Isabella Hudson / 20034792 by 251201

CONTENTS: 01...... Effects of Overconsumption 03...... How Overconsumption leads to Gentrification 05...... How to avoid Overconsumption 07...... How to Shop Ethically and Sustainably

OVERCONSUMPTION As awareness and accessibility of new trends increases, so does the pace of the trends passing. Whilst this brings an element of excitement to the fashion industry with trends changing so often, it also brings detrimental effects to the fashion industry's sustainability. With constant influencer promotion of the latest trends, consumers often feel pressure to keep up and buy the most recent trendy wardrobe piece. However, with the quick pace of trends, this statement piece often finds its way to landfill within a few months. This cycle of buying new trendy pieces that will go out of fashion in a few months has lead to mass overconsumption among shoppers. To keep up to date with trends many consumers have turned to

fast fashion, however, the recent awareness of corruption in the fast fashion industry has turned many customers towards second-hand shopping to keep their wardrobe more affordable and sustainable. Whilst this may be a more sustainable option, it doesn't reduce the amount of clothes people are consuming and has therefore lead to overconsumption within the second-hand market. As demand for second-hand clothing has increased, The price of the product has also increased. This is starting to cause many issues within the fashion industry.

This increase in the cost of secondhand clothing has been catalysed by the introduction of online secondhand stores such as depop. Many online sellers found that they could enter a physical second-hand store, bulk buy clothing and then market it towards a more affluent audience online at a much higher cost. This inflation of the cost of second-hand clothing has been normalised and adopted by charity shops, which has lead to gentrification amongst the second-hand clothing market. Originally second-hand clothing was associated with the lower and working-class and marketed towards that income level. However, as demand for second-hand clothing has increased many second-hand stores have changed their target market in order to amass higher profits.

The issue with this is that those with a lower income had already become reliant on second-hand clothing stores as they could not afford to shop elsewhere. However, due to the increase in pricing these lower-income consumers can no longer afford to shop second-hand and have been forced to turn to cheap, low-quality clothing, often from fast-fashion chains. Many who can still afford to shop second-hand are struggling to see the moral line and are continuing to overconsume and gentrify the second-hand market when they can afford to shop sustainably elsewhere. This also affects progress made in the reduction of consumption of fast fashion as those with a lower income now have no sustainable shopping option and are forced to consume fast fashion.

GE N

EFFECTS OF GENTRIFICATION ON THE SECOND HAND MARKET

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

The main way to solve this issue of overconsumption is to simply reduce consumption levels. As a consumer, you can reduce the number of clothes you buy and begin to consider your purchases more. before buying an item ask yourself; do you really need this item? Is it just a quick trendy piece? how many wears will you actually get out of it? does it work with the rest of my wardrobe? By taking some time to consider each purchase you can reduce the number of clothes you consume without need for.

Another way to reduce your personal consumption levels is to shop for wardrobe essentials before purchasing statement pieces. A good essential wardrobe allows you to recycle items that are already in your wardrobe to follow new trends. It also provides more options for outfits for any statement pieces you do end up buying, which therefore reduces the number of trendy statement pieces you consume overall.

SHOPPING ETHICALLY As well as reducing your consumption levels you can also consume in a more ethical manner. By boycotting overpriced online second-hand stores you can help to reduce demand for them. Reducing this demand will lead to a decrease in the price of their products, which is a step in the right direction towards making the second-hand market accessible to those with a lower income again. You can also purchase clothing from sustainable alternatives. There are many small sustainable clothing brands that need consumer support. Small businesses tend to be marketed towards a higher income audience as they are higher quality products, meaning you can purchase clothing in a sustainable manner knowing that you are not contributing towards the gentrification of lower-income clothing markets. Being conscious of your consumer habits is the best way to shop in both a sustainable and ethical manner.