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Theoryand Context: Is Global Warming a Fashion Trend?
Theoryand Context: Is Global Warming a Fashion Trend?
Globalwarming has affected many aspects of human life. Fashion is one ofthe key industries that have been impacted both negatively andpositively by global warming. Fashion and the type of clothing thatpeople wear have always been influenced by different seasons of theyear. However, global warming has increased the level of temperaturein all seasons, which has disrupted their sequencies.1This paper is a critique of the media article “Is global warmingchanging fashion trends?” The article was authored by Jasmin Malikand published by Narrative Content Group in 2007.
Globalwarming has resulted in a drastic change in the type of fabric thatconsumers want to wear. Initially, people used to wear heavy clothingduring the cold seasons and lighter clothing during the summer.However, an increase in the levels of temperature, which can beattributed to the global warming, has made all seasons relativelywarm. 2Consequently,the demand for clothing made of heavy fabric has reducedsignificantly. Players in the fashion industry have expressed mixedreactions towards this change since most of them could not foreseethe change in demand for clothing. For example, several retailers(including H&M, Uniqlo, and Gap) of different fashionsexperienced a shortcoming of about 80 % of their expected
1.Chua, J., Is global warming changing fashion trends? NarrativeContent Group,[Website], 2016http://www.treehugger.com/style/is-global-warming-changing-fashion-trends.html(Accessed 24 May 2016).
2.Ibid,1.
revenueand a job cut of 4,500 vacancies in 2014.3These loses were attributed to the fact that the cold wealth goods(such as jackets, scarves, and hats) could not sell during thewinter. These retailers had overstocked their stores with theclothing made for the cold seasons, but to their surprise, theyclothes made of lighter material sold more than those made of heavymaterials.
Thefashion design companies and retailers that have been able to basetheir business plans on climate change trends have maintained theirsales and competitiveness in the industry. For example, the J.C.Penney, which is an American retailer of fashion clothing, launched aplan that could help the company stop ordering for seasonal products.When describing changes at J.C. Penny, Chua stated “it can fill its1,048 stores with fashions that "they need month to month,instead of season to season”.4The management of J.C. Penney announced that it would fill about1,048 stores located in different regions with fashions that do notdepend on the prevailing weather conditions to sell. Similarly, themanagement of the Fashion Institute of Technology reported thatseveral fashion experts have adapted to drastic changes that areattributed to the global warming.5These experts have transformed their business models, their notion ofseasonal clothing fashion, design, and fabric.
Impactof global warming on clothing designs
Oneof the key aspects of the fashion design that has been impacted bythe loss of
3.Petruzziello, M., Four reasons fashion should act on climate change,[Website], 2015,https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/four-reasons-fashion-should-act-on-climate-change/(Accessed 24 May 2016).
4.Chua, J., Is global warming changing fashion trends? NarrativeContent Group,[Website], 2016http://www.treehugger.com/style/is-global-warming-changing-fashion-trends.html(Accessed 24 May 2016).
5.Petruzziello, M., Four reasons fashion should act on climate change,[Website], 2015,https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/four-reasons-fashion-should-act-on-climate-change/(Accessed 24 May 2016).
distinctionfor the four seasons is layered look of the clothing. Currently,consumer buying decisions are influenced more by weather conditionsthan the seasons.3The seasons are no longer predictable as Chua stated, “Spring issneaking upon us earlier by seven to 10 days while fall is gettingdelayed by about a week”.7Consumers who have already noticed the unpredictability of seasonshave stopped buying seasonal clothing in advance. For example, themajority of consumers no longer buy clothing to prepare any of thefour seasons. Instead, they buy clothing that suits the prevailingweather conditions.
Fashiondesigner firms that use up-to-date research findings are slowlyshifting to production of fashions designs that can either be worn inall seasons or particular weather conditions. This is consistent withthe projections made by Chua, who stated “Expect a growing numberof fashion houses and brands to produce lighter-weight, season-lessclothing”.8For example, Cheil Industries developed new designs, includingspecial fabrics and layered look design. Some of the newest designsproduced by Cheil Industries include the cooling fabric, heat-storingfabric, and ultra light fabric.9The desire of consumers to wear light weight, and layers of thinclothing have made jumpers, trench coats, and jackets with layeredlooks trendy items. In addition, mufflers, cardigans, and boots havegained popularity in the modern society.
Changesin the way people dress
Apartfrom changes in the material used to design clothing, the drasticchanges in the
6.Son, M., “The impact of climate change on the fashion industry inKorea”, RitsumeikanJournal of Asian Pacific Studies,vol. 31, 2012, p. p. 51.
7.Chua, J., Is global warming changing fashion trends? NarrativeContent Group,[Website], 2016http://www.treehugger.com/style/is-global-warming-changing-fashion-trends.html(Accessed 24 May 2016).
8.Ibid, 1.
9.Son, M., “The impact of climate change on the fashion industry inKorea”, RitsumeikanJournal of Asian Pacific Studies,vol. 31, 2012, p. 61.
climaticconditions has forced people to change the way they dress. This canbe confirmed by comparing the dressing trends of the 20th century andthe 21sth century during the fall season as shown in Figure 1 andFigure 2.
Figure1: Fall 2015
Source:10
Figure2: Fall in 1990s
Source:11
10.Purves, M., Fall fashion: Too warm to be cool, TheNew York Times, 18November 2015,http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/fashion/fall-fashion-too-warm-to-be-cool.html?_r=0(Accessed 24 May 2016).
11.Pinterest, Explore these ideas and more! Pinterest,[Website], 2016, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/523050944194190957/(Accessed 24 May 2016).
