Implications

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Implications
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First published in the United States in 2020 by Evanne O’Sullivan Ltd.
Thank you to the wonderful A+A department at USF, DIS
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Contents
6 7
6-11
introduction
4-6
value construction
7-11
consumerism
12-17
fashion’s role
18-40
brand exploration
41-44
conclusions

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Introduction
8 9

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10 11
What if everything you knew about
branding in the fashion industry was
flipped on its head?

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When I was a kid we shopped second hand a lot. It creating waste in the same way traditional consumerism
15
wasn’t out of environmental motives, it was mostly
was. This always baffled me because these items
because it was the most economical option for our weren’t worthless.
family at that time. And I loved it, I still love it. There
were endless possibilities every time we went in and When I was exploration this idea I wondered why people
the search to find something perfect was different and
have such high value associations with designer
equally exciting each visit. But in the earlier 2000s items and such low value assiciations with second
when consumerism was raging as strong as ever, I felt hand items. I wanted to showcase this value system
a shame for buying things that had once been used by and question it.
someone else. I don’t remember if someone had made
a specific comment but I knew that not buying my
I decided to explore the design expirence of designer
things from A Child’s Place, LimitedToo or
goods and second-hand goods. What impact was
Gymboree made me somehow different and lesser. But, design having? Could design change these associations?
I kept my shopping practices to myself and continued
How can branding mold the relationship con-
to enjoy each trip my mom or my grandma took me on. sumersm have with their posessions or the journey
they go through when partaking in consumerism?
As I got older it started to become the thing to do on
the weekends with your friends. The thrift shopping
craze had hit Portland and it’s teenagers unlike
anything before it. It excited me because I could shop
with my friend without feeling shame but as I got older
I started to realize that my friends relationship with
these items was a little different. When I was a growing
up every purchase mattered so I would only pick
one or two really specially things every trip. My peers
would buy whatever they wanted because “it didn’t
matter”. The clothes were cheap and they weren’t

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Construction
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This section covers value construction. How is our relationship
17
with stuff formed? How do we perceive high
value versus low value? Who are the contributors in
each consumer’s behavior?
Value
ARTICLES DISCUSSED:
Purchasing Designer Labels: The Role of
Reference Groups

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Gucci IN FAMILY campaign, s/s 2018
“PHOTOGRAPHER KATHY LO IN A GUCCI
CITIES PRINT HOODIE AND VINTAGE WEB
SQUARE-FRAME SUNGLASSES; HER SON
SAGE IN A GUCCI KIDS’ JACKET”
18 19
Purchasing
Designer
Label
Apparels:
The Role of
Reference
Groups
Uchenna Cyril Eze
Crystal Hui Hui Chin
& Chai Har Lee
June 2012
Asian Journal of Business
Research

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Consumers would perceive
designer apparels to be of
good quality, and embody
status and prestige.
Some firms use the names of designers who have succeeded
in couture on their label because such designer
products are normally perceived as prestigious and
exclusive (Chang, 2006). Consumers would perceive
designer apparels to be of good quality, and embody
status and prestige. The designer-label apparel market
is growing rapidly. According to a global survey
by Nielsen (2008), one sixth of the world’s consumers
claim to buy designer brands, while one-third claim to
know a designer label buyer. The survey also indicates
that more than half (52%) of the consumers believe that
people buy designer brands in a bid to project their social
status. Luxury branded products, according to Bain
and Company (2011) are a US$195 billion global indus-
20
Clothing, generally, is a basic need for humans, but try. JP Morgan analysts suggest a higher figure of about are more likely to be influenced by reference groups
Conceptual Framework and Hypotheses Development Mangleburg, Doney & Bristol, 2004). These three types
21
today has become a product that could express different
US$210 billion. Datamonitor (2011) that takes a broader compared to housewives in their purchasing decision,
of influences require the opportunity for social inter-
dimensions of culture, social class, and identify the definition suggest the market size to be US$1,439.7 and that advertisement and promotion using reference
actions. Seeking information, complying with the pref-
characteristics of the consumers. Designer clothes particularly
billion. In addition, Datamonitor (2011) suggest that groups are more effective on consumers’ final decierence
of others, and adopting values of others would
are apparels that carry the logo of a well-known the market size for the whole of Asia Pacific region to sion. In addition, interdependent culture such as the
involve communication and/or observation of decisions,
fashion designer. The term designer label usually refers be 27%. As the Asian economy grew, the industry for cultures in Japan, Korea, China and South East Asian
opinions, and behaviours.
to clothing and other merchandise, usually named after luxury brands expanded (Kim, Kim & So, 2007). As the countries, emphasize conformity to groups’ norms and
its designer. The designer label is often categorized Asia-Pacific luxury brand market represents about onethird
social acceptance unlike most western cultures (Zhou &
within the luxury products. Examples of designer labels
of the world’s luxury brand market, the interest Hui, 2003; Han & Schmitt, 1997; Shukla, 2010). Findings
include Armani, Calvin Klein, Cartier, Dolce and Gabbna,
and influencing factors for consumers in this industry from prior studies also reveal that Asian consumers
DKNY, Kenneth Cole, Gucci, Tommy Hilfiger, Louis within the region becomes pertinent. The luxury brands have the tendency to buy luxury brands conspicuously
Vuitton and many more.
industry, seen as a major market in Europe and North to express their social status and wealth (Phau & Prendergast,
America, has a new growth landscape with the expanding
2001; Wong & Ahuvia, 1998), consequently,
Asian market (Kim et al., 2007). The significant making it easier for the luxury brands business to be
increase in the consumption of luxury brands can be successful (Ustuner & Holt, 2010).
attributed, in part, to the rapid economic growth in Asia
and the interpersonal influence within the culture.
Moschis (1976) indicated that consumers use reflective
and comparative appraisal to choose their products.
A subsequent study by Bearden and Etzel (1982) suggested
that consumers would not only apply direct and
verbal interactions to obtain evaluations from reference
groups (such as friends, peers, siblings, and parents),
but also observe reference group members’ behaviour
to make a purchase decision. Evidence from Park and
Lessig, (1997) findings indicate that college students
Over the last decade, Asian countries have enjoyed
enormous economic growth, wealth, and information.
Asian countries, especially, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong
Kong, Indonesia, Korea and Taiwan, are swiftly morphing
into brand conscious societies. This type of lifestyle
is also reflected in the younger generation, especially
among older teens and young adults. Akin to their
western counterparts, the young adults of today tend
to enjoy more financial independence to make their
own consumption and purchase decisions. Hence, the
increase in purchasing power, which enables the pur-
While marketing models assert that a consumers’
purchasing attitude relates to how a product/service
satisfies one’s needs, findings from studies on consumers’
social and interpersonal environment indicate that
consumers’ decision to buy a particular brand could be
affected by reference groups (such as friends, family,
celebrities, and work associates). Social and interpersonal
research could be traced back to the study by
Hyman (1942), who first discussed the term reference
group. Subsequently, studies by Deutsch and Gerard
(1955), and Kelman (1961) elaborated on several types
of influence to include informational, utilitarian, and
value expressive influences. Informational influence is
based on the interest to make informed decisions and
choices. In periods of uncertainty, consumers tend to
seek information, from many sources, and consumers
would accept those sources considered genuine (which
include referents with expertise). The utilitarian reference
group influence reflects the attempts to follow the
wishes of others to achieve rewards or avoid punishments
(Bearden & Etzel, 1982; Childers & Rao, 1992).
The value expressive is described by the identification
process in which people are willing to express themselves
to the society by making themselves appear similar
to the group that they want to belong (Kelman, 1961;

