Fashion sustainability, pollution, workers exploitation and design plagiarized

Fashion is a lifestyle and art, as the clothing that we wear represents the style and personality of a person. However, fashion trends change every season which attracts consumers who are mainly young and who are fashion conscious would anything that is currently trendy in the season. It mostly started off from luxury high-end designer brands and small designers, fast fashion brands such as Shein, Zara and H&M would have a mass production for clothing that is trendy for an affordable price. There are many criticisms about fast fashion since its known for using a cheap labor since the prices are very affordable. It’s unfair to the factory workers as well since they are mostly over-worked in unsafe working conditions and paid with very low wages.

Social media has raised awareness about fast fashion and that consumers should make a better choices when shopping for new clothes. Fast fashion companies don’t use the best materials to last long and instead use materials such as polyester ,whereas high quality clothing would be higher priced using better materials such as cotton, leather and silk that would last a lifetime and in better condition despite wearing it for countless of times.

When it's no longer in trend or when it's no longer in good condition it ends up in a landfill which.

Damaging the environment, when color dyes pollutes the ocean. Not all old clothes end up being thrown away. Some of it would be given for charity or hand me downs to family and friends which is a better alternative than getting rid of old clothes.

A young fashion designer named Tyra Healy who’s also a student who is currently studying Psychology at Taylor’s University and an owner for her own clothing brand .Started it as a hobby and decided to create her brand “bytyrahealy” to unleash her creativity.

Most of her clothing is handmade and sustainable. She believes in sustainability and fair treatment to her workers. ”While I love fashion, it can be harmful to the environment. There are a lot of things to consider when it comes to sustainability. True sustainability is when the entire supply chain is sustainable.”

"When we support fast fashion brands like Shein, we encourage them to produce more clothing that doesn't do well or ends up in landfills. The problem is because many people fall victim to easy accessible fast fashion trends without thought or need."

Healy’s brand -all handmade with traditional meets modern fashion concept. She would rework batik material and turn it into a corset top. She models the clothes to promote her brand as well.

In addition to supporting small businesses, Healy mentions, “When you support small businesses you are supporting someone’s dream and most importantly supporting your local community. Choosing brands that provide quality, you can reduce your waste as well as the amount of clothing you buy.”

“Why do you need a reason to support small businesses other than it is the right thing to do?”

Independent fashion brands often faced problems by having their original designs plagiarized or without being credited from mostly fast fashion companies. In order to have mass production of the latest fashion trends. Many small fashion designers including Healy herself would be their biggest fear of having their original design stolen.

Healy says, “Yes, I see this happening to a lot of small creatives and I’ve always put myself in their position. It is devastating, hence why I don’t support fast fashion because I know for a fact that their designs are not original.”

There are other alternatives to promote fashion sustainability by buying second hand clothing at a very affordable price.