Searching for Sustainable Style
The latest installment of Paris Fashion Week last month– gone almost as soon as it started– marks the literal beginning of a new season in fashion. As environmentally-friendly fashion becomes an even hotter topic and consumers begin to hold brands more accountable, now more than ever seems to be the time to consider the place sustainability holds in the world of fashion. At AUP, it’s the right moment to examine how students engage in the debate between fast and sustainable fashion.
Earlier this year, an investigation conducted by Quartz revealed that clothing retailer H&M was using misleading and deceptive information on environmental scorecards used to grade the sustainability of their products. Quartz’s findings explored the truth behind this scorecard system used by the company, which in many cases portrayed information about how the garments were made that was the exact opposite of the truth. For example, the scorecards– called Higg Sustainability Profiles– displayed on the H&M website would advertise garments as being produced with less water than industry average, when in actuality the Higg site would indicate that the garment was actually produced using more water than average. (The scorecards that previously displayed contradictory information has since been taken off the H&M website.)
This July, soon after the investigation, a lawsuit was filed against H&M by Chelsea Commodore accusing the retailer of false advertising after she purchased a garment marketed as “environmentally conscious” that, in reality, was not. Suddenly, within the span of two months, H&M found itself at the center of a conversation discussing the importance of sustainability in fashion, and, more specifically, the growing issue of greenwashing.
Image Credit: Unsplash/Psk Slayer
Greenwashing is a form of marketing that aims to convince consumers that a product is more environmentally friendly than it actually is. In recent years, greenwashing has been utilized as an attempt to capitalize on growing environmental concern and demand for products that aren't ecologically damaging.
Between the immortal presence of Fashion Week, and the revolving door of tourists looking to commercially experience the fashion capital of the world, AUP finds itself in the center of a largely consumption-based space. Fast fashion retailers have practically become enmeshed in the culture of Paris (just check out the largest Zara in Paris which is just across the street from the Palais Garnier). But Paris also presents a wide variety of thrift and vintage stores that provide a shopping solution outside of the fast-fashion domain. So do AUP students prefer fast fashion or secondhand clothes, and do they care about sustainable fashion at all?
In an informal poll, 77% of a sample group of AUP students said that sustainability was an important factor in their decision as to where to shop. However, 47% of those polled said that they most commonly shopped at larger retailers such as Zara, H&M, Bershka, or other stores.
Ainsley Swenson, a sophomore at AUP, said she's concerned with the sustainability of her clothes, but is not always able to make it her top priority when shopping. “I definitely think about sustainability, but it’s much more convenient to not go thrifting,” said Swenson. “I’m just not that good at it. I usually have problems finding things that fit me. But then I also feel bad for partaking in fast fashion. It’s complicated.” This is the reality of shopping at thrift and second-hand stores, as opposed to major fashion retailers - where thrift stores offer more unique garments, they often fail to provide the necessary range of size that larger retailers are able to provide, making thrift stores less accessible to consumers.
Despite this disadvantage in practicality and accessibility, there are still many students who stick with non-fast fashion retailers when deciding where to shop. In fact, 85% of students surveyed said that they would choose not to shop at certain retailers that practiced unsustainable manufacturing methods.
Claire Janda, another AUP sophomore, said she prefers to shop at thrift stores over fast fashion retailers for both reasons of price and personal feeling. “I would say that I’m mostly motivated by price to go thrift shopping, but thrifting also makes me feel better about buying clothes,” said Janda. “I feel a lot less guilt.”
From opposite sides of the sustainability argument, Janda and Swenson both acknowledge the guilt that comes from supporting fast fashion. In an age in which the harsh realities of fast fashion are increasingly hard to ignore– including theories of shady labor practices seen in Shein production sites, underpayment of workers at BooHoo, or the very H&M greenwashing case at hand– guilt is becoming a more frequent symptom when shopping with these companies. AUP students appear to be educated in these issues; 62% of those surveyed were familiar with the term greenwashing. But does awareness of the issue bind students to shopping sustainably forever, even when it may not be practical?
Sophie Kurkdjian, an AUP Professor of Communications teaching cultural and social history of clothing and fashion, sees how this feeling plays into the choices students make, and whether or not sustainability and “retail therapy” are able to coexist. “Sometimes you shop because you are depressed and you want new clothes. Can you judge this? Can you condemn people? This, for me, is neither black nor white. It’s more gray,” said Kurkdjian. “Sometimes shopping is great for your feelings, and sometimes you see things like the kids that are working for fast fashion, and you become completely disgusted. It’s this complicated balance between loving fashion and knowing what happens behind.”
Image Credit: Unsplash/Becca McHaffie
There are other layers that complicate a student’s decision on their participation in fast fashion, like price. Beyond thrifting and secondhand stores, there are options to buy brand-new clothes from retailers that manufacture garments in a truly environmentally-conscious way. But these brands are notoriously out of the price range of the average university student. Ultimately, those limited by budgets may find themselves barred from participating in certain aspects of sustainable fashion.
As the scope of fast fashion retailers continues to widen, they become more and more synonymous with the culture of retail shopping as a whole. Marie Berliet, a sophomore at AUP, said that students may be more inclined to find critiques of alternative forms of fashion because they contradict what these institutionalized retailers aim to achieve. “Because of how quickly we consume media, fast fashion has 100% become embedded in our culture,” said Berliet. “There’s so many of these influencers or platforms pushing new trends and ideas, and consumers are constantly competing to keep up and companies are competing to keep up with the consumers.”
As we wade deeper and deeper into the mammoth issue of sustainable fashion, it becomes increasingly clear that the intense nuances of the problem make it nearly impossible to reach a definitive conclusion. If anything, the voices and values of students concerned with sustainable fashion as a whole are only reaffirmed. Overall, 92% of polled AUP students said they felt that where they shopped made a difference in protecting the environment. Instead of being discouraged by guilt or lack of access, they still feel empowered knowing they’re doing what they can.
“A lot of people focus on the fact that just one person can't make a difference,” said Janda. “I would agree that, sure, one person probably isn’t going to tip the scale. But, if they do their part, and everyone else does as well, then maybe it justifies all of our actions a bit more.”
