Nithila Balu

Professor Dees

ENC 1102

13 April 2023

Introduction

Fashion binds different cultures, people, and countries together, yet many people don’t have

an understanding of the words surrounding it or its consequences. "Fashion as change and

fashion as dress" include two denotations of the term (Godart 172). Fashion, unlike a fad,

doesn't "fade away rapidly," but is characterized by "diffusion" because it is driven by

distinction (Godart 173). Fashion, unlike innovation, "does not necessarily imply

improvement" (Godart 173). Fashion tends to be "less general than trends" (Godart 173). Yet

the idea of fashion shares one commonality with all these terms: change. Fashion, according

to Nietzsche, a philosopher, is "characterized by newness and change," and "time is a central

tenet in the understanding of fashion” (Godart 176). While the shared trait of change creates

confusion between these terms, the differentiation in the concepts illustrates the importance

of language in the perception of fashion.

Having a basic understanding of fashion will allow for a better understanding of its

variants. Fast fashion takes "consumer preferences into the design process" and draws "on the

foundations of quick responsiveness (Bhardwa,Fairhurst,14,16).The faster cycle of creating

fashion includes cheaper, low-quality materials that often harm the earth, unethical labor, and

a lot of pollution. To combat this form of clothing, sustainable fashion—an emerging

niche—approaches fashion in order to achieve a carbon-neutral industry while also taking the

environment into account the environment.Many different efforts compose sustainability in

fashion, such as "close-looped proposals" that exist "to reduce material waste" (Brooks 493).
 The mass use of "synthetic materials" harms "marine environments," as seen in the

accumulation of plastics in the ocean (Brooks 486). When "fibers from the fabric" enter

waterways during laundry, "biodegradable natural fibers pose few problems in comparison

with artificial fibers" (Brooks 492). Both materials’ different effects on the earth portray the

importance of understanding fashion literacy. Thus, this research paper aims to explore if

such knowledge—fashion literacy—affects consumer buying habits and, consequently, the

earth’s climate crisis. Research exists on educating people about sustainable fashion and its

impact on their attitudes towards the concept; through examining the current status of

consumer knowledge, people can understand the specific ways to create eco-friendly change.

Thus, this paper seeks to answer the following questions: "How do consumers currently

understand fashion (sustainable and fast fashion)? ", and "What effects may these

understandings have on their consuming habits?"

Methods

The data analysis of my research revolves mostly around female college students and recent

college grads. Initially, I created two separate surveys: one questioning the participants’

fashion literacy knowledge and the other investigating their buying habits. I had no accurate

way to connect responses from both surveys to one person without asking for their names.

Thus, I merged the questions into the survey, with the first four investigating their buying

habits and the last six exploring their knowledge of fashion literacy.

The first question allowed for open-ended answers, as it questioned their favorite

shopping brands. The next six open-ended questions needed participants to answer with their

own words as it investigated their knowledge on the literacy of fashion words. Thus, giving
them predetermined answers would ruin the idea of understanding each participant's unique

knowledge of fashion literacy.

Results/Analysis

Six participants responded to the survey through Google Forms. Appendix A contains the

questions, and Appendix B contains the raw results.

Analyzing each person individually will aid in understanding if a person’s knowledge of

fashion literacy influences their buying habits. After examining each participant's responses

individually, I can better discern how much people currently understand fashion and see if

this understanding influences their consumer habits.

Analyzing the choices to the first four questions in regards to how sustainable a

person’s shopping habits are will clarify if people’s current understanding of fashion

influences their buying habits. Question 1 responses will vary and require analysis with

regards to each individual. Using information from you, a sustainability rating journal, and

other sources, I can provide insight on the sustainability of brands. Question 2 asks,

