Why fashion is ripe for post-consumerism (like literally no other industry is)

The first 3 google results for post-consumerism describe it as a societal shift, a view or ideology and a trend.

We can of course discuss what post-consumerism is, but the really fascinating thing about it is rather who started it. Because it was the people that never EVER started anything that started post-consumerism… Consumers started post-consumerism. And they are not going to stop.

(Post-)Consumers want less things. They want the few things they own to last as long as possible and to have the lowest possible impact on the planet. 

On a personal level their joy comes from self expression and from sharing experiences rather than from letting objects express who they are. They do not equate material possessions with success and they don’t think their objects speak for them. They really don’t!.

Socially they look for fairness, equality and sustainability. They prefer to buy local and impact the communities around them.

Fashion is literally getting all of this wrong! Here is why: 

- Focus on collections/drops/capsules: Continuous newness to push consumers to constantly buy new things. Even brands with some sustainable credentials are doing this, constantly launching and pushing collections because even those brands are addicted to growth.

- Outdated narrative: It sells clothes as art, as a form of expression, it sells logos as a sign of social success, it preys on consumers’ insecurities about their looks, their status and their desirability, it creates fashion victims, and compulsive buyers and walking logo billboards.

- Environmental impact: Atrocious! Manufacturing is on the other side of the world, materials are mixed and impossible to recycle. Quality gets worse and worse and products don’t last. 40% of production is made and shipped across the world to warehouses and then to stores and then back to warehouses without being sold to make space for newness. 40% of production ends up buried or incinerated without ever touching a body.

- Wealth and value distribution: Garment workers in Bangladesh make USD 100,-- per month. Amancio Ortega, the owner of Zara has a fortune of USD 128 Billion. The fashion industry leaves no money where products are made, it just pushes value up the chain until it ends in only a few hands. (not so fun fact: It would take 1 million Bangladeshi garment workers 80 years of non-stop work to earn Ortega’s fortune)    

Fashion needs to understand times have changed, fashion needs to change and, for that, it needs to stop being fashion.

______________________________________________________________________

- FIFI has no collections. We don’t throw stuff away because we have nothing new to replace it. 

- Our clothes are plain and don’t express anything. 

- We sell our clothes for twice the price that we buy them so our quality is similar to stuff that costs 3 or 4 times more. 

- We make our clothes in the same continent and ship them to customers from their country. 

- Our products are 100% cotton and 100% recyclable. Recyclable, not recycled (yet).

- We don’t need to grow. FIFI has 2 employees and we are happy that way…

If you don’t need new clothes don’t buy any clothes. If you really need new clothes buy them from FIFI.