Emma's EPQ

When writing my dissertation, I found that I was missing some statistics about consumers and their usage of fast fashion so I conducted some research to find out how fast fashion is consumed. I read a thesis about consumer behaviour characteristics in fast fashion. This research may not be very reliable as the sample was only small so it isn't very representative of the whole population that buy fast fashipn. The participants were also mostly Swedish so it is useful for seeing how fast fashion is consumed in places other than in the UK as most of my research has focussed on fast fashion in Britain. The thesis was written in 2010 so it might be out dated now, however, there has been little research into consumer behaviour with fast fashion so this research is useful for giving an idea of consumer habits. Shopping frequency decreases with age - most 13-18 shopped twice a month, 20-26 ranged from twice a week to twice a month, 31-39 shopped less than younger groups, once or twice a...

When I researched Fashion Revolution, I found that they don't think that boycotting fast fashion is the solution so I decided to research this further. I read an article by 'The National'  that showed a discussion between two 'fashion experts' where one thought that boycotting was good and the other thought that we shouldn't boycott. This article showed the harm that boycotting could cause as everyone not buying from fast fashion at all would put thousands of (mostly female) garment workers out of work which would cause poverty. The other person said that boycotting is good as it shows companies that their unethical practices aren't acceptable. This article was useful as it showed the pros and cons of both boycotting and not boycotting. The source has little bias as it shows both sides of the argument. I also read this article , 'Why boycotting sweatshop clothing is not the answer'. It talks about the ethical problems of fast fashion eg. child lab...

Over the a last couple of months, I have been doing less research as I have been focussing on writing my dissertation. The last few pieces of research that I have done have mostly been to find statistics for points I have discussed in my dissertation. Writing my dissertation has also highlighted some gaps in my research so I will do some more research in the next few months on these topics (that will be highlighted in my amended timetable blog). I have found starting to write my dissertation difficult as I struggled to decide on the position that I wanted to have in terms of the viewpoint of my piece. I have decided not to write my dissertation from a neutral perspective as I don't think this will make an effective essay as the research I have done strongly points to fast fashion being a negative thing. In the next month I want to finish all of my research and continue to write my dissertation.

I wanted to look at whether it is actually possible for fashion to become sustainable. I was particularly interested in finding out whether consumers are willing to shop more sustainably and whether businesses would adapt to more environmentally friendly practices. I listened The Guardian's 'Today in Focus: Can the fashion industry ever be sustainable?' and made notes: London Fashion Week - recycled materials. Dress made from plastic bottles Zero waste pattern cutting - design process where pattern is cut in a way that every scrap of fabric is used Fashion is more than the clothes - also things in the supply chain Buttons made of plastic (oil) Fast Fashion developed because UK is big textile country, massive exporter of clothing. Fast Fashion has been developing since the industrial revolution. Cotton yarn became faster to make due to machinery. 'Fast Fashion was always going to happen'. Holes in self worth are filled by fast fashion Sustainable fashion -...

I read an article by The Guardian about sustainable jeans and the impact of denim. Here are the notes that I made whilst reading the article. Estimated that it takes 10,000 litres to grow the cotton for each pair of jeans Lines of pollution can be seen in China's Pearl River from space Substances used to make denim look old harms worker's lungs Ellen Macarthur Foundation's Jeans Redesign - guidelines to change the harmful production of jeans Lee is a brand that are looking into new technology for jeans production that eliminates water and reduces energy and chemical use. They are also creating compostable jeans. Skinny jeans shed a large amount of microplastics Hiut jeans only make 100 pairs a week - they want to make the best jeans, not the most jeans Raw denim hasn't been washed and treated many times (sandblast) so is better for the environment Stretch stops jeans from being recyclable so 100% denim is better I found this article useful as it highlighte...

In 2013, the Rana Plaza garment factory collapsed, killing approximately 1,100 people and injuring another 2,500. Most of these were young women. Cracks were discovered in the building before the collapse but the building owner ignored warning that the building was dangerous so the workers continued working the next day, when the building collapsed. From the research I have completed, the Rana Plaza Disaster has been mentioned many times as one of the reasons why the sustainability and ethics of brands are being questioned. This piece of research was useful for my project so that I can understand why the treatment of workers is so important.