Typically, how much do you spend on one piece of clothing?", and lists prices in increasing

order. Cheap clothing derives from cheaper labor that includes unethical conditions and

working wages and cheap materials that pose a threat to the environment; thus, when a

brand’s clothing is cheap, it has unsustainable foundations as the cheap materials will not

sustain the clothing for long and contribute to the inhumane working conditions that cheap

labor comes with. Question 3 asks, "How many times do you shop for clothing a month?" and

examines how much the person feeds into fast-paced consumer habits. Thus, the more a

person shops in a month, they feed into this unnecessary cycle of consumption, which our
planetary boundaries cannot sustain. Question 4 asks: "What do you do with clothing with

holes?" in an attempt to understand how people go about contributing to the rates of fashion

pollution; in order for fashion to create less harm for the earth, consumers must partake in

sustainable practices like upcycling. The choices for this question have some sustainable and

unsustainable answers; the sustainable answers include donating, reusing, mending, and

sending the clothing to a textile recycling center. The unsustainable answer choice includes

throwing out the clothing, as it contributes to pollution. I will discern if each participant

exhibits a basic, moderate, or well-informed understanding of fashion literacy from the last

six questions.

Participant 1
Question Response

What are your favorite brands to shop from? Mostly thrift clothes so don’t look at brands

Typically how much do you spend on one $5-10

piece of clothing?

How many times do you shop for clothing a Once a month

month?

What do you do with clothing with holes? Mend your clothing

What is sustainable fashion in your Reduce waste

perspective?

What does upcycling mean to you? Get clothes you already have and either fix
them or make them something you would
wear with the clothes u don’t like anymore

What is fast fashion in your perspective? Clothes that exploits the environment

What does overconsumption mean in your Consume more than you need
words?

What do you know about natural materials? A bit

What do you know about synthetic Not much

materials?
Figure 1
This participant exhibits a basic understanding of sustainable and fast fashion but doesn't hit

on the integral aspects of both terms. They don’t specify the "waste" reduced by sustainable

fashion or how fast fashion "exploits" the earth. They understand upcycling in terms of

clothing, but not the materials that compose clothing. Their practice of mending and thrifting

supports sustainability, but buying once a month does not. Overall, this participant has a

moderate understanding of fashion literacy, and their mixed buying habits—both sustainable

and unsustainable—reflect this.

Participant 2

Question Response

What are your favorite brands to shop from? Shein, Target, Pacsun, Princess Polly

Typically how much do you spend on one $11-15

piece of clothing?

How many times do you shop for clothing a Twice a month

month?

What do you do with clothing with holes? Donate the clothing

What is sustainable fashion in your Clothing that was ethically made

perspective?

What does upcycling mean to you? Reusing old clothing

What is fast fashion in your perspective? Shein

What does overconsumption mean in your too much product and negative effects
words?

What do you know about natural materials? does not harm the environment

What do you know about synthetic bad for environment

materials?
Figure 2
Shein ranks as one of the worst fast fashion brands as they have 75-hour work weeks, are

paid by the item," and add "2,000 new styles" every day; most of their clothes "are made

from synthetic polyester fibers" (impacts 5, 7, and 10). Princess Polly makes strides towards

sustainability through a "code of conduct" that enforces humane working conditions, but fails

"to provide literacy around the microplastic pollution from washing synthetic materials" and

sponsors influencers for hauls "encouraging overconsumption" (imperfect idealists 9, 11, 18).

Target clothing adheres to fast fashion ideals because it has a large inventory, "regularly

releases new styles based on emerging trends," and attempts to use organic cotton and

recycled polyester for cotton and polyester sustainability (Worthington 7, 9).Their suppliers

must adhere to a "code of ethical conduct" (Worthington 17). Target follows some sustainable

practices, but overall needs to improve on its production rates and material usage. Pacsun

"uses few eco-friendly materials" and doesn't "disclose where its final stage of production

occurs" (good on you, 2-4). Overall, most of these brands show no commitment to truly

ending the cycle of overconsumption and the environmental impacts of fashion.

