My project is on fast fashion. I am interested in exploring the materiality and its direct impact on the enviroment.
My annoatated bibliography:
Works Cited
Birtwistle, G. and C. M. Moore. “Fashion Clothing – Where does it all End Up?” International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management 35, no. 3 (2007): 210-216. doi:http://dx.doi.org.libproxy.newschool.edu/10.1108/09590550710735068. https://login.libproxy.newschool.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.newschool.edu/docview/210912286?accountid=12261. This source analyzes the different factors that go into consumption of goods, life cycle of goods and the afterlife of the goods. Then it goes into a case study where they examined the key consumers for fast fashion through a focus group and compared what they found with other demographics. This source is useful because it is shows the connection between price and disposability as well as addresses why there is no urgency in the media to make consumers aware that what they consume is harmful. Both researchers are Professors at universities in the United Kingdom and the journal is pier reviewed. This has both primary and secondary information.
Luz, Claudio. “Waste Couture: Environmental Impact of the Clothing Industry.” Environmental Health Perspectives 115, no. 9 (09, 2007): A448-54. https://login.libproxy.newschool.edu/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.libproxy.newschool.edu/docview/222634019?accountid=12261. This source looks at the elements that lead up to fast fashion items being nearly disposable. It talks about the materiality of the clothing and the affect it causes on the earth for being so cheap. It talks about polyester, cotton and denim. It then goes over the materials being made to being consumed to being disposed of and reused. It also talks about possible solutions and why how recycling clothing properly can help solve other issues such as the use of water. This article was published in the Environmental Health Perspectives September 2007 issue. It gives great points about the materiality of the product but when using data found from this, I will look into other sources to find newer data. This is a secondary source.
Morgan, Andrew, Michael Ross, Lucy Siegle, Stella McCartney, Livia Firth, Vandana Shiva, and Duncan Blickenstaff. 2015. The True Cost. This film goes over the entirety of fast fashion as a whole. Its main focus seems to be the ethics of the labor but also touches on important issues that impact the environment as well as the mindset of consumers and disposal culture. I would take the environmental information that the film offers. Specifically, about cotton. It gives great insights into GMOs and health concerns through interviews with cotton farmers and a harsh look into the cotton industry. It also talks about the dangers of synthetic materials. This is a fairly recent documentary, especially compared to the other sources I have pulled from. This is also a primary source because of the interviews it has.
Morgan, Louise R., and Grete Birtwistle. “An Investigation of Young Fashion Consumers’ Disposal Habits.” International Journal of Consumer Studies 33, no. 2 (March 2009): 190–98. doi:10.1111/j.1470-6431.2009.00756.x. This journal published in the International Journal of Consumer Studies is a secondary source that analyses what causes a consumer to buy what he/she does and the afterlife of the product. It does more than just show information of about the phycological information that goes into consumerism, it addresses the issue by asking how can consumers be more mindful about what they are consuming, how can consumers properly dispose of what they want to get rid of and what the fashion industry can do to protect the environment and reduce their carbon footprint while still capitalizing.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Textiles: Material Specific Data. https://www.epa.gov/ (accessed March 13, 2019). The EPA is a government agency and provides data as it pertains to the environment. I would use this data and analyze it to the best of my knowledge. It has statistics about waste of all kinds which then I can compare to other sources.
Wicker, Alden. “Fast Fashion is Creating an Environmental Crisis.” Newsweek, Sep 09, 2016. I am going to use this in my rebuttal. My rebuttal will be debunk the misconception that thrift stores are recycling enough. I will talk about how some countries don’t even want our clothing anymore and are stopping the import on used American clothing. I will also talk about the rags and the decomposition of synthetic materials.
My Final project:
