Month: March 2023

K-pop and fast fashion

Insyirah

One of the key channels for K-pop’s international diffusion is its music videos, which frequently take on the form of parables about the consumption of fashion. Fans would follow their idols and observe their style, they also then try to emulate and consume what they see their idols wearing (Kim, 2019). Hence, by wanting to emulate the same fashion, they would then turn to fast fashion as a means to access such style.

Shein is one of the current fastest-growing fast fashion brand, its cheap prices enable consumers to make impulsive purchases and hauls (Rajvanshi, 2023). As it expands, it shows how the industry has an effect on the environment, as seen by the use of chemicals in material creation and the emissions of carbon during production, distribution, and consumption (Niinimaki et al., 2020). Environmental injustice is evident in developing nations, who generate a substantial portion of the materials and clothing while simultaneously bearing the cost of the industrialized nations’ use of these items. However, because of globalization and the ambiguity surrounding the procurement and processing of raw materials, it is also challenging to accurately quantify the environmental effects of the clothes production process. 

According to Niinimaki et al. (2020), textiles actually produce the most greenhouse emissions per unit of materials. The high energy consumption in the fashion business contributes to its large carbon footprint, which is determined by the energy source. Manufacturing and consumer usage of textiles are both connected with high energy requirements and CO2 emissions. However, the initial extraction of fibres uses the most energy and produces the most CO2 throughout the garment life cycle, especially for synthetic fibres like acrylic, which come from fossil fuels (Niinimmaki et al., 2020). Overall, the fashion industry generates a lot of carbon emissions which can be seen in its global supply chain, from production and manufacturing to consumption. Hence, fans need to be mindful of the manner they are consuming the K-pop industry, as the large influence of this pop culture can create a lot of environmental pollution. 

References:

Kim, S. Y. (2019). Beauty and the Waste: Fashioning Idols and the Ethics of Recycling in Korean Pop Music Videos. Fashion Theory, 25(1). pp. 53-73. doi:https://doi-org.libproxy1.nus.edu.sg/10.1080/1362704X.2019.1581001

Niinimaki, K., Peters, G., Dahlbo, H., Perry, P., Rissanen, T. and Gwilt, A. (2020). The environmental price of fast fashion. Nature Reviews Eart & Environment. 1, pp. 189-200.

Ravanshi, A. (2023). Shein is the World’s Most Popular Fashion Brand – at a Huge Cost to Us All. Time. Retrieved from: https://time.com/6247732/shein-climate-change-labor-fashion/ (Accessed: 27 March 2023)

 

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Follow up: Concerts and Pollution Part 2

Insyirah

In my previous post, I discussed how live concerts may contribute to pollution by emitting C02 emissions. I also posit that online concerts held during Covid times are much less pollutive than live ones. Online concerts refer to concerts being held without an audience, in which fans would livestream them instead of being physically there. Electronic devices would be used by the fans to attend online performances that last approximately 2-3 hours, consuming a lot of power (Fan et al., 2021). 

According to a study by Fan et al. (2021), it was found that online music event produces up to 93902.4 kg of C02, which is more than the 12407.7 kg of carbon produced by a live music event. This finding is tempered by the fact that web music events attract many more viewers than live music events. The study also divides the participants based on the overall carbon footprint of web and live music events for a more accurate comparison of the data. Lastly, it was found that online music events emit 0.206 kg of CO2 per attendee, which is less than the 0.994 kg of CO2 emitted by a live music event. However, the point still stands that online concerts may not seem to be less pollutive than live ones. It has to be acknowledged that online concerts have higher audience traffic than live ones as it decreases the barriers for these fans to attend them. Nonetheless, it was also noted that Guerreschi (2021), also concluded that while online concerts do not seem as sustainable and less pollutive, it is still fundamental to encourage such music events because overall, it can provide a shift to using the online platform as a potential for such events. This would thus render the construction and maintenance of music venus to be redundant, and can hence decrease overall emissions generated from the concert industry. 

References:

Fan, Y., Ouyang, S., Zhang, B. and Wang, W. (2021). The Sustainability of Online Concert and Live Concerts. E3S Web of Conferences 308, 01017. doi: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202130801017

Guerreschi, A. (2021). Green Music: the music industry towards a sustainable world. Musica Stampata. Retrieved from: https://www.musica-stampata.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Asia-Guerreschi_Green-Music_English.pdf (Accessed: 25 March 2023)

 

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Follow-up: Concerts and Pollution Part 1

Insyirah

As a follow-up to the discussion of the pollution caused by K-pop concerts, I would like to add that these events not only produce noise and light pollution but also what appears to be significant amounts of pollution from the waste on the site and the energy required to power the area. This is a result of the use of electricity for the performers, crew, and audience members’ transportation as well as for lighting and sound equipment. The subsequent high energy use would increase air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions that contribute to air pollution can be produced when lighting and sound systems are powered by generators and other machinery. This is valid for outdoor concerts, where electricity is frequently provided by diesel generators. Also, a lot of waste is produced, including glowsticks, confetti, and empty plastic cups, all of which, if not recycled, can contribute to environmental degradation.

The carbon footprint of music venues, such as a concert, can be calculated and divided into three categories, according to Tucker and Edesess (2023): direct emissions that the venue is in control of (emissions from energy fuel burned on-site), indirect emissions (electricity imported to power the site), and all other indirect emissions (transportation of crew, performers and attendees). While indirect emissions make up the greatest portion of the total emissions produced by hosting a concert, its issue is frequently overlooked by organisers. As such, it is crucial to recognise them and minimise them as much as possible.

Tucker and Edesess (2023) investigated this and calculated it through the case study of Future Yard, a UK-based organisation that connects the city’s cultural landscape to its environment. According to their data, audience travel looks to be a substantial producer of carbon emissions for music and cultural venues.

Audience travel being a substantial producer of carbon emissions for concerts can also be further supported by Connolly et al. (2016). It was mentioned in their journal article that live concert has had substantial environmental consequences, with it being estimated that the cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the UK’s music industry alone have about 540,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent, of which 43% is generated by audience travel (Bottrill et al, 2010; as cited in Connolly et al., 2016). Here, it is evident then that the largest generator of GHG can be attributed to the concert attendees, in particular the travel done to the venues.

I have also highlighted in my previous blog that tourism from the influence of K-pop can also generate a large amount of pollution from greenhouse gas emissions mostly due to the transportation used. Here, I would like to also link these two issues in which audience travel can be a component of tourism. As a result, the GHG emissions would be designed to be more than what was evaluated because it would take into consideration longer and ‘heavier’ modes of transportation such as the use of aircraft or rail transportation as opposed to short-distance vehicle travel. This makes me wonder if an online concert would be less polluting than a live one. The shift to moving concerts online has been done before during the pandemic. In my next blog, I’ll analyse if online concerts are more useful and environmentally friendly than live events.

References:

Connolly, M., Dupras, J. and Seguin, C. (2016). ‘An economic perspective on rock concerts and climate change: Should carbon offsets compensating emissions be included in the ticket price?’, Journal of Cultural Economics. 40(1), pp. 101-126. 

Tucker, S. and Edessess, A. (2023).  A Carbon Neutral Music Venue: A Sustainable Urban Development. In: Proceedings of PLEA. (PLEA SANTIAGO 2022 Will Cities Survive?, Santiago, Chile). Retrieved from: https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/18231/ (Accessed: 21 March 2023)

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