How might we encourage young social media users
to shop for fashion sustainably and ethically?

Something that has always been really fascinating to me is the evolution of social media and how that effects the sociology of younger generations. My generation, Gen Z, has been one of the first to grow up with some form of unfiltered online social experience. Gen Z has been hard wired to consume media. Social media applications have become the main communication channels for all.

I have also always had an interest in fashion. I love learning about its history and development. From being on social media for over half of my life now, I have seen fashion take a turn. “Fast-fashion” is cheap and trendy clothing that is made at insanely high speeds for consumers. It is incredibly easy to acquire clothing these days, but that also leads to more waste from clothing. Online shopping and quick changing trends have caused consumers to feel as if they constantly need to buy new clothes, leading to unnecessary overconsumption fueled by social media.

Because of these observations, I decided to research how designers can encourage younger social media users to shop for clothing more sustainably and consciously. I wanted to discover what role social media users embody in the fashion industry and how this will continue to evolve with new technologies. My goal was to create something that will be educating and empowering for consumers in my generation.

From my research, I created an event called Thrift Day. Thrift Day aims to connect the digital shopping space to the physical. By encouraging consumers to create relationships with their clothing instead of following trends, Thrift Day allows the consumer to feel truly satisfied by their purchases. Emulating a style seen on social media is ultimately not fulfilling to a consumer. What is fulfilling is creating a wardrobe that is unique and reflects who you are. My design solution’s goal is not to solve the world’s fast fashion problem. There is no solution to the mass production of garments that can be tackled solely by the consumer. What consumers can do is change their shopping habits and influence others to do the same.

view my thesis here -> https://drive.google.com/file/d/13AxC8RJgOqJFIHFnxH9a9Qbl-aOZwpjH/view?usp=sharing