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Celebrities
Siblings
22 23
A celebrity is a person who has a prominent profile and Siblings play a vital role as a reference for comparison
A parent is someone who begets, gives birth to, or nurtures
and raises a child; a father or mother. According in abilities, qualifications, age, background, and social
Peers are persons who appear to be equal to another
Reference
commands a great degree of public fascination and and modelling for adolescence (Pechmann & Knight,
influence in day-to-day media. Celebrities are renowned 2002). A sibling (brother or sister) is one with whom an
to Yoh (2005), interactions with parents tend to influence
status. Peers are considered key elements in most de-
personalities, who enjoy public recognition by a large individual shares the same biological parents. Siblings
young consumers’ fundamental knowledge of their cisionmaking processes, especially the buying decision
Groups
groups of individuals (Schlecht, 2003). They usually enjoy
high public acknowledgment, and often have great may not be strong. Findings from prior research indi-
about products from their parents, from whom they de-
on the views, attitudes, thoughts, and actions of their
are in fact sometimes similar, although the correlation
behaviour. Young consumers would seek information process. Consumers would, to some degree, depend
influence upon endorsing products. They appear on cate that siblings exhibit more similarities on attitudes
velop specific buying behaviour. Hence, parents play an peers to enable specific decision-making process to
television as spokespersons
and interests compared with their general personality
important role in their conversations and provide guidance
buy a product (Makgosa & Mohube, 2007). Park and
on behalf of the advertised brand, or ordinary users of attributes (Hoffman, 1991). Prior research on siblings’
whenever necessary (Bearden et al. 1989;
Lessig (1977) noted in their research that young adults
such brand. In either way, they often convey a convincing
roles in a purchase-decision process, are mixed. For
Childers & Rao, 1992; Lachance, Beaudoin & Robi-
are most likely to be vulnerable to the pressure of their
message. Celebrities help boost awareness of ad-
instance, Schacter and Stone’s (1987) revealed that
taille, 2003). Children’s identities were shaped by family peers since they have limited capacity to cope with risk
vertised brands and generate positive feelings towards siblings were found to be different from their parents,
pressure, usually through communication and observational
and uncertainness than more mature individuals. One
the brands (Solomon, 2002). Consequently, these positive
which is consistent with the findings of Festinger’s
learning and this intergenerational influence will of the reasons peers are able to influence purchasing
feelings towards a product tend to influence con-
(1954). Based on the family traits and structure, the
continue to influence children even as young adults. decisions emanate from the fact that some young adults
sumers’ behaviour, which may affect consumers’ brand roles of siblings in key decisions in the family are
It was also revealed that parents’ influence on children
often feel less confident to evaluate their buying deci-
choices. Findings from prior studies indicate positive becoming more apparent. In addition, with the growing
reduce as they grow older (Moore, Wilkie & Lutz, sions, and would rather rely on their peers to enhance
effects of celebrities on consumer buying behaviour, application of social networks, there are possibilities
2002). Moschis (1976) has proposed that family parental this process. In another study, peers emerged as the
such as the adoption styles of clothing, product choice, for siblings to acquire critical information about specific
influence on consuption patterns and attitudes often most important reference group in a purchase decision
and health behaviours (Spry, Pappu & Cornwell, 2011; products and may have access to critical information
overrides any other form of influence (see also Basow & process (Kamaruddin & Mokhlis, 2003), consistent with
Till, Stanley & Priluck, 2008). Evidence suggests that that enables informed decision. Siblings, therefore tend
Howe, 1980).
the findings of Yoh (2005). In addition, the importance
the perceived image of celebrity endorsers has a positive
to play key roles on purchase decisions.
of peers is reinforced by the findings of Khan and Khan
impact on product buying decisions (Seno & Lukas,
(2005), which concluded that friends tend to be domi-
2007; Jo, 2007). In contrast, some studies appear to
nant informational reference group.
be critical about the use of celebrity endorsement. For
instance, White,
Goddard and Wilbur (2009), indicated that many consumers
were sceptical of celebrities who were paid to
Parents
Peers