Figure1 shows a picture of three ladies and one man sitting on theplayground bench during fall in New York. The boots made the woman inthe picture sweat profusely. The man, who was an editor in anestablished company, had pulled out his scarves and sweater due tohigh temperatures. The picture in Figure 2, on the other hand,indicates a mother and her three daughters wearing heavy coats,skirts, trousers, boots, and some of them wearing socks during the1990s fall.
Thetwo pictures indicate the difference in wearing style during the late20th century and early 21st century. The group of people in Figure 1confessed that 2015 had the warmest fall in the period of 25 years.12People in New York have been spending their fall quarter in trenches,sweaters, boots, and scarves, but the street life has changed. It ismore likely to find people wearing sandals, T-shirts, and backlessdresses during the fall period. People who are used to buying fallclothing in the month of May as part of their early preparationstrategy were surprised to learn that the weather conditions couldnot allow them to wear heavy attires. This is consistent with thestatement “climate change may have given seasonal dressing the bootall together”.13This implies that some of the seasonal dresses will be completelyforgotten if the temperatures continue increasing at an exponentialrate.
Futuredressing trends
Thefuture dressing trends will be impacted by the consciousness that theconsumers have about the impact of the textile industry on theclimate. However, the issue of climate change may not have animmediate solution, which implies that the dressing trends will also
12.Purves, M., Fall fashion: Too warm to be cool, TheNew York Times, 18November 2015,http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/fashion/fall-fashion-too-warm-to-be-cool.html?_r=0(Accessed 24 May 2016).
13.Pinterest, Explore these ideas and more! Pinterest,[Website], 2016, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/523050944194190957/(Accessed 24 May 2016).
beaffected by an exponential increase in temperatures during the falls.A study has identified that the consumers and textile firms will basetheir dressing and manufacturing decisions on several concerns,including the impact of man-made fiber that is non-biodegradable,chemicals used in production of different types of fiber.14For example, Zady, one of the textile companies in the U.S. havestarted investing in clothing that does not result in environmentalpollution as shown in Figure 3.
Figure3: Future dressing trends
Source:15
Figure3 shows that the future dressing trends and fiber, where consumersare likely to
14.Misener, J. How will climate change affect what we wear? Surprise! Italready has, Huffpost Style,[Website], 2012,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/22/climate-change-global-warming-hurricane-sandy-style-apparel-fashion-industry_n_2001510.html(Accessed 24 May 2016).
15.Connca, J., Making climate change fashionable: The garment industrytakes on global warming, Forbes,[Website], 2015,http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2015/12/03/making-climate-change-fashionable-the-garment-industry-takes-on-global-warming/#3e9ea217778a(Accessed 24 May 2016).
gofor old-fashion denim that is eco-friendly, instead of morefashionable products that are produced from biofuels. However, peoplewill continue wearing open shoes, instead of boots, even during theseasons that used to be extremely cold. This implies that it will bemore fashionable to wear eco-friendly products, than beautifulclothing that contributes to the menace of global warming. Otherdesigners (such as Aniela Hoitink) have focused on the development ofbiodegradable garments as sown in figure 4.
Figure4: Biodegradable garment
Source:16
Figure4 indicate the images of the future biodegradable garment that isproduced using the mushroom.
Conclusion
Theglobal warming can be considered to be a fashion trend, given that itdetermines
16.Mordas-Schenkein, L., Designer unveils biodegradable dress made frommushroom, Inhabitant, [Website], 2016,http://inhabitat.com/designer-unveils-biodegradable-dress-made-from-mushrooms/(Accessed 24 May 2016).
thetype of fabric used in the textile industry, clothing design,dressing trends in the modern world. The global warming impactsfashion trends by increasing the level of temperatures and reducingthe predictability of the different seasons. For example, winter hasbecome warmer, which has reduced the demand for heavy clothing, suchas coats, scarves, and boots. The increase in temperatures allowspeople to wear T-shirts, shorts, and sandals during the fall period.Fashion designer firms (such as J.C. Penney) that are to monitorchanges in demand for clothing can maintain their sales by increasingthe inventory of season-less textile products.
Listof references
Chua,J., Is global warming changing fashion trends? NarrativeContent Group,[Website], 2016http://www.treehugger.com/style/is-global-warming-changing-fashion-trends.html(Accessed 24 May 2016).
Connca,J., Making climate change fashionable: The garment industry takes onglobal warming, Forbes,[Website], 2015,http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesconca/2015/12/03/making-climate-change-fashionable-the-garment-industry-takes-on-global-warming/#3e9ea217778a(Accessed 24 May 2016).
Misener,J. How will climate change affect what we wear? Surprise! It alreadyhas, Huffpost Style,[Website], 2012,http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/22/climate-change-global-warming-hurricane-sandy-style-apparel-fashion-industry_n_2001510.html(Accessed 24 May 2016).
Mordas-Schenkein,L., Designer unveils biodegradable dress made from mushroom,Inhabitant,[Website], 2016,http://inhabitat.com/designer-unveils-biodegradable-dress-made-from-mushrooms/(Accessed 24 May 2016).
Petruzziello,M., Four reasons fashion should act on climate change, WorldEconomic,[Website], 2015,https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2015/10/four-reasons-fashion-should-act-on-climate-change/(Accessed 24 May 2016).
Pinterest,Explore these ideas and more! Pinterest,[Website], 2016, https://www.pinterest.com/pin/523050944194190957/(Accessed 24 May 2016).
Purves,M., Fall fashion: Too warm to be cool, TheNew York Times,18 November 2015,http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/19/fashion/fall-fashion-too-warm-to-be-cool.html?_r=0(Accessed 24 May 2016).
Son,M., “The impact of climate change on the fashion industry inKorea”, RitsumeikanJournal of Asian Pacific Studies,vol. 31, 2012, p. 56-65.