The price estimate also reflects the prices of their favorite brands. They spend $11–15

on clothing, and while the price of clothing varies from piece to piece, usually sustainable

fashion costs more because of certain conditions. They prolong the life of damaged clothing

by donating it instead of throwing it away, which prevents them from adding to textile

pollution. They understand that people "ethically" make sustainable fashion, as fair wages

and humane conditions encompass a large part of it. Though they don’t include other integral

ideas such as "slow consumption" or "animal welfare". Rather than describing the

malpractices of fast fashion, they list Shein, revealing that people associate brands with fast

fashion, but they don’t list what terms and ideas create this association. They clarify that

natural materials don't inflict "harm" on the environment and synthetic materials are "bad" for

the environment, but they don’t give a reason for their descriptions. The reasoning is critical
to understanding the materials. Their idea of "reusing" when asked about upcycling touches

on the essence of the idea. They do this with overconsumption as well, but don’t specify the

"negative" impacts, a critical aspect in regards to overconsumption. They have a basic

understanding of fashion literacy, and this reflects in their buying habits, which are mostly

composed of unsustainable practices.

Participant 3

Question Response

What are your favorite brands to shop from? pacsun

Typically how much do you spend on one $21-25

piece of clothing?

How many times do you shop for clothing a I don't shop every month/I shop every
month? couple months

What do you do with clothing with holes? Mend your clothing

What is sustainable fashion in your clothing that is made from recycled clothing
perspective? and not from sweat shops

What does upcycling mean to you? taking old clothes and making them new

What is fast fashion in your perspective? clothes that are cheaply and quickly made
and is not recyclable

What does overconsumption mean in your to over but clothing when u don’t need it
words?

What do you know about natural materials? idk

What do you know about synthetic idk

materials?

Figure 3

Pacsun, as discussed before, doesn’t encompass the traits of an ideal sustainable brand and

inflicts negative impacts on people and the earth. The price range they spend on a piece of

clothing reflects the price of most tops from PacSun. They don’t shop every month,

portraying that they don’t feel the need to consume and keep up with trends each month, and
they mend their clothing to sustain its life. They understand that recycling clothing and

having humane working conditions are part of sustainable fashion, but don’t target the other

important ideas. When describing fast and sustainable fashion, they mention some key

aspects of each idea and one opposing trait to further clarify each term. When talking about

overconsumption and upcycling, they seem to understand that both concepts have important

ties to fashion. They noted that they have no knowledge about synthetic and natural materials.

This participant moderately understands the terms related to knowledge and displays both

unsustainable and sustainable buying habits.

Participant 4
Question Response

What are your favorite brands to shop from? H&M, Converse, Nike, Thrift store

Typically how much do you spend on one $16-20

piece of clothing?

How many times do you shop for clothing a I don't shop every month/I shop every
month? couple months

What do you do with clothing with holes? Mend your clothing

What is sustainable fashion in your That we need to start more circular fashion
perspective? economy.

What does upcycling mean to you? Upcycling is what I do with the clothes that
do not fit me anymore.

What is fast fashion in your perspective? It is not sustainable unless they slow the
consumption cycles.

What does overconsumption mean in your Overconsumption is almost like retail

words? therapy, wasteful and no thoughtful
intention behind the purchase.

What do you know about natural materials? When ethically harvested, are a better
 alternative to plastics and, outside of ethics,
is more durable.

What do you know about synthetic They are often made of plastics which can
materials? lead to the release of micro plastics when
washing the clothes.
Figure 4

Nike’s uses "herbicides and pesticides," two chemicals that negatively effect the environment,

and a Vice report mentioned that "Nike wasn't fully paying its Indian factory workers" (Eric

11, 20). They used organic cotton, but it did not mitigate the effects of their non-organic

cotton (Eric 8). Converse uses "some eco-friendly materials" and has "water reduction

initiatives", but it also uses leather and could improve workers’ living wages (good on you,

