Are fashion influencers a problem to the environment

Are fast-fashion influencers a problem to the environment?

What a scary topic to talk about! In fact, open your Instagram and look into your home page or explorer and look at the number of influencer you can find. Go to youtube and just type “unboxing”… you will see the number of videos popping out. 

According to the influencermarketinghub, the influencer marketing has seen an increase in the market from $6.6 billion in 2019 to $9.7 billion in 2020.

If we look at the definition of a fashion influencer: to influence people on new trends, styles and other novelties coming out in the fashion industry. This is a direct link with fast fashion.

So, obviously, with the backlash of the brands since COVID19 on their practice towards employees and more we expect to see a surge of influencers which have at core to save the planet – advertise slow fashion and educate people on the importance of denouncing fast fashion. Well none of this happened, au contraire, since the beginning of COVID19 a surge in fast fashion influencer appeared. What I think is quite laughable is that they educate you on the importance of being vegan to save the planet but are a huge consumer of fast fashion – two things that definitely do not go together!

Can fast fashion influencers adapt their content for slow fashion?

If you look at a feed of a fast-fashion influencer you can see a lot of outfits with different brands, more and more unboxings each week and never the same outfit. After talking with some of them you realise that most of those outfits they do not even wear more than 1 hour, only for a video. This is not ok. I believe that influencers should educate people and be more real on the actual clothes they wear.

Here are some ideas on how influencers should adapt their content to slow-fashion:

  • instead of working with super cheap clothes prefer vintage clothes/ second hand or even from smaller brand that work on their impact on the environment.
  • create several posts and different outfits with one piece of clothing! Show how they can be reused in different ways!
  • be pickier with the brands you work with. Look into their goal for the future and their carbon footprint!

It is ok not to be perfect and want to sometimes buy things from fast fashion brands but it is important to recognize the influence those media can have on people.

Would influencer still be a job with slow fashion?

I do believe yes by promoting smaller brands and being more straight forward with their audience I believe there is even more money for them to make. By being more into a niche and not mainstream like everyone. the environmental issue as well as the fast fashion industry is getting a big hit right now and the next ones to get it will be the influencer when people that follow them realise the impact they have on the climate!

The climate issue is not coming directly from the consumer but from companies and corporations that make more money than third countries combined. Influencers are not the main problem for this issue however they are an influence on it! 

Who would you rather follow a slow fashion/ vintage influencer or a fast-fashion/unboxing queen?

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6Xe7R9g8M2T9dm4GzA59Yi?si=00umAvjzScOa8ACnqWZcOA&dl_branch=1

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