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24 25
Gucci IN FAMILY campaign, s/s 2018
“PHOTOGRAPHER KATHY LO IN A GUCCI
CITIES PRINT HOODIE AND VINTAGE WEB
SQUARE-FRAME SUNGLASSES; HER SON
SAGE IN A GUCCI KIDS’ JACKET”

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Consumerism
26
This chapter discusses the role that consumerism
27
plays in climate change. The previous articles
discussed how value construction impacts people’s
relationship with consumerism and now we go into how
consumerism impacts the world. These two articles
delve into topics around climate change and human
interaction with consumerism.
ARTICLES DISCUSSED:
As Consumerism Spreads, Earth Suffers,
Study Says.
Overconsumption is costing us the earth
and human happiness

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28 29
Americans and Western Europeans have had a lock on we enter a new century, this unprecedented consumer Globalization is a driving factor in making goods and
Hillary Maywell
unsustainable over- consumption for decades. But now appetite is undermining the natural systems we all depend
on, and making it even harder for the world’s poor much more available. Items that at one point in time
services previously out of reach in developing countries
developing countries are catching up rapidly, to the
detriment of the environment, health, and happiness, according
to the Worldwatch Institute in its annual report,
computers, air conditioning—are now viewed as neces-
to meet their basic needs.”
were considered luxuries—televisions, cell phones,
January 2004
State of the World 2004.
sities.
As Consumerism Spreads,
Earth Suffers, Study Says.
National Geographic
Perfectly timed after the excesses of the holiday season,
the report put out by the Washington, D.C.-based research
organization focuses this year on consumerism
run amuck.
Approximately 1.7 billion people worldwide now belong
to the “consumer class”—the group of people characterized
by diets of highly processed food, desire for bigger
houses, more and bigger cars, higher levels of debt, and
lifestyles devoted to the accumulation of non-essential
goods.
Today nearly half of global consumers reside in developing
countries, including 240 million in China and 120
million in India—markets with the most potential for
expansion.
“Rising consumption has helped meet basic needs and
create jobs,” Christopher Flavin, president of Worldwatch
Institute said in a statement to the press. “But as
The report addresses the devastating toll on the Earth’s
water supplies, natural resources, and ecosystems exacted
by a plethora of disposable cameras, plastic garbage
bags, and other cheaply made goods with built in
product-obsolescence, and cheaply made manufactured
goods that lead to a “throw away” mentality.
From Luxuries
to Necessities
The climate is certainly changing. But what is causing
this change? And how does the rising temperature affect
the environment, and our lives?
China provides a snapshot of changing realities. For
years, the streets of China’s major cities were characterized
by a virtual sea of people on bicycles, and 25
years ago there were barely any private cars in China.
By 2000, 5 million cars moved people and goods; the
number is expected to reach 24 million by the end of
next year.
In the United States, there are more cars on the road
than licensed drivers.
Increased reliance on automobiles means more pollution,
more traffic, more use of fossil fuels. Cars and
other forms of transportation account for nearly 30
percent of world energy use and 95 percent of global oil
consumption.

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30
Changing diet, with a growing emphasis on meat, microbes, complicating the treatment of disease in both
31
illustrates the environmental and societal toll exacted animals and people.
by unbridled consumption.
To provide enough beef, chicken, and pork to meet the
demand, the livestock industry has moved to factory
farming. Producing eight ounces of beef requires 6,600
gallons (25,000 liters) of water; 95 percent of world
soybean crops are consumed by farm animals, and 16
percent of the world’s methane, a destructive greenhouse
gas, is produced by belching, flatulent livestock.
The enormous quantities of manure produced at factory
farms becomes toxic waste rather than fertilizer, and
runoff threatens nearby streams, bays, and estuaries.
Chickens at a typical farm are kept in cages with about
nine square inches (about 60 square centimeters) of
space per bird. To force them to lay more eggs, they
are often starved. Chickens slaughtered for meat are
first fattened up with hormones, sometimes to the point
where their legs can no longer support their weight.
Crowded conditions can lead to the rapid spread of disease
among the animals. To prevent this, antibiotics are
included in their feed. The World Health Organization
reports that the widespread use of these drugs in the
livestock industry is helping breed antibiotic-resistant
Inroads are being made. In 2002, McDonald’s
announced it would stop buying eggs from suppliers
who keep chickens confined in battery cages and that
are forced to lay additional eggs through starvation. By
2004, the fast-food chain will require chicken suppliers
to stop giving birds antibiotics to promote growth.
Wendy’s, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken
have all hired animal welfare specialists to devise new
animal care standards.
The World Bank has also rethought its policy of funding
livestock factory farming. In 2001, a World Bank report
concluded “there is a significant danger that the poor
are being crowded out, the environment eroded, and
global food safety and security threatened.”
Not Much Happier
The increase in prosperity is not making humans
happier or healthier, according to several studies.
Findings from a survey of life satisfaction in more than
65 countries indicate that income and happiness tend
to track well until about $13,000 of annual income per
person (in 1995 dollars). After that, additional income
appears to produce only modest increments in selfreported
happiness.Increased consumerism evidently
comes at a steep price.
People are incurring debt and working longer hours to
pay for the high-consumption lifestyle, consequently
spending less time with family, friends, and community
organizations.
“Excess consumption can be counterproductive,” said
Gardner. “The irony is that lower levels of consumption
can actually cure some of these problems.”
Diets of highly processed food and the sedentary
lifestyle that goes with heavy reliance on automobiles
have led to a worldwide epidemic of obesity. In the United
States, an estimated 65 percent of adults are overweight
or obese, and the country has the highest rate of
obesity among teenagers in the world. Soaring rates of
heart disease and diabetes, surging health care costs,
and a lower quality of day-to-day life are the result.
There is, of course, no easy solution to the problem.
The authors call for green taxes (to reflect the true
environmental costs of a product), take-back programs
that require manufacturers to recycle packaging or
goods, and consumer education and awareness programs.
But first and foremost we need to reorient our way of
thinking, says Gardner.
“The goal is to focus not so much on sacrifice, but on
how to provide a higher quality of life using the lowest
amount of raw materials,” he said. “We need to change
the way we produce goods and the way we consume
them.”
$
$
$ $ $
$

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32 33
Overconsumption is costing
Celia Cole
us the earth and human
happiness
June 2010
The Gaurdian
SoHo Memory Project, SoHo as Muse
“ISABEL MODELED THE SOHO DRESS FOR
A FASHION EDITORIAL PHOTOSHOOT THE
GROUP NAMED ‘BAG LADY’.”

