Fast Clothes Nation
Photo by Jonathan Player/International Herald Tribune
We’ve heard of “slow food”—now prep your noggin for the concept of “slow clothes.” Fast clothes, as defined by the International Herald Tribune, are “low-cost garments that can be used and discarded without a second thought.” Think cheap, readily disposable clothing from your usual suspects—such as Old Navy, Target, and Kmart—which are replacing more-durable hand-me-downs that last one or two generations.
Consumers spend more than $1 trillion a year on clothing and textiles, an estimated one-third of that in Western Europe, another third in North America, and about a quarter in Asia. …
Britons on average discard about 65 pounds, or 30 kilograms, of clothing and textiles a year. Only an eighth of that goes to charities for reuse.
“In a wealthy society, clothing and textiles are bought as much for fashion as for function,” [a Cambridge University report, entitled, “Well Dressed?”] says, and that means that clothes are replaced “before the end of their natural life.”
To cut back on carbon use and make fashion truly sustainable, shoppers will have “to own less, to have less stuff,” says Julian Allwood, one of the researchers who worked on the report. “And that is a very hard sell.”
Find out more about the slow-clothes movement here. Anyone up for a 100-mile-closet challenge?
Related articles:
1. I Shop Therefore I Am: Consumerism and Fashion
2. Clothes Call
Mary said,
March 5, 2007 at 7:37 pm
I’ll never forget a comment made by the store manager of The Limited. I was working at Talbots and she was shopping there - we were talking about clothes and the quality of clothes and I voiced my complaint that the clothes from the Limited were of really low quality - e.g. Bought a winter coat and the seams started coming apart within a month or so. The manager’s comment - “Oh, they’re supposed to last for about as long as they’re in style!” Needless to say, I was never a big fan of the styles at the Limited anyway - and now shop almost exclusively at second-hand shops.
Tara said,
March 6, 2007 at 8:49 am
I’ve heard that too, Mary!
it’s ridiculous when you consider the stats that you’ve shared in this post, WW - 65 lbs! And only an 8th gets ‘recycled’? Even more ridiculous when you consider the number of thrift/op shops out there. I was raised by a tailoring family and clothes were meant to last forever. It’s time to give instant gratification/ short term satisfaction the boot!
Ingrid said,
March 6, 2007 at 10:14 am
I grew up with having to justify to my mother why I needed the new clothes item. List the things it would go with, what it is made of, its quality (is it lined). We also did a lot of thrift store shopping (I saw this as a chance to get some new risky clothes as she was less strict there… however she hated my vintage phase). I still have a couple of items in my closet that I brought/made whenI was 17 and have travelled thousands of miles with me. If I look at my wardrobe, the pieces I hang onto as the expensive pieces, that I justified, that were a classic cut and that are always commented on when I wear them…even long after the season they were designed for. Fortunately many of those disposable clothes were made for someone with another figure…not the hourglass one… and I never brought as a result.
One more reason to knit…it’s a pastime that is not shopping.
Dustywheat said,
March 6, 2007 at 4:17 pm
The funny thing is I mentioned something to this effect this weekend when my F-I-L was visiting. My M-I-L bought me something from Aeropostal (sp?) and you HAVE to layer it it’s that thin and see through. I think they make them this way so you HAVE to buy more and it’s easier to throw out. I’m all into layering, but I’d like not to see my bra through 2 shirts thank you.
I still donate all my clothes that are in good condition. I can’t throw them away.
I’m still having issues finding work clothes at thrift shops. But I try.