Alexa & Pam

            “It’s much easier today to make money dressing up low-end clothing. Discounters have done just that, dressing up their products to draw in consumers who now feel absolutely no shame in buying cheap” says Elizabeth L. Cline in Over-Dressed The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion (p. 91-92, 2013). Consumerism, or the promotion of the interests of consumers, has come very close to brain washing. Consumption has become a part of our everyday lives. To speak on Cline’s viewpoint, retailers have now convinced us that we need to continuously shop and purchase products that we either already have or do not need at all. By companies, and fast fashion brands in particular, lowering their prices to the extent that they have, we as consumers don’t have to think twice about purchasing one or one hundred due to the shockingly low price on the price tag. Consumerism has contributed greatly to the pressure our environment has been facing. In order to produce in the quantity that is being produced, a large amount of intensive labor, high amounts of chemicals, and transportation is required. As these made products are sold, companies then use that profit to put it right back into production, making it an everlasting cycle. The fashion industry has turned consumers into puppets of consumerism and the only way this can be reversed is if consumers develop a more comprehensive understanding of issues like sustainability, authenticity and transparency. Brands and retailers will then be forced to change the way they sell in order to survive. Fast fashion has made consumers loose sight of “classic” timeless clothing resulting them with having no concept of authentic things, they see things in the media and demand to have it instantly. Brands need to go back to demonstrating a level of authenticity by offering products that are sticking with the company’s culture. Consumers are blind to the urgent changes that need to be made due to their lack of knowledge of these issues. In conclusion, fashion cycles are moving faster then ever. The clothes that are mass-produced also become more affordable attracting consumers to buy more, we need to continue to shed light on these problems until the consumers start to make an impact forcing companies to change their ways.