Research: Youtube and Fast Fashion

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I have decided to look at YouTube videos about sustainability to try and find out how the fashion industry has changed and continues to change.
The first video I watched was 'Sustainable Fashion, A Beginners Guide' which interviewed a sustainable fashion consultant, making the research reliable as someone who works in the fashion industry was interviewed. This was useful as it summarised the negatives of fast fashion and gave tips on shopping more sustainably.

·       Not buying fast fashion isn’t really acceptable in current society

·       Difficult for not being able to buy things – remind yourself that it’s ultimately worth it to not support unethical brands

·       Can be original

·       Shopping and owning less

·       Makes you respect clothes more

·       Think more about buying something more


I then watched 'Patriot Act - The Ugly Truth of Fast Fashion '. This was useful as it showed how companies 'Greenwash' (do things to make them look more sustainable) without actually changing anything. Many of the statistics and facts given related to America. This is useful as it gives me more of an idea of how fast fashion is affecting other parts of the world rather than just looking at England.

·       1980s – average American bought 12 items of clothing a year

·       Now – average American buys 68 new items a year due to fast fashion

·       Trendy clothes quick cheap and disposable

·       Fashion now is fast fashion

·       Feeling of luxury without price

·       Zara’s parent company is the biggest retail company in the world

·       Compared to 20 years ago, we keep clothes for half as long

·       Fabric production – synthetic fabrics use 342 million barrels of oil per year (Ellen MacArthur Foundation)

·       Viscose – 33% comes from ancient or threatened forests – around 70% is wasted, only 30% of the harvest actually ends up in clothes

·       Average American throws away 80 pounds of clothes a year

·       Clothes that charities can’t sell are sold by the ton to the developing world where they are often burnt

·       H&M recycle bin thing – 90% of that is burnt, makes them look green. Gives a discount to buy more clothes – shop more

·       Zara – Join Life and H&M – conscious make meaningless claims by using words with no set definition eg. green, ethical, eco-friendly

·       Wearing clothes for 9 months longer reduces the carbon footprint of that item by 30%





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