Great to see you again!
Breaking news
Recently my classmate Rachel shared with me the story of Forever 21 going bankrupt just a couple of weeks ago. I was shocked, as I thought many youths saw this store as at the forefront of trends. Forever 21, as you might know, uses sweatshop labour to produce their clothing and fared poorly in the 2019 Fashion Transparency Index. In an interview with youth fashion expert Dana Thomas, she says eco-consciousness among youth has put fast-fashion companies like Forever 21 under fire.
Could it be true?
I compared my findings from a survey I did over the last week on “Fashion and Young People” with the results of a similar survey my Project Work Group did in 2017. My findings actually coincide with Dana Thomas’ views. If you are one of my respondents, thank you for your response! Honestly, I was taken by surprise…
Comparing survey findings
Three times more respondents are aware of and have bought eco-fashion in the 2019 survey. This may be due to campaigns like Zara Join Life and H&M Conscious that may have advertised more over the last 2 years, and the social media buzz about the recent Extinction Rebellion protest to cancel London Fashion Week.
Extinction Rebellion protested against London Fashion Week, as they believed it was unsustainable.
So we’ve changed our tastes over the years. But results are skewed, as respondents may include more eco-conscious consumers like my Environmental Studies classmates and friends who have been following my blog. And for those who are new to this topic, they may not know what eco-fashion really is, so the results may be inaccurate. Maybe it’s also because of age:
The largest age group is older in the new survey (17-20). Older consumers may be wiser and have higher spending power to buy eco-fashion. This may explain why more said they knew about and had purchased eco-fashion in the 2019 survey.
I also realise that I shouldn’t have let option “17-20” (new survey) overlap with “16-18”(old survey), as I can’t pinpoint the increase in age of respondents. I assume most in the new survey are 19 or 20-year-old young women (most of my connections happen to be as such). Also, results may not be representative of males’ views on fashion. I now realise that I should’ve asked my respondents for their gender…
Conclusion and further reflection
What Dana Thomas said rings true – there has been a movement among youth towards eco-consciousness over the last 2 years.
Admittedly, the representativeness of the 2019 survey is limited, with only 30 respondents, compared to 53 for the 2017 survey.
And maybe my comparing with an old survey may not be accurate since the questions aren’t identical, along with other important factors being different like time of year (like during a sale period) that the survey was taken. As it’s the first time I’ve ever done a survey on my own, I’ve learned a lot about sampling and crafting questionnaires.
So, have we really become more eco-conscious? Do fast-fashion stores see a threat to their businesses? Are you in for a change?
Tell me what you think.
Till next time,
Evelyn 😊