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We’ve allowed our citizen
self to be dwarfed by a
relatively new reflex action –
consume,
consume,
consume.
34 35
She is sure of one thing though: “Change is inevitable.
If you really want to understand a country, a society, or
You can’t keep using one and a half planet’s worth of
even a civilization, don’t turn to its national museums or
resources indefinitely.”
government archives. Head to the tip.
According to Annie Leonard – former Greenpeace activist,
unwavering optimist and waste obsessive – the
tip is akin to society’s secret journal. “Stuff” became a
fascination for Leonard in her teens, choosing field trips
to landfills while at university when she began to question
how we came to build an economy based purely on
resources.
That was 20 years ago, and a lot has changed. Waste
and recycling are now burning policy issues. Forty
countries, hundreds of factories and still more landfills
later , Leonard worries we have not grasped the fundamental
problem with our materials economy. “It is a
linear system and we live on a finite planet. You cannot
run a linear system on a finite planet indefinitely. Too
often the environment is seen as one small piece of the
economy. But it’s not just one little thing, it’s what every
single thing in our life depends upon.”
In 2007, Leonard tried a novel medium – a YouTube
video – to convey the message. The Story of Stuff was
a frank and cleverly animated short film telling the story
of the American love affair with stuff and how it is quite
literally trashing the planet. Three years on and it’s a
viral online phenomenon; seen by 10 million people in
homes and classrooms all over the world. Now she has
followed up the video with a book of the same name.
Leonard has surprised many, though, by not actually
being against stuff. She isn’t even anti-consumption.
In fact, she feels lots of people should be consuming
more. Just not most of us in the western world who
often over-consume.
Consumption can be good, she says. “I don’t want to be
callous to the people who really do need more stuff”.
But consumerism is always bad, adding little to our
wellbeing as well as being disastrous for the planet.
“[It’s] a particular strand of overconsumption, where we
purchase things, not to fulfil our basic needs, but to fill
some voids about our lives and make social statements
about ourselves,” she explains.
“It turns out our stuff isn’t making us any happier,” she
argues. Our obsessive relationship with material things
is actually jeopardising our relationships, “Which are
proven over and over to be the biggest determining factor
in our happiness [once our basic needs are met].”
Leonard calls upon wider research to argue the sociological
and psychological consequences of our all-consuming
epidemic, including that of Tim Kasser and Robert
Putman. Kasser identified a connection between an
excessively materialistic outlook and increased levels
of anxiety and depression, while Putman argues we’re
paying the ultimate price for our consumeristic tendencies
with the loss of friendships, neighbourly support
and robust communities. Together they suggest we are
witnessing nothing short of the collapse of social fabric
across society.
Part of the problem, according to Leonard, is our confused
sense of self. We’ve allowed our citizen self to
be dwarfed by a relatively new reflex action – consume,
consume, consume. “Our consumer self is so overdeveloped
that we spend most of our time there. You
see it walking around – we usually interact with others
from our consumer self and are most spoken to as our
consumer self. The problem is that we are so comfortable
there that when we’re faced with really big problems
[like climate change], we think about what to do as
individuals and consumers: ‘I should buy this instead of
this.’
“If you’re going to vote with your dollar that’s fine,”
Leonard says. “But you need to remember that Exxon
has a lot more dollars than you. We need to vote with
our votes; re-engage with the political process and
change the balance of power so that those who are looking
out for the wellbeing of the planet dominate, instead
of those who are just looking our for the bottom line.”
Like George Monbiot, Leonard doesn’t think so-called
ethical consumption, or greensumption is going to
get us out of the problem either. “The real solution is
not perfecting your ability to choose the best option,
it’s getting that product off the shelf,” she says. “It’s
increasingly looking like buying green delays people
engaging with the political process.”
Leonard’s film has its critics. Fox News branded it “full
of misleading numbers”. And the free market and climate
sceptic think tank The Competitive Enterprise
Institute, called the project “community college Marxism
in a ponytail.” But many have found it hard to argue
Leonard doesn’t live up to her values. At her home in
California she and another five families have chosen
community over stuff, tearing down the fences between
their homes. “Its not a big deal”, she says. “We don’t
have matching clothes and its not like a commune of
anything. We are all just regular families in these six
houses [who] share things. And we just have so much
fun.”
The Story of Stuff is about America, but how is the UK
faring? Leonard does note some positive differences:
the NHS, our liberal political discourse – allowing us
to utter the words capitalism and unsustainable in the
same large breath, and she likes the fact that washing
lines are not a threatened species. One thing that does
bug Leonard about this country, though, is our pyromania.
Specifically, she’s worried about our leaders’ love
affair with waste incinerators. “It’s just so depressing.
Incinerators are such a regressive way of dealing with
waste materials. We need to promote zero waste as an
alternative.”
Zero waste is a term that gets thrown around a lot, most
recently this week by environment secretary Caroline
Spelman. For Leonard, a complete overhaul in our
approach involves a real cradle-to-cradle revolution;
marrying intelligent design upstream and consumer
incentivised recycling and composting downstream.
This may well be one of the answers, and the book provides
a few more. But Leonard doesn’t pretend to have
them all, and she’s reluctant to commit to a new economic
paradigm, either, because “we haven’t invented it
yet.”
Many have argued against the minor details of the book,
but few have questioned the fundamental premise that
our current use of resources is unsustainable. Even
fewer have doubted her optimism. “Environmentalists
need to figure out a way of talking about this stuff in a
more engaging and inviting way, and that is what I hope
I’m doing with this book.”

