Fashion-forward South Australians are being urged to think twice before investing in fast fashion, following a new study from the University of South Australia (UniSA).
Lead Researcher and PhD candidate at UniSA, Erin Skinner said that as a result of the study, researchers were encouraging buyers to reconsider flighty purchases and take a moment to better understand trending of ‘fast’ fashion and its impact on the environment.
Miss Skinner said the study, which explored Australians’ knowledge of fast and slow fashion, found that general consumers not only lacked an understanding of the issues, but were also averse or unable to change their buying habits to support more sustainable options.
“Government and the fashion industry have an obligation to better educate consumers about the impact of fast fashion and provide alternative options and models,” she said.
“Fast fashion is all about demand-driven clothing, where buyers snap up the newest fashion styles at the height of their popularity, only to discard them after a few wears.
“But keeping up with the latest trends comes at a price.
“Every year, Australians each consume more than 27 kg of textiles, discarding 23 kg of this into landfill.
“That’s an extraordinary 6000 kg every 10 minutes – or the equivalent of the weight of an African elephant.”
Miss Skinner said globally the fashion industry also produced about 20 per cent of the world’s wastewater.
“Such phenomenal waste is clearly unsustainable, so it’s vital that the sector educates consumers about alternative options,” she said.
Miss Skinner said the next stage of the research would examine whether psychological tools applied in an intervention-style pilot could help reduce the frequency of clothes shopping in people who shopped frequently.