I watched 'Fashion Conscious' on BBC iPlayer which is a short series about different aspects of the fashion industry. I found this to be really useful as it showed issues with the fashion industry and also looked at solutions that are being developed. It was also useful as it looked, in detail, at different problems with fast fashion, eg. water usage and materials. These are the notes I made whilst watching. ·        Future Fabrics – fish leather treated with natural products, the fish is eaten by locals and the skin was being thrown away so they use it to make clothes instead (luxury, couldn’t be max produced) – ethical issues and not necessarily sustainable. Refibra (recycled cotton and wood pulp), stocked in 1m, can buy a smaller amount which is against fast fashion as designers make something their own again – more sustainable and value clothes more. More expensive – sustainable products will be cheaper than non-sustainable ones if the producers ...

I wanted to research whether consumers are willing to shop more sustainably or not so I read 'Could I go a year without buying any new clothes?' and 'Don't feed the monster! The people who have stopped buying new clothes' . 'Could I go a year without buying any new clothes? is written by a woman who decided not to buy new clothes for a year. She talks about how fashion has been a 'comfort blanket' for her but was also negative as she gave tooo much time to thinking about clothes. This article was a useful piece of research as it shows the positives of buying second hand (spending less money, not feeling that you have to buy something every time, appreciating clothes more) but also highlights some for the issues with second hand shopping (doesn't cater for all bodies, harder to find what you want). The article also gives tips for not buying fast fashion which helps other consumers. The other article,  'Don't feed the monster! The people ...

I read up to page 31 of The 2019 Ethical Fashion Report . From this, I found how companies can be rated on their ethical practices. It also highlighted different considerations within ethics that I hadn't heard about in my other research. The report was also useful as it compared the company's scores on the 2018 report to the new report, which shows the way that fast fashion is changing. The report was by the British Fashion Council which is a reliable source. These are my notes. ·        Population set to increase to 8.5 billion by 2030 which could lead to an increase (by 63%) from 62 million to 102 million tonnes in global textile production – equivalent to 500 billion t-shirts ·        Small and Medium enterprises make up half of fashion businesses and they often demonstrate how fashion can be done differently. They can create new environmentally friendly practices ·        SMEs can be ...

I interviewed a designer who is starting a sustainable clothing brand about the fashion industry and the difficulties in creating an ethical brand. These are her responses. Could you tell me some details about your background in the fashion industry?  I have worked in fashion since leaving university in 2001 - starting off working for a supplier, providing retail stores with a design service and production out of China and Bangladesh. From here i moved onto the retail side working for Arcadia for 5 years and then River island for another 4, freelancing for numerous brands in between.  I decided to start my own business supplying once again in 2013 which led to the Company Luna and Smith Ltd. I ran this for 6 years with a friend and we successfully supplied many the high street stores (Finery, Oliver bonus, Asos, River island amongst others).  What are the environmental issues facing fast fashion? What aren't the issues facing fast fashion - would be an eas...

ThredUp is an online second hand shop. They have recently brought out a ' Fashion Footprint Calculator ' where you can answer questions about how many clothes you buy and where from. There are facts about the carbon footprint of fashion next to each question. At the end, it tells you the amount of carbon emissions that come from what you buy and compares this to the 'average consumer'. It also gives tips on how you can reduce your environmental impact eg. by washing clothes on a cold wash. This is useful for consumers as they can see how to make easy changes that will reduce the impact of fashion on the environment.

Fashion Revolution is a group of people in the fashion industry and consumers who want to change how clothes are produced and sourced. It began in 2013 after the Rana Plaza disaster where 1138 people were killed when a clothing factory collapsed. Fashion Revolution Week is from the 20th-26th of April 2020. During this time, companies are encouraged to use the hashtag #imadeyourclothes to show the supply chain. Unlike some other organisations, Fashion Revolution doesn't advocate for boycotting fast fashion as they don't think this is an effective way of creating change. Fair Wear Foundation works for the rights of garment workers and is looking for ways to make fashion fairer for everyone. They do this by reviewing how brands solved issues with their suppliers. They also train workers and management and give workers the ability to make complaints when they aren't being treated fairly. Labour Behind the Label also campaigns to improve garment worker's conditions. ...