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Fashion’s
36
Fashion has a huge factor to play in climate change
37
and consumerism. Each label also puts a lot of effort
into creating a certain type of perceived value for it’s
customers. Considering both value construction and
consumerism how if the fashion industry itself
contributing to sustainability?
Role
ARTICLES DISCUSSED:
Fast Fashion Is the Second Dirtiest Industry
in the World, Next to Big Oil
Slow fashion: the answer for a sustainable
fashion industry?

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38 39
Fast Fashion
“The clothing industry is the second largest polluter
clothes and it is a huge problem. Your clothes continue
in the world ... second only to oil,” the recipient of an
to impact the environment after purchase; washing and
environmental award told a stunned Manhattan audience
earlier this year. “It’s a really nasty business ... it’s
cause more harm to the planet than you realize.
final disposal when you’re finished with your shirt may
a mess.”
Is the Second
Dirtiest
Industry in
the World,
Next to Big
Oil
Glynis Sweeny
August 2015
Ecowatch
While you’d never hear an oil tycoon malign his bonanza
in such a way, the woman who stood at the podium,
Eileen Fisher, is a clothing industry magnate.
On a warm spring night at a Chelsea Piers ballroom on
the Hudson River, Fisher was honored by Riverkeeper
for her commitment to environmental causes. She was
self-deprecating and even apologetic when speaking
about the ecological impact of clothing, including garments
tagged with her own name. Fisher’s critique may
have seemed hyperbolic, but she was spot-on.
When we think of pollution, we envision coal power
plants, strip-mined mountaintops and raw sewage piped
into our waterways. We don’t often think of the shirts on
our backs. But the overall impact the apparel industry
has on our planet is quite grim.
Fashion is a complicated business involving long and
varied supply chains of production, raw material, textile
manufacture, clothing construction, shipping, retail, use
and ultimately disposal of the garment. While Fisher’s
assessment that fashion is the second largest polluter
is likely impossible to know, what is certain is that the
fashion carbon footprint is tremendous. Determining
that footprint is an overwhelming challenge due to the
immense variety from one garment to the next. A general
assessment must take into account not only obvious
pollutants—the pesticides used in cotton farming,
the toxic dyes used in manufacturing and the great
amount of waste discarded clothing creates—but also
the extravagant amount of natural resources used in
extraction, farming, harvesting, processing, manufacturing
and shipping.
While cotton, especially organic cotton, might seem
like a smart choice, it can still take more than 5,000
gallons of water to manufacture just a T-shirt and a
pair of jeans. Synthetic, man-made fibers, while not as
water-intensive, often have issues with manufacturing
pollution and sustainability. And across all textiles,
the manufacturing and dyeing of fabrics is chemically
intensive.
Globalization means that your shirt likely traveled halfway
around the world in a container ship fueled by the
dirtiest of fossil fuels. A current trend in fashion retail
is creating an extreme demand for quick and cheap
Fisher is right, the fashion industry is truly a mess.