1-3). H&M uses on. 7% of the materials are actually recycled, according to the 2018

sustainability report, and they still use the fast fashion business model (Bender 6). The thrift

store relies on mostly secondhand items and inherently encompasses sustainability ideals of

prolonging the life of clothing. Typically $16–20, the price range this buyer estimated, does

not reflect sustainable fashion brands but rather their favorite brands, but thrift store prices

are also taken into account with this estimate. They mend their clothes and don’t shop every

month, reflecting sustainability in their buying habits. They understand that the "circular

fashion economy" can prevent the waste of the industry and the need for "slow consumption

cycles" regarding fast fashion. Characterizing overconsumption and upcycling in terms of

fashion reveals they understand both terms in relation to ideas in the fashion industry. They

understand both materials not only in terms of their composition but also in regards to each

other and their harmful effects. This person has a well-informed knowledge of fashion

literacy, but most of their favorite brands specifically don’t reflect sustainability ideals.

Participant 5
 Question Response

What are your favorite brands to shop from? h&m and forever 21

Typically how much do you spend on one $16-20

piece of clothing?

How many times do you shop for clothing a Twice a month

month?

What do you do with clothing with holes? Reuse it for other purposes (like a wash rag)

What is sustainable fashion in your fashion that lasts

perspective?

What does upcycling mean to you? reusing or fixing old items so they have new
purpose

What is fast fashion in your perspective? clothes made unethically and with cheap
labor and materials

What does overconsumption mean in your using more than needed

words?

What do you know about natural materials? materials that are sustainable and
environmentally friendly

What do you know about synthetic materials that harm the environment and
materials? cause pollution
Figure 5
As discussed before, H&M doesn’t adhere to sustainable practices, and neither does Forever

21. Forever 21 "throws away toxic chemicals from clothing production into clean water

supplies" and pays their workers as little as "12 cents" (Lahdesmaki 4, 5). Their estimated

price matches those of H&M and Forever 21, thus reflecting the pillar of fast fashion:

cheapness. Even though they don’t throw their clothes away, their habit of shopping twice a

month feeds into hazardous rates of consumption. They discern sustainable fashion as

something that "lasts" and fast fashion as "unethically" made with "cheap labor and

materials". They better understand fast fashion as their adjectives match the pillars of fast

fashion. They seem to understand that sustainable fashion has a longer lifespan, but this bare

essence doesn’t capture the other integral parts. Their understanding of upcycling and

overconsumption fits in comparison to the standard definition, but they don’t include
"clothing" or other words to relate the ideas to fashion. They use words such as

"environmentally friendly", "harm", and "pollution" in regards to natural and synthetic

materials, which reflect a general understanding of these words. Overall, they have a

moderate understanding of fashion literacy, which is reflected in their mixed buying habits, as

they have both sustainable and unsustainable buying habits.

Participant 6
Question Response

What are your favorite brands to shop from? Zula, hollister, american eagle

Typically how much do you spend on one $16-20

piece of clothing?

How many times do you shop for clothing a Once a month

month?

What do you do with clothing with holes? Reuse it for other purposes (like a wash rag)

What is sustainable fashion in your Fashion that is reasonably eco friendly and
perspective? ethically made

What does upcycling mean to you? Reusing things that would be considered old
and no longer useful, into something new

What is fast fashion in your perspective? Bad quality materials, not ethically made

What does overconsumption mean in your Believing you need more when you are not
words? using what you have to its potential

What do you know about natural materials? Not very much

What do you know about synthetic Not very much

materials?
Figure 6

There is not much information surrounding Zula and their sustainability practices. "American

Eagle is not carbon neutral", but they do strive to use sustainable materials, though they still

use "large amounts of polyester", though a living wage is not a standard (Worthington).

Hollister mostly uses "cotton, viscose, and polyester", but partnered with the Better Cotton

Initiative to use less water with cotton (Worthington). Participant 6 characterizes sustainable
fashion as "eco-friendly" and "ethically" made, which gives a good general scope of the term;

they describe fast fashion in the same manner, using general adjectives like bad," and contrast

it with sustainable fashion. They have a general understanding of upcycling and what it

entails. Overconsumption to them entails not using something to its "potential", which is an

outcome of people buying unnecessary amounts of clothing. They don’t have knowledge of

natural or synthetic materials. Overall, this participant has a moderate knowledge of fashion

literacy, and their buying habits somewhat reflect this as they have mixed buying habits.

