Slow Fashion: How We Can Reduce Our Carbon Footprint with Clothes

by: Katie Nalle

Photo Credits: Alexandra Gorn (Left) Maude Frederique Lavoie (Middle) Averie Woodard (Right)

It’s difficult to talk about sustainability without mentioning fast fashion. Fast fashion is the practice of massproducing inexpensive and lowquality clothing in an attempt to keep up with the rapidly changing trend cycles. This practice encourages short-term usage of items that lead to more waste being added to our landfills; this is also known as “throwaway culture.” Trend cycles have always moved quickly, but with the popularization of TikTok in recent years, it is moving faster than ever. A quick trend cycle means that things don’t stay fashionable or popular for very long, sometimes even only staying in style for a few months before becoming outdated. This is a big shift from the multiple years, or even decade-long, trend cycles that existed before the late 2000s.

The good news is that there are plenty of ways that we, as individuals, can work against fast fashion to reduce our carbon footprint. Firstly, and probably most obviously, we can refrain from buying clothes that are mass-produced and mass-marketed. The less demand for these items, the less likely they will continue to be produced. Doing your research on clothing companies before you buy is a good way to make sure that you are purchasing clothing that is produced by a sustainable and ethical company. Some brands will have a section on their website about their values and production, which can provide some insight into their practices. Another good indicator of whether or not a brand is a good choice is the pricing of its clothing. If a brand is selling clothing that looks like it is a highquality product but for an extremely low price, this is a sign that they are mass-producing its product.

Practicing these mindful behaviors is called engaging in “slow fashion.” Designer Vivienne Westwood is quoted as saying “Buy less, choose well, make it last.” This is a philosophy we should keep in mind when shopping for new items. Higher quality purchases may put a dent in our wallets, but ultimately they will last longer and be more sustainable; plus, high-quality clothing will always be on trend.

So, as a consumer, it is important to ask ourselves, what can we do to participate in slow-fashion to help our environment? For starters, by avoiding the negative impact we have on the environment due to the cost of the fast fashion manufacturing process, we can choose to purchase items made with sustainable materials that can help reduce our carbon footprint. Practice shopping with intent, think before you buy, and refrain from purchasing clothes that you can’t see yourself wearing for a long period of time. Take the first step to reduce waste by limiting the amount of clothing you throw away each year. Thrifting is another great option.

Although we should be buying clothes with the intent of keeping them for a long time, donating clothing or selling it to a secondhand buyer can give clothes a new life and keep them out of landfills. Another great option is clothing rental services. These services are becoming increasingly popular and help those who want to stay upto-date with current trends without buying clothes that they will only wear once or twice.

This all sounds easy enough, but realistically slow fashion really is slow. Take your time and create a plan for how you can engage in this practice. Working these healthy practices into your shopping routine takes time. Even small changes can make a big difference, so do what you can today and add in the rest over time as you are able to.

App updates continue to lack creativity when it comes to providing advanced features for social media users to experience, which is nothing new. Instagram is an exception to this rule. The platform updates fairly frequently and often implement major changes with each update. These changes have previously enraged the apps’ users, especially for the most recent update.

Meta—the company that owns both Instagram and Facebook—is notorious for trying to keep up with trends set by competing social media platforms. In an attempt to keep up with Snapchat’s incredibly popular Stories feature, Instagram and Facebook also added the Stories feature to their platform. Then, Instagram became TikToks’ largest competitor by introducing Reels to their platform, ultimately mimicking TikToks’ video app format.

While the Reels page on Instagram already mimics the algorithm and content shown on TikToks’ For You page, the recent Instagram update has further changed the app’s interface and layout to be even more similar to TikTok. Instagram’s homepage, which would ordinarily show posts from people you follow and the occasional ad, now pushes content from popular accounts or posts they think you may like. This change has shifted the platform away from the feature that originally drew many users to the app. The ability to personalize your homepage to only see posts from people you are interested in is a feature that not many other apps offer. Facebook and Twitter both offered trending and featured posts amongst preferred content, while Instagram didn’t. Even with the addition of Reels, the homepage remained unchanged until now.

Complaints spread beyond the platform in late July when dozens of content creators rallied at Meta’s New York headquarters. Celebrities, including Kylie Jenner, spoke out about their displeasure with the recent changes to the app. This is unsurprising given that data released by the tech company itself implied that their stocks have been plummeting and users have been spending less time on the platform in recent months. This downward trend could be dangerous for Instagram considering how quickly social media sites tend to dwindle in popularity.

Some of these updates were removed by Meta after receiving many complaints from the app’s users. However, we can likely expect these updates to be implemented again in the near future. According to representatives at Meta, the purpose of these updates are to turn Instagram into more of a newsbased app. They are hoping to fill the homepage with more than double the recommended posts it currently has to move toward this goal. With the addition of recommended posts to the app’s homepage already causing uproar from users, Meta may need to rethink their future plans for the platform.

TikTok has become a valuable tool for upand-coming artists, musicians, and actors to showcase their talents and gain a following. In addition to the rise of talented new creators, earlier established artists such as Yung Gravy, Joji, Mitski, and many others have had songs go viral and gained additional listeners due to the use of their music on TikTok.

The app tends to popularize older songs as trending audio as well. This brings new popularity to artists who may have fallen out of the spotlight or have not been as well-known in the past. Bôa’s “Duvet,” for example, was released in 1998, but charted on Spotify’s Viral Top 50 after becoming a trending audio on the video platform over 20 years after its initial release.

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Smaller creators, many of whom have never officially released any music, have also taken advantage of the platform’s tendency to create viral music. These creators will often post a video using a short clip of a song they plan to release as a teaser of sorts to get people talking about the song. The clip of the song can then be used in other videos as an audio and gain popularity before it’s even released. Quinnie’s “Touch Tank” and Leith Ross’s “We’ll Never Have Sex” were both released and promoted using this method.

TikTok has also caused a shift toward fans becoming more involved with the music they’re listening to. In the case of Leith Ross’s release of their first teaser for “We’ll Never Have Sex,” users began to eagerly await the song’s release. Their followers then began posting videos of what they thought the rest of the song might sound like using their ideas for the lyrics. This collaborative style of creating and releasing new music is introducing a feeling of closeness and involvement between fans and their favorite artists. This format also allows small artists to stay independent while maintaining relevance. Artists have the option to be creative with their music on their own without having to be under the control of a record label.

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Although the popularization of songs via TikTok is not inherently bad, many have expressed frustration at the effects that this phenomenon has caused. Some users have complained that the popularity of TikTok has led artists to produce songs they feel are made with the intent of becoming viral audios on TikTok. This leads to the creation of new songs that feel almost formulaic. Listeners also express disapproval or disappointment toward their favorite artists for “selling out” and creating songs with TikTok in mind. This frustration is not exclusive to listeners either. Some artists who use the platform to communicate with their fans have also noted that their record labels have pushed them to create content for the app and conform to TikTok’s content style. While TikTok is on track to reach its one billion user milestone, we will inevitably see these artists continue to cultivate growth and popularity.