Plan

My original mission statement at the beginning of the project was that I had identified that consumer habits of over consumption is fuelling the market of fast fashion and has now become a way of life and there is a need to attract a younger audience regarding the reuse of clothing as they are one of the most influential consumer groups in the fast fashion retail market. This has remained the same throughout the project with the intention to experiment with the aesthetic to initially attract the audience whilst ensuring it portrays the beauty of nature through colour and image.

Action

The main platform for the action of this project was to create a swap website which I have achieved but throughout my research and experimentation some elements have changed. When developing my ideas, I decided that the promotional video will be the main aspect to my swap website, which features the beauty of nature, animal welfare and the representation of human’s role in saving the environment through moving image and text. Adding in the aspect of colour and imagery to attract the younger audience I decided to create three individual editorials representing different ways of benefiting the environment and reducing over consumption. As a result of this I decided to create a zine to go alongside the website which features the three editorials which are also interactive. I decided to use Instagram as the social media platform for the swap website where it promotes tips and information about the fashion industry along with beneficial ways to improve sustainability. I also planned to create a page on the website that gives advice on how to host a swap party but instead I actually went ahead and co-hosted a swap party in a pop-up venue in Brighton and created a short video that will also feature on the website to inspire others.

Success

The initial aim of my project was to create a platform that brought people together whilst benefiting the environment through the reuse of clothing and reducing the over consumption of fast fashion. I feel my platform has achieved this aim, by creating a website that contains a promotional video along with colourful and informative editorials to attract the target demographic along with the interactive zine and social media platform. I feel my project will have the possibility to reach out to the millennials to encourage a change in their shopping habits and teach them to find a new respect for their clothing and the environment.

Swap’s main source of advertisement and promotion will be through its official Instagram account @swapwithapurpose. This account will feature all of Swap’s content along with extra images a videos sharing useful information on ways to benefit the environment along with interesting facts about the industry. I also felt it was important as I am promoting sustainability for most of the Swap advertisement to be online to ensure there is no paper waste.

When looking at how to advertise the swap website I was sure that I wanted to advertise the short film on the television as I feel the video would have the greatest impact on larger screen. I also took into account my target audience which is the millennial demographic and it has been said that due to new technology we tend to spend most of our time looking at smaller screens such as iphones and ipads. With this in mind, I have ensured that the video works just as well on a mobile screen and is large enough to make an impact.

As my target market for this website are known to live and breathe social media and that’s why I decided that it was essential for the platform to have its own official Instagram page. However, due to the many social media platforms available I decided to mock up an example of the Swap platform on Facebook as a preview of how it would be advertised with the easy shopping accessibility.

I also feel a beneficial platform for Swap to be advertised is YouTube. In my mock up example I have chosen a clothes haul to demonstrate the types of videos that my advertisement will be beneficial. Clothes haul videos are about showing their viewers how many things they have bought from fast fashion retailers and how little they paid for them, these videos’ encourage over consumption and hopefully if advertising my promo video ahead of them will inspire others to reconsider the source of their clothing.

 

Encouraging a change in over consumption and shopping habits.

Today, the present speed of fast fashion has accelerated and is now a global market that entices consumers with its cheap clothing and endless ‘must have’ collections. Shopping for new clothes used to be a occasional occurrence during the new seasons but recently the fashion industry has seen a change, the supply chains have drastically sped up and the high street is seeing more collections released each month then there was annually.  Now, retailers are releasing around 52 different collections a year. Therefore, clothing is less appreciated, people no longer value their clothing due to the items being poorly made, cheap and easily assessable.

“Globally, we’re producing over 100 billion new garments from new fibres every single year, and the planet cannot sustain that” – Lucy Siegle

 

Taking your time to shop, looking through various shops and clothes until you find that unique piece that you love! Learning about where your clothing comes from and who it was made by is important, This will help you value and take pride in your clothing. shopping for clothing should be a fun and educating experience. Shopping this way also benefits the environment by ensuring these clothes don’t end up in landfill in developing countries. Also, in time, the speed of fast fashion should start to decrease due to less demand.

A few changes to everyone’s washing habits could greatly improve the environment and create some large benefits. When washing on the lowest temperature possible it cuts CO2 emissions and saves energy. Investigated by Levi Strauss, one pair of Levi’s 501 jeans used a total of 3,480.5 liters of water through its life cycle and home washing alone accounted for 2,000 liters! These results have inspired Levi’s to launch their own campaign, encouraging customers to change their washing habits to benefit the environment. The environment have suffered disaster due to water shortage such as the disappearance of a sea (Aral Sea). Therefore, changing habits such as lowering the temperature and washing less could not only save energy and money it will also have a positive impact on the environment.

“Washing at a low temperature not only saves energy and money – it also helps keep your clothes looking good for longer.” – Philip Malpass Director General, UKCPI

 

“With the average student spending over £500 per year on energy usage, we’re delighted to support the I prefer 30 campaign to help raise awareness of how students can save money on their energy usage while doing their bit for the environment as well.” – Dom Anderson NUS Vice President of Society and Citizenship

When researching and thinking of an idea for my third editorial I wanted to focus on my main reason for my project, which is encouraging a change within the younger demographics’ over consumption and shopping habits. Whilst walking through the streets of Brighton and seeing all the various charity/second hand shops I decided to focus my editorial on ‘Sourcing Sustainably’.

Encouraging the audience to shop around and find rare pieces and discover your own unique style. When having to search for clothing to find a piece that works for you, a different appreciation for fashion is developed and respect for clothing. My next steps for this shoot is to find a shop that I feel will work best for this shoot that features interesting decor. I have decided for this shoot I’m going to focus on the location, unique items and their surroundings.

 

I also photographed the shoot with a coloured film camera and I am very happy with the outcome. I feel the effect from the film camera really suited the aesthetic of the shoot and worked very well.