Studying the recent shift to fast fashion allows us to see our new obsession with instant gratification and our decrease in patience. Websites such as SHEIN launch 1,000+ new products per day, and people continue to over consume and buy these clothes despite the massive ethical and environmental problems they perpetuate. Why have people put aside their morals in order to stay up to date in the latest fashion trends?
The source of this is our adaptation to quick entertainment and fast deliveries. People are watching less movies, and instead getting their entertainment from short TikToks. The idea of a 7-10 business day delivery is now outrageous, as we have become accustomed to 2 day deliveries. We crave that dopamine rush from instant gratification and buying cheap items gives it to us. This shift needs to be understood as our overconsumption is extremely damaging and the instant gratification we receive from it is effectively changing the way our brains function.
- “Planned obsolescence’ – when a product is essentially designed to fail, i.e the product is made with a purposely weak design so it breaks down faster and the consumer is forced to replace it.”
- ‘the fashion industry [being] the second largest polluter in the world just after the oil industry’.
- Addictive nature of dopamine and the over-accessibility of it through the ease of purchasing new items.
- “As mentioned, we receive dopamine before even purchasing a product, and our desire for this often leads us to favour the more immediate option – often the cheapest or lower quality.”
- “At best instant gratification addiction can make us lazy or impatient, at worst difficulty regulating emotion. If you never have to wait for something you never really feel the sense of achievement and self-satisfaction that comes with the knowledge that you worked hard and were patient. “
Lindsay, Jessica. “How Instant Gratification Is Harming Your Mental Health.” Metro, 2 Nov. 2021, https://metro.co.uk/2021/10/31/how-instant-gratification-is-harming-your-mental-health-15509720/.
- “According to Dr Nick Earley, Head of Psychology at Happence, people with mental health issues are less likely to be able to wait for things they find pleasurable.”
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“This is what is meant by delaying gratification; prioritising things that mightn’t spike our endorphin levels in the moment but provide lasting benefits beyond that initial ‘high’.”
Nelson, Mariel. “Micro-Trends: The Acceleration of Fashion Cycles and Rise in Waste.” WRAP, 17 May 2021, https://wrapcompliance.org/blog/micro-trends-the-acceleration-of-fashion-cycles-and-rise-in-waste/.
- “The volume of clothing Americans throw away each year has doubled from 7 million to 14 million tons in under 20 years. In under 15 years, clothing production doubled as well, with the average consumer buying 60 percent more clothing pieces. Each piece is now kept half as long.”
- “To draw in viewers and followers, these creators cleverly oversaturate people’s feeds with new and up-and-coming trends from fast-fashion brands that can mass produce quickly and cheaply. Since these influencers are in competition with others in the same space, each person is racing to popularize the next big trend. This ultimately leads to many, varying posts and videos essentially saying, “Hey, you! This is the next big thing, so go out and buy it or your closet will be outdated.”
“Overconsumption in the Fashion Industry.” Overconsumption in the Fashion Industry : Fashion Revolution, https://www.fashionrevolution.org/overconsumption-in-the-fashion-industry/#:~:text=A%20recent%20report%20shows%20the,or%20recycling%20of%20discarded%20textiles.
- “It’s estimated that in 2015 polyester production alone was responsible for over 700 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, about the same annual greenhouse gas emissions of 180 coal-fired power plants.”
- “WRI notes that in order to stay within a 1.5°C trajectory the fashion sector must reduce emissions by over 1Gt by 2030, making it urgent to understand and track the disproportionately high scope 3 emissions and energy use of the fashion industry globally”
Seuss, Dr. The Sneetches: And Other Stories. Collins, 1998.
- There are two types of Sneetch one with stars and one without. The ones with stars excluded those without, so those without paid to get stars. This led to a cycle of getting stars and getting them removed.
- “Do we buy the clothes we do because they serve a purpose or because they help fit us into certain social groups?”
- “Why do some groups exclude others who can’t buy the same things they can?”
“Technology Is Making Us More Impatient, Says Study.” ZDNET, https://www.zdnet.com/article/technology-is-making-us-more-impatient-says-study/.
- “You see, in this study, it took an average of 22 seconds for people to express frustration if their TV or computer doesn’t start streaming a movie properly.”
- “Creating an expectation of instant delivery creates an increased inner pressure for instant gratification. We receive emails or other electronic messages and we feel compelled to reply instantly. And if someone, for whatever reason, doesn’t reply to our messages instantly, we begin to twitch.”
- “Technology creates the expectation that everything should move more quickly, as if this somehow makes humans more productive.”