Discussion

Naming What We Know states: "When lawyers write effective briefs or engineers write

technical reports, the genres, conventions, and vocabularies they use reflect the ideologies of

their professions and settings", and this idea can translate to consumers as well (Scott 49).

The way in which each participant describes the fashion terminology reflects their views on

their identity as a clothing consumer and how they intake information related to fashion.

From my primary data, most participants’ have a moderate to basic understanding of fashion

literacy. Many participants used the word "ethically" when describing most of the fashion

terminology; thus, most people seem to discern ethics' integral role in fashion.

When asked about sustainable fashion, people gave more varied responses, whereas

the responses to fast fashion had more synchronicity. People have a better grasp of fast

fashion as they use specific adjectives, like "cheap labor and materials" (Figure 5) and "bad

quality materials" (Figure 6). Whereas, when asked about sustainable fashion, people gave

generalized descriptions such as "eco-friendly" (Figure 6), "fashion that lasts" (Figure 5), and
"reduce waste" (Figure 1). This pattern reveals the prevalence of fast fashion in our society.

More people are familiar with fast fashion and the ideas associated with it, such as "cheap",

"sweatshops", and "bad quality materials, as seen throughout multiple Figures. One

participant even described fast fashion as "Shein", a popular fast fashion brand, while no

participant named a sustainable fashion brand when asked about sustainable fashion.

Learning about the issue of fast fashion is important to grasping fashion as a whole, though

people need to understand more about the solution of sustainable fashion to participate in

change.

Significantly, most participants did not understand what synthetic or natural materials

meant, and this poses a huge issue. Most clothing material labels list these materials, and

understanding each material can aid people in picking the more eco-friendly and ethical

choice. Though many participants understood that upcycling refers to taking old items and

reusing them for a new purpose, especially in relation to clothing, most people did not relate

the idea of overconsumption to fashion. This difference in the understandings of both

concepts reflects in the responses, as more people had more sustainable ways of disposing of

clothing, which relates to upcycling, while unsustainable rates of buying clothing per month,

which relates to overconsumption.

One participant has a well-informed understanding of fashion terms, and much of

their buying habits reflect sustainability, except for their favorite shopping brands. Their
favorite shopping brands—H&M, Converse, Nike, and thrift stores—don't mostly follow the

ideas of slow consumption, ethical labor, and eco-friendly materials, with an exception to the

thrift store. While they have a well-informed understanding of fashion literacy, they may not

have enough in-depth information on the practices of these brands. Typically, these brands

also tend to greenwash their practices by using well-known terms like "eco-friendly" and

ethical," creating confusion and misinformation for consumers. H&M, a favorite brand listed

multiple times, faced a lawsuit calling out their greenwashing; they stated their "Conscious

Choice" collection contains ‘50% of more sustainable materials, like organic cotton or

recycled polyester (Mehorter 3). The case Mehorter utilizes posits that this collection

contains 72% of synthetics, whereas their normal clothes contain 61% (Mehorter 7). The

clothes are marketed as "conscious", "sustainable", and "environmentally friendly", and even

sold at a higher price (Mehorter 8). H&M’s misuse of fashion literacy and inability to align

their actions with the terminology used to describe their products can deceive the uninformed

and informed. Hence, even those with a well-informed understanding of fashion literacy, such

as participant 4, can succumb to greenwashing.

One person even acknowledged that one of their favorite brands creates fast fashion,

revealing a disconnect between knowledge and action. While they may know the

malpractices of the brand, they don’t see the harm in buying their product. Many people act

like this because they don’t think their actions will have a greater effect on the status of our
environment. Environmentalists and Anthropologists should further investigate where the

disconnect between nature and humans stem from. This could aid in helping those in the

fashion and environment scene illuminate viable eco-friendly choices and encourage

consumers to partake in them.

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Appendix A
Appendix B