Implications
A Thirsty, Needy Plant
40
Cotton is the world’s most commonly used natural fields. Dust from the dry, exposed lakebed, containing Dyes are creating a chemical Fukushima in Indonesia.
The menace caused by nonylphenol doesn’t end at the While a majority of the world’s apparel conglomerates cars in just one year. The low-grade bunker fuel burned
41
fiber and is in nearly 40 percent of our clothing. It has these chemicals and salt saturated the air, creating a The Citarum River is considered one of the most polluted
Citarum River. The chemical remains in our clothes after are U.S. based, more than 60 percent of world clothing by ships is 1,000 times dirtier than highway diesel used
a clean, wholesome image long cultivated by the garment
public health crisis and settling onto farm fields, con-
rivers in the world due in great part to the hundreds
they are produced and only comes out after a few wash-
is manufactured in developing countries. Asia is the in the trucking industry. These ships do not consume
industry. But the truth is that it is a thirsty little taminating the soil. The Aral is rapidly becoming a dry of textile factories lining its shores. According to Greenes.
For this reason, the European Union (EU) member major clothing exporter today, producing more than 32 fuel by the gallon, but by tons per hour. Pollution by the
plant that drinks up more of its fair share of water. It is sea and the loss of the moderating influence that such peace, with 68 percent of the industrial facilities on the
states have banned imports of clothing and textiles containing
percent of the world’s supply. China is the leading world shipping industry, which has boomed over the past 20
also one of the most chemically dependent crops in the a large body of water has on the weather has made the Upper Citarum producing textiles, the adverse health
nonylphenol ethoxylates (it banned nonylphenol producer and supplier of clothing, providing nearly 13 years, is beginning to affect the health of those living
world. While only 2.4 percent of the world’s cropland region’s winters much colder and summers hotter and effects to the 5 million people living in the river basin
for its own textile manufacturing more than a decade percent of the world’s exports.
in coastal and inland regions around the world, yet the
is planted with cotton, it consumes 10 percent of all drier.
and wildlife are alarming.
ago.) While not banned in the U.S., the Environmental
emissions of such ships goes mostly unregulated.
agricultural chemicals and 25 percent of insecticides.
Protection Agency (EPA) has identified eight safer alternatives
Some genetically modified varieties, which are resistant
to nonylphenol ethoxylates.
to some insects and tolerant of some herbicides, now
Altogether, more than a half trillion gallons of fresh water
make up more than 20 percent of the world’s cotton
are used in the dyeing of textiles each year. The dye
crop. Cotton is indeed grown all over the world with
wastewater is discharged, often untreated, into nearby
China being the largest cotton grower followed by India,
rivers, where it reaches the sea, eventually spreading
the U.S., Pakistan and Brazil.
around the globe. China, according to Yale Environment
360, discharges roughly 40 percent of these chemicals.
Uzbekistan, the world’s sixth leading producer of cotton,
is a prime example of how cotton can severely
impact a region’s environment. In the 1950s, two rivers
in Central Asia, the Amu Darya and and the Syr Darya,
were diverted from the Aral sea to provide irrigation
for cotton production in Uzbekistan and nearby Turkmenistan.
Today, water levels in the Aral are less than
10 percent of what they were 50 years ago. As the Aral
dried up, fisheries and the communities that relied on
them failed. Over time, the sea became over-salinated
and laden with fertilizer and pesticides from the nearby
Organic cotton is a much more sustainable alternative,
but today it is only about one percent of all the
cotton grown worldwide and quite expensive to grow
compared to conventional cotton. It is not without its
downsides, however. Organic cotton still needs large
amounts of water and the clothing made from it may
still be dyed with chemicals and shipped globally, meaning
that there’s still a big carbon footprint with cotton
garments carrying the “organic” tag.
Clothes to Dye For?
Little care was paid to Indonesia’s water infrastructure
when its textile boom began; proper framework for
waste disposal was largely neglected. Clothing manufacturers
dumped their chemicals into the river, making
the Citarum nothing more than a open sewer containing
with lead, mercury, arsenic and a host of other toxins.
Greenpeace tested the discharge from one of these
textile plants along the Citarum and found disturbing
amounts of nonylphenol, an endocrine disruptor, which
can be deadly to aquatic life. Greenpeace also found
the water to be high in alkalinity—equivalent to that of
lye-based drain openers—and had apparently not even
received the most basic of treatment. Greenpeace described
the discharge as “highly caustic, will burn human
skin coming into direct contact with the stream and
will have a severe impact (most likely fatal) on aquatic
life in the immediate vicinity of the discharge area.”
New technologies, such as waterless dye technologies
have been developed, but have not yet been deployed
at most manufacturing sites. The textile industry,
which has been using copious amounts of water to dye
garments for hundreds of years, may be reluctant to
embrace this change. After all, this new technology is
expensive to install and only works on certain fabrics.
Well-Traveled Attire
But as production and labor costs rise in China, clothing
companies are moving to countries where manufacturing
is cheaper; places like Bangladesh, Vietnam,
Pakistan and the Philippines. These countries might not
have the raw materials needed, so they’re often shipped
there from countries like China, the U.S. and India. Once
manufactured, the garments are put in shipping containers
and sent by rail, container ships and eventually
rail and trucks to the retailer. There’s no way to gauge
how much fuel is used to ship clothes worldwide, but 22
billion new clothing items are bought by Americans per
year, with only 2 percent of those clothes being domestically
manufactured. In total, some 90 percent of garments
are transported by container ship each year.
While we don’t know what percentage of cargo garments
comprise on the world’s 9,000 container ships,
we do know that a single ship can produce as much
cancer and asthma-causing pollutants as 50 million

Implications
New York Times, Forever 21 Bankrupcy
Signals Shift in Consumer’s Taste
“EVERY FOREVER 21 SHOPPING BAG HAS
‘JOHN 3:16,’ A REFERENCE TO THE BIBLE
VERSE, PRINTED ON IT.”
Disposable Dress
42
In the first world, shopping has become a way of life, a uncommon for shoppers to wear an item once or twice Made from petrochemicals, polyester and nylon are
get enough old soda bottles. Because the demand is so Some top clothing designers, such as Fisher, Stella
43
weekly pastime and for many an addiction. Shopping before throwing it away for next week’s style, aided by not biodegradable, so they are unsustainable by their
much higher than the supply, some cynical suppliers McCartney and Ralph Lauren are on the leading edge
malls, glossy fashion magazines, catalogs and Internet
the poor quality of many of the clothes causing them to very nature. While the manufacturing of both uses great
are buying unused bottles directly from their manufac-
toward reforming the fashion industry. Eileen Fisher’s
ads bombard us with entertaining opportunities to fall apart after several washes.
amounts of energy, nylon also emits a large amount of
turers to make polyester clothing which they can label eponymous company is already using 84 percent or-
spend money. Feeding this rampant consumerism is the
nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, during manufacturing.
recycled.
ganic cotton, 68 percent organic linen and is reducing
“fast fashion” trend, in which clothing is designed to Fashion is all about image, so many retailers have
The impact of one pound of nitrous oxide on global
water use and carbon emissions and working to make
be moved as quickly as possible from catwalk to store. recently made efforts to cultivate a greener image. H&M warming is almost 300 times that of the same amount of
its supply chain sustainable by 2020.
Only about 10 years old, fast fashion is leading the has a sustainability effort called H&M Conscious: a carbon dioxide, the most ubiquitous greenhouse gas.
way in actual disposable clothing and it is particularly “promise to bring you more fashion choices that are
worrisome because it creates demand for and then constantly
good for people, the planet and your wallet.” But what
churns out massive amounts of cheap clothes, of its claims of sustainability? There is some question
ultimately accelerating carbon emissions and global here.
warming.
At $108 for a white organic cotton tank top, Eileen Fisher
is a high-end retailer, out of reach for most consumers.
The vast majority of us shop at the giant fashion
retailers, which have the biggest carbon footprint—and
many of them specialize in fast fashion. Swedish giant
H&M is the current largest clothing retailer in the world
at $20.2 billion in sales (as of January 2015) followed by
Zara, another fast fashion specialist.
The fashion industry by design is constantly changing
with the seasons, but fast fashion can change weekly,
summed up by a sign in H&M, “New stuff is coming in
each and every day. So why not do the same.” It’s not
As stated In its 2014 sustainability report H&M’s CEO
Karl-Johan Persson said, “In order to remain a successful
business, we need to keep growing and at the same
time respect the planetary boundaries.” The intense
consumerism and rate of production needed to grow
these fast fashion retailers does not reflect the fact that
energy is increasingly expensive and resources are limited.
Globalization and the never-ending search for the
lowest labor rates that made those jeans possible has
limits as well.
Crude Duds
It’s estimated that it takes about 70 million barrels of
oil just to produce the virgin polyester used in fabrics
each year. But recycled polyester made from discarded
plastic polymer products is now being considered as a
greener option, as it takes less than half the energy to
produce and helps keep plastic products, like drinking
bottles, out of landfills. But there are downsides to recycled
polyester. Used plastic bottles must still be cleaned
and the labels mechanically removed before made into
polyester fabric. The process is mostly done by hand
and that means these plastic bottles are shipped to
countries with low labor rates, using dirty fossil fuels to
send them there.
Much of what is touted as recycled polyester is actually
greenwashed products. The U.S. still has a very low rate
of plastic recycling, only 6 percent. So clothing manufacturers,
eager to tout their “recycled” clothes, can’t
Even when they’re being laundered by you, your polyester
clothes are harming our waterways. Ecologist
Michael Browne examined sediment along the world’s
shorelines and noticed fibers everywhere. The threads
he found were tiny, synthetic and ubiquitous near
sewage outflows. Eighty-five percent of the microfibers
found along the shoreline were human-made material
and “matched the types of material, such as nylon and
acrylic, used in clothing.”
Going down the drain from our domestic washing machines
Browne estimates that around 1,900 individual
fibers can be washed off a single garment and find their
way into the oceans and on shores everywhere. These
fibers are another pathway for the chemicals in the fabric
to get into the environment.
A Thread of Hope
But as Fisher said in her speech at the Riverkeeper
Ball, hers is just one company. And while part of Eileen
Fisher’s mission is to share its insight with other clothing
manufacturers, one company’s overall impact is still
rather small. But Fisher said: “Because [the fashion
industry is] the second largest polluter in the world I
also think we can be a huge force for change. I have
hope. I know it’s possible to make clean clothes, to do it
a better way.”
But real change in the clothing industry will only come
if the big, affordable brands find a way to make and sell
sustainable clothing. Until then, consumers can help by
changing where they shop and what they buy.

