Importance of Becoming a Sustainable Consumer

When it comes to shopping, affordability can be a bottom line factor that guides and determines where we as consumers shop. Whether we’re on the lookout for a comfortable pair of sweatpants or a dress for that picture-perfect occasion, the goal is not to break the bank doing it. This can lead consumers, especially college students strapped for cash, to shop on fashion websites or stores that capitalize on the use of fast fashion.

The term fast fashion refers to the more rapid cycle of fashion trends that forego the traditional trends which typically follows a seasonal calendar schedule. The demand of fast fashion now aggravates 52 micro-seasons. Brands such as H&M and Forever 21 receive shipments daily, meaning clothes are produced at a cheaper and faster rate, allowing consumers to style their wardrobe for cheap.

Though convenient on the pocket of the consumer, fast fashion comes at a human and environmental cost that beckons consumers to reconsider the true price of fast fashion.

According to Business Insider, 10% of our planet’s carbon emissions are accounted for by the fashion industry and it remains the second highest contributor to pollution in the world. One pair of jeans produces the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide as driving 50 cars. There is a dire human price behind fast fashion, too. It relies on cheaper, exploitative labor where fair working conditions are often overlooked and workers are underpaid. If workers cannot keep up with their workload demand, their job can be at stake. With job-security constantly in jeopardy, this looming power dynamic makes workers less likely to report workplace abuse.

The demand for fast fashion, however, is created by the consumer.

As our world becomes increasingly consumer conscious, many shoppers are taking it upon themselves to select brands that avoid use of fast fashion. The literal price tag, though, can deter people from switching to a more brand conscious mindset. So how can we reconcile pursuing a sustainable lifestyle while also being friendly to our wallet?

The movement to a more sustainable lifestyle, particularly related to sustainable fashion, is gaining momentum. One student-founded, Austin-based company has incorporated sustainability at the heart of their mission.

Evie Shaw conceived ThousandThread her freshman year at The University of Texas at Austin 2018 alongside her co-founder Amie Nguyen. The two Canfield Business Honors students were playing ping-pong in the Honors Quad dormitory common area on UT’s campus when they came to a realization. The pair realized that they, along with their peers, were constantly clothes swapping with little to no idea of where their wardrobe ended up or when it would end up back in their closet. And if their friends didn’t have what they needed that day, they had to continuously find new outfits for various themed events or special occasions and only wore those expensive outfits once.

“A bunch of our friends would constantly come over to look in our closets to borrow clothes for different events and then it'd be hard to keep track of where our items were and if friends had returned them (or not),” Shaw shared.

Turning this clothing snag into a business venture, the duo founded ThousandThread, a company that maximizes on the natural clothe-swapping occurring amongst college students by facilitating the clothing exchange through a formalized tracing/tracking system with the vision of creating and promoting a sustainable clothing movement.

“We came up with the idea for a mobile platform for people to rent and borrow clothes within their communities. So instead of only having access to your own closet, people would now be able to virtually have the closet of the entire community,” Shaw said.

In the past year ThousandThread launched an Instagram page to run all its transactions. Shaw and her co-founder Nguyen rented out some of their own clothes, affording them the opportunity to meet a lot of their happy customers and personally talk to them about how the platform was a convenient, affordable, and sustainable option to finding outfits.

“Sustainability is definitely something companies are moving towards, but a lot of people still aren’t conscious and don’t have it in their mind when shopping,” Shaw said on consumer awareness.

Shaw noted that textiles, which feeds into the fashion industry by providing designs and fabrics, takes a significant toll on the environment, producing 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gas annually according to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation.

“Working towards a more sustainable lifestyle is definitely a process. It’s important to remember that there are multiple approaches to going through this journey. Any small steps you can take still makes a difference - whether that be just buying less or researching the effects of fast fashion,” Shaw said.

Shaw has incorporated sustainable clothing practices into her life, including clothes swapping with friends, thrift shopping, using virtual marketplaces such as Thredup, as well as making her own clothes. In COVID-19 induced isolation, Shaw picked up the skill of sewing to accelerate the process of making her clothes. Shaw also loves to upcycle old clothing she doesn’t wear anymore into new clothing, creating something new. She finds this to be more personally rewarding than wearing something someone else made.

Shaw says she thinks it’s important for the consumer to ask themselves whether they’re buying something because it’s an item they will actually wear or because it’s cheap, on sale, or fits their budget. This little act of self-awareness in purchasing can help consumers make more environmentally-friendly (and in the long run potentially economically sound) purchases.

Aside from environmental awareness, Shaw highlighted the dangerous worker exploitation that a lot of fast-fashion brands utilize to produce such cheap and fast clothing.

“They don’t pay [workers]a living wage, and treat them poorly,” Shaw said on unfair labor compensation. Shaw recommends downloading the app Good on You-Ethical Fashion to check brand ratings based on labour conditions, environmental impact, and animal testing and the use of animals in products. 

Shaw also follows Instagram pages such as @thesustainablefashionforum and @styledsustainable for sustainable fashion inspiration and to educate herself on how to be a conscientious consumer.

With COVID-19 preventing social gatherings, Shaw and Nguyen have transformed ThousandThread’s Instagram page from hosting transactions into a resource on inspiring sustainability and educating about racial bias and discrimination in the fashion industry. The co-founders are also taking this time to finalize their mobile application soon to be launched.

For more information about ThousandThread and how to become a more aware consumer, visit https://www.thousandthread.com or follow them on Instagram @thousandthread.