as an outfit repeater. Take a moment, and reflect on these questions: What is truly stopping you from wearing an outfit again, even though there is a picture on Instagram showing you have already worn it?
Outfit repeating is the first step towards living a more sustainable life. Wearing and appreciating the clothes that you have is an act of sustainability. Every time you resist the urge to fall victim to a mindset that clothes can just be discarded, you resist the urge to fall victim to overconsumption. We must tune out the noise from an industry that upholds unsustainable and unethical production practices. I am a huge proponent of creating multiple outfits using one piece of clothing. Be creative and have fun when repeating or recreating, and feel that you are making a difference in the environment, and in your wallet. Make attempts at trying to shop slowly, strategically, sustainably, and ethically. Buy clothes that will be able to stand the tests of time so that you can wear them for years to come. Outfit repeating doesn’t have to be boring and it doesn’t make you any less fashionable.
We could all be a little like the queen of outfit repeating herself, Lizzie McGuire, and internalize, the real weirdos are “outfit rememberers.” If an outfit rememberer tries to clock you, don’t feel ashamed because by repeating that outfit you are saving the Earth one repeat fit at a time. That is something to be very proud of.
Written by K. Pereira
Photography: Roberto Meadows
Director: Chloe Kaleah Stewart
Production: Jazzi Almestica & Chloe Kaleah Stewart
PA: K Pereira & Amanda Manson
🍃 Skirt Designed by Mark Bluemle
Talent: Ximena Aguilar Arroyo & Analise Von Stackelberg