I read an article, 'Your brand new returns end up in landfill' , about how clothes that are bought online and are returned, don't always end up for sale again as the consumer thinks as they are sometimes put straight into landfill. When items are returned, it is more hassle for the company sort through them and have to list them as 'in stock' again so they sell them cheaply to discounters around the world (high carbon footprint) or just throw them away. I also read this article . From this I found that, in Canada, $46 billion of goods are returned every year and a lot of these products end up in landfill. It talks about how we often buy the same item in different sizes online and return the ones that don't fit. These returns aren't put back for sale as it costs the company more to check each return for faults and put it back for sale than it does the make the item. Burberry and H&M have both been found to burn their clothes. It also said that France is...

I want to look at whether the increase of fast fashion can be linked to the death of the high street. This article says that fast fashion is the 'go to approach' for brands as it gives the best profits. The majority of high street fashion brands have become fast fashion. It also said that fast fashion has made the high street more like an online store as speed is the most important thing for consumers. This was useful as it shows how the high street has changed because of fast fashion. As a contrasting view, I then read 'How fast fashion could save the high street' . This was written by a company that are 'specialists in retail and fashion recruitment' so it was quite biased towards presenting fast fashion as a positive as it would befit from this opinion. I found that this article wasn't very useful as it didn't really address fast fashions effect on the environment, however it did show the positives of fast fashion for some companies which is u...

Over the last 2 months I have been able to keep up with my timetable and I have done the research tasks that I have set myself. I've been able to find out more about sustainable clothing brands and look at the accessibility of fast fashion alternatives.  I have also started my Primary Research. Next, I want to find out more about how the fashion industry has developed into fast fashion.

I have already looked at the influence on social media influencers on the rise of fast fashion but I also want to research how/if celebrities promote sustainable fashion. First, I read an article about Jane Fonda's Last Purchase where she said she wasn't going to buy any more clothes in an effort to be more sustainable. This shows that fast fashion has be come something that people are more aware of and, by a celebrity joining the movement, encourages consumers to think more about what they buy. The  Green Carpet Fashion Awards promote and celebrating sustainable fashion. The celebrity Professor Green was part of a campaign with ecover that raised awareness about the amount of clothes that end up in landfill. It promoted the message that you should 'wash new life into old clothes' instead of throwing them away. This advert was shown on TV so is different to a lot of the other ways that celebrities have promoted slow/sustainable fashion as this had a much larger...

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 ·        Thi...

Throughout my research, I have found that second hand shopping is mentioned a lot as an alternative to fast fashion so I have looked into whet her or not buying second hand is actually a good way to buy clothes. I read ' Is buying vintage clothing the most eco way to shop? ' and found that more people are now buying second hand (64% of women willing to buy second hand pieces compared to 45% in 2016). The article talked said that this shift could be due to increased awareness of sustainability and also that vintage/second hand clothing fits with the originality that people want to show on social media and is good for the environment as clothing is recycled and stops people from buying as many new items. ' Second-Hand Is the Answer to Sustainable Fashion, Says Oxfam ' says that buying second hand is the easiest way for consumers to shop more sustainably but 77% of people in the UK want to shop second hand but only 27% actually do. It also mentions other alternatives t...

Throughout the research I have been doing, I have found a variety of facts and statistics about the fashion industry so I have decided to look into these and add them to this blog post.  Polyester is made from oil and takes over 200 years to decompose (Fashion Fix podcast)  Sustainability means consuming the planets resources at a rate at which they can be replenished (Fashion Fix - BBC Environment Analyst)  In the UK, we spend £3.5 billion on new clothes for the party season. 8 million of these items are only worn once ( OXFAM ) It would take a person 13 years to drink the amount of water it takes to make a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. Every week, the UK sends 11 million pieces of clothing to landfill (OFXAM) https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2011/may/08/fast-fashion-death-for-planet

Recently, some fast fashion brands have attempted to become environmentally friendly by releasing 'sustainable' lines. I have decided to look at the differences in the way these items are made compared to their normal products and also see the differences in price. In H&M's normal range, you can buy a pair of mom jeans for £19.99 and from their 'Conscious' range, a similar pair costs £24.99 . According to the 'Product Sustainability' section on these items, the cheaper, standard range jeans are made from 100% cotton whereas the more expensive pair are 99% cotton and 1% elastane but the cotton in this pair is 'partly recycled' Another fast fashion brand that has released a few ethical items is Pull&Bear. This range is called 'Join Life' and the products in this range are said to be 'garments that have been produced using better processes and more sustainable raw materials'. In this range, the items were very simil...