What our minds are wearing

How can I play role in positively changing the fashion industry?

Buying fast fashion, can help you be ‘in fashion’ easily, ‘follow trends’ also. I need to ask, is that always important, better say, are you really that upset and addicted on following trends, not thinking about issues, as how fast fashion affect on environment, public, and even on your mental health?

Fast fashion is highly profitable business model based on making/copying catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, producing them at low cost. Many times, this includes exploiting workers in inhumane conditions. It is responsible for high carbon emissions, large amounts of landfill waste, and water pollution. The fast fashion industry emits 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year. It is the fourth largest cause of environmental pressure.

The fast fashion industry emits 1.2 billion tons of CO2 equivalent per year. It is the fourth largest cause of environmental pressure. By 2050, fashion could be responsible for a quarter of all carbon emissions.

For example: Zara is making 24 collections per year, approximately every two weeks, it is the largest apparel retailer. All this goes into over-consumption, because the fast fashion industry push us buy more than we need.

Today, starting from the fact that it is very easy and without any specific regulation you can sell anything on social networks, it is very easy this production to spread. It is not so easy to reduce production, but with some rules, ie laws, it can all be put in order, and thus pay attention to many factors. Social networks like Instagram are a great way to promote your business, however, it is common knowledge that 90% of the product that can be found there, creates the most negative factors that fast fashion has. That’s the downside of Instagram Fashion, which I do not support at all. Of course, I find people who create fashion, sell it through social networks, but they are careful and very aware of certain factors. There should be either laws or rules, by which not everyone will be able to create Instagram fashion so easily, ie be a designer overnight, or traders.

MENTAL ISSUES AND INSTAGRAM FASHION

Speaking of Instagram fashion, mental health goes hand in hand with this. What do you think, why? With desire, and a way to have certain pieces of clothing, with influence from the society, which arises precisely from social networks. The young female population is very different from before, when it comes to fashion and style. Sure, certain times carry certain styles, but what Instagram serves as fashion today is certainly not fashion, style and taste. The very fact that you can not find a girl who is her own (or very rarely) and has her own style, says it all.

On the other hand, girls who can not afford certain things, and think that this is the only way they can present themselves in society when it comes to fashion, begin to feel certain difficulties, difficulties related to their mental health.

• Low self-esteem
• Antisocial behaviour
• Complexity

Saying negative things, or seeing yourself as someone not that beautiful or in this case trendy, are signs of a low self-esteem. Instagram fashion has imposed that way of creating mistrust and complexes among young people. With that, some people create revolt, or in some extreme situations and anger, if they can not afford something, blaming and humiliating themselves. It is very difficult, in such situations, to explain that style is not built that way, and that style is something personal, not a piece of clothing. It’s hard because young people are not to blame for maturing in that way when it comes to fashion.

Too much comparison with others

Through Instagram, in this case, for fashion, the young population, 90% of their time, spends comparing, or wishing to have something that is actual at the moment, or someone else has it. Almost half of them do not have their own ‘stamp’, or do not know who they are, or what they really are, when it comes to fashion and style.

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That way, those who do not follow it, or are their own, have difficulties, much more difficulties in succeeding with fashion, because when everything is flooded with fast fashion, the way to break into the right fashion is more difficult. But I personally think that, sooner or later, the right quality always stays on top, hoping that more and more people will become aware of how bad fast fashion is, and that somehow we will fight, at least to reduce the number of annual collections, because in my opinion, what is happening right now is insane!

And girls, everything that is trendy does not mean that it suits you well, and that you must have it at all costs, be your own, that suits you the best, take care for yourself more!