Implications
44 45
The Gaurdian, Stella McCartney calls for
overhaul of ‘incredibly wasteful’ fashion
industry
“A STELLA MCCARTNEY CAMPAIGN SHOT
IN A SCOTTISH LANDFILL SITE TO RAISE
AWARENESS OF WASTE AND OVER-CON-
SUMPTION.”
Slow Fashion: the Answer for a Sustainable Fashion Industry?
Wasteful
Fashion
Eleonor Johansson
2010
University of Borås,
Swedish School of Textiles
Consumption

Implications
46
The unsustainable consumption we have today ends expertise and knowledge about design and production Cotton Incorporated approximately 35% of women clean
47
up with products in landfill, when they could be recycled
and when we are actively engaged in, learning about out their closets and 27% do it twice a year. But rather
or reused. But for the fashion waste, it does not or teaching something, we tend to feel more fulfilled, than throwing out the inactive garments or giving them
primarily go to landfill rather it sits, unused in people’s which mean that we need to draw out of a passive state away, they are simply organising and consolidating
wardrobes, where its potential use is wasted while the where our focus tends to be “having” a garment and them in order to make room for new garments to come.
demand for new clothing consumption increases. According
into the more active state of being (engaged and cre-
They where asked what they do with clothes they have
to Pears, research has been revealed that peoative),
doing (sewing, mending) and interacting (with not used in a year, where 65% of the women said they
ple are not only aware of their own wasteful consumption
fashion symbolism). These active states have a require-
hang on to it with the potential to become useful again
but may also feel guilty, dissatisfied and unhappy ment for an evolving set of knowledge and skills so and 34% got ride of it. (www.cottoninc.com, 2005)
as a result of overspending. (Pears, 2006) 34 The fashion
that we do not become bored or frustrated. (Fletcher,
industry is seen as the most wasteful industry given 2008) Fashion waste refers, according to Pears, to gar-
the defining nature of its everchanging fashion. In no ments that are inactive and interpreted as useless even
other industry are goods becoming so obsolete and though they may have the physical potential to maintain
require replacement through excessive consumption their use. As fashion are temporary forces that popularise
in the same way as in fashion. Today most clothes are
certain styles of garment at a particular time, a gar-
not worn out, but get replaced by the latest trend. The ment becomes unfashionable when it is made inactive
consumption of fashion has become a highly accelerated
by those who wish to follow fashion, despite the phys-
process where the rate of the consumption outpaces ical potential for wear. As fashion is often perceived as
the use. As fashion has become more affordable and cyclic, the owner may get to use the garment when it is
people wealthier, people can afford to purchase several revived by a new trend but, as Pears says, the repeated
garments, where previously a single garment would fashion cycle always tend to offer a slightly varied set
have been enough. According to Pears, these consumers
of styles to the original fashion as to stimulate con-
would be satisfied with just an empty bag, since sumption. A garment is then fashion waste when it is
it is the experience of shopping and not the garments outmoded by another version that may be superior in
that are important. (Pears, 2006) According to Fletcher, style, cut, fit or more fashionable and the former version
we need to shift from “blind consumption” to “reflective
is unlikely to have an active role in the wardrobe.
competence” and by that she means, developing (Pears, 2006) According to a research conducted by

