It’s back to school season again. And for many students and parents, that means the return of familiar tendencies for overconsumption. Store sales and brand promos this time of year inspire many of us to frantically purchase new clothes, regardless of whether we actually need to.
Through these dopamine fixation habits, we all involve ourselves in the global fashion economy. “Fashion is the most powerful art there is,” as the iconic character Blair Waldorf said in the TV series Gossip Girl. “It’s movement, design, and architecture all in one.
It shows the world who we are and who we’d like to be.” Whether we think of ourselves as fashionable or not, we all wear clothes. And for those fortunate enough to have the luxury to choose what we put on our bodies, we must realize the immense power behind our decisions.
With global temperatures rising, fresh water and other natural resources quickly depleting, and landfills overrunning the U.S, what we buy — and how much of it — is critical. That includes clothing.
Every year, the fashion industry produces 100 billion garments — 92 million tons of which end up in landfills; uses over 93 billion cubic meters of water — enough to meet the needs of 5 million people; and emits 10 percent of global carbon emissions — more than all international aviation travel and maritime shipping combined. Worse still, 93 percent of brands don’t pay wages high enough to provide for the basic needs of their factory workers — crea.