Implications
48 49
Brand
Exploration

Implications
50
Through the reading of these articles and field often these brands are just as (if not more) driven
51
research, it’s clear that design has implications by capitol and profit.
on consumer relationships and ultimately climate
change. To illustrate this at it’s best, I worked
decided to explore a “alternative reality” branding
for luxury and second hand design.
Both ends of the design and branding for fashion
spectrum have very recognizable design styles
that create brand recognition in consumers. They
are so distinct that it is sometimes hard to pull
away from the preconceived notion that comes
with these styles. Second-hand stores tend to
have a lot of different graphic elements in their
logos. They use a lot of color and they often use
sans-serif fonts. The style tends to leave
viewers with a “homely” feeling. Stores that are
more cognizant of their environmental impact will
also tend to lean on “organic” visual signifier. Alternatively,
luxury branding has little to no graphic
elements. Some brands will have emblems that are
significant in the establishment of the brand (Hermes,
Louis Vuitton). But most rely on serif fonts,
type only and little to no color. The reserved and
minimal nature of these logos signify luxury to
consumers. This style has cultivated it’s own
perception of quality and craftsman ship. It’s easy
to associate these kind of implications around
quality with care or devotion to design itself. But,
My exploration started by looking into what specific
commonalities these brands shared. What about
their designs needed to be a part of my redesign
and why? What is the best way to convey luxury
without brand recognition from the name itself? I
then started transforming the logos myself. What
can be pulled apart and transformed to change it’s
perceived meaning? The following pages are my
exploration.

Implications
52 53

Implications
originial logo
deconstructing &
reconstructing
54 55
refining
final redesign

Implications
originial logo
explorations into
motifs
utilizing exsiting
brand identifiers
56 57
refining
final redesign

Implications
Conclusion
58 59

Implications
60
This exploration into the ways that design makes
realizations I came to. Putting money where your from pulling creativity out of every era of fashion
61
implications on brand association brought me into
mouth doesn’t always have the biggest effects. instead of just the most recent ones. I challenge
conclusions that were both expected and unexpected.
But, putting money where your mouth is and
myself everyday to only things that already exist in
At the beginning of ideating thesis topics, I had
turning that into civic action can.
the world. To avoid buying new as much
done mental gymnastics with my own relationship
as possible.
with consumerism. Breaking away from habits and
The design exploration was to show how much
marketing that perpetuates mass consumption is an
design can impact our own perceptions. When I There are still miles to go before we can begin to
ongoing battle. I, as much as the next person, can
analyzed the different design elements that made think people making very serious changes in
investigate the negative trail of fahion and consumerism
up each brand the commonalities became clear. relation to their consumption. But we are not far.
as much as I want but that still doesn’t make
Both the high end and the low end business are If we can open our eyes to the reality of that state
it less a part of our society or something that I ultimately
trying to make you feel some kind of way about of our ecosystems, we can begin to make positive
have to contribute to regularly. These bigger
them. I wanted to explore what it would feel like if changes. I hope that these articles can begin the
systems can’t be changed without big change. And
we swapped those brand perceptions. What would mental gymnastics for someone else and enact
my investigation or personal efforts can not change
it mean for second hand items to feel high quality?
a personal transformation with their relationship
that alone. But, I wanted this collection of articles
For second hand items to hold as much value? with consumerism and fashion.
to be a starting place for others who are not all
There is a perception that because something is
cognizant of their actions and the preconscious. I
used it’s not as good. I think if Amazon, Target and
want people to walk away questioning their current
IKEA has taught us anything is that new doesn’t always
actions and potentially putting that into change.
mean quality. Swapping two brands, one with
high perceived value and one with low perceived
value portrayed this juxtaposition.
The articles presented give varying perspective on
the same issues with the same goals. I specifically
picked these articles to show the complexity at
hand and to portray all the ways to tackle this
problem. From changing where you’re shopping
to civic action this is not one easy answer to this
problem. And this problem, is only one of many
problems in this bigger perpetuating system.
Through my research this was one of the biggest
I often fantasize about what a world would look like
where fast fashion labels aren’t pushing new
designs out weekly and we aren’t so revolved
changing trends to dictate our creativity. There
could be endless creativity if we only allowed
ourself to shop from clothing that already existed
in the world. The individuality that could spark

Implications
62
pg. 18-23
https://www.gucci.com/us/ vironment-relationships-an-
pg 43
63
en/st/stories/people-events/
nie-leonard
article/pre-fall-2018-vogue-
25-ways-shoppable# pg 19
Credits
(article)
“Purchasing Designer
Labels: The Role of
Reference Goups”
Uchenna Cyril Eze
Crystal Hui Hui Chin
& Chai Har Lee
Asian Journal of Business
Research, 2(2), 52.
pg 19
(image)
“In Family”
Vogue Magazine
https://www.gucci.com/us/
en/st/stories/people-events/
article/pre-fall-2018-vogue-
25-ways-shoppable#
pg. 24-25
(image)
“In Family”
Vogue Magazine
pg. 28-31
(article)
“As Consumerism
Spreads, Earth Suffer,
Study says.”
Hillary Maywell
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2004/01/consumerism-earth-suffers/
pg. 32-35
(article)
“Overconsumption is
costing us the earth and
human happiness.”
Celia Cole
https://www.theguardian.
com/environment/2010/
jun/21/overconsumption-en-
(image)
“Bag Lady”
Diego Lawler,
Tyler Truglio,
Ginger Caranto,
Isabel Conley,
& Cameron Durham
https://sohomemory.org/soho-as-muse-the-soho-shift
pg. 38-42
(article)
“Fast Fashion Is the
Second Dirtiest Industry in
the World, Next to Big Oil”
Glynis Sweeny
https://www.ecowatch.com/
fast-fashion-is-the-seconddirtiest-industry-in-the-worldnext-to-big--1882083445.
html
(image)
“A/W 2017”
Harley Weir
& Urs Fischer for Stella
McCartney
https://www.theguardian.
com/environment/2017/
nov/28/stella-mccartney-calls-for-overhaul-of-incredibly-wasteful-fashion-industry
pg. 43-47
(article)
“Slow fashion: the answer
for a sustainable fashion
industry?”
Eleonor Johansson
http://www.diva-portal.org/
smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A1312116&dswid=EBSCOhost

64
Implications