Creativity is Resistance
Confronting fast fashion's enduring menace with style
As a social entrepreneur, I have spent my career essentially being a professionalized activist. That said, I don’t often take to the streets to protest the underlying systems that I challenge with my work. Last week I did, joining a stunningly-dressed band of local leaders to protest fast fashion juggernaut SHEIN at a local mall.
I am a lifelong fashion lover, have been sewing since I was very young, and resonate with the delight of self-exploration and self-expression through our sartorial choices. Over the past year I have been resurrecting my 90s fashion label, everyware designs, as a slow fashion brand focused on upcycling and education.
Among many issues with fast fashion is the shameless exploitation of our collective desire for the above-named feelings at the expense of garment factory workers, the planet and even customers themselves. Rather than encouraging true individuality and creativity, SHEIN’s offerings are a fake sugar high that demands conformity and constant repetition.
By now I’m hoping that most of my readers are familiar with the big picture concept of fast fashion: cheap, essentially disposable clothing made by underpaid workers with largely petroleum-based and non-organic textiles. Less than 1% of all textile waste in Canada is recycled, and an estimated 70% of clothing donated to thrift stores is never re-sold. Our planet is literally drowning in textile waste.
For anyone wanting to take a deeper dive on this despicable machine of hyper consumption and waste, I recently attended a screening of an excellent documentary called “Buy Now! The Shopping Conspiracy” and cannot recommend it highly enough.
The unattractive reality is that trendy fast fashion “hauls” actually have an enormous hidden cost in the form of solid waste in landfills and beaches and microplastics in oceans, all wrapped in staggering carbon emissions. As a proud resident of the supposed Greenest City in Canada, I wasn’t going to help roll out the welcome mat.
So how was the protest? First, I was astonished by the number (literally hundreds, if not thousands patiently waiting in line) of folks who are as excited to shop at SHEIN as they are oblivious to what they are actually participating in.
I am not saying that SHEIN shoppers are wrong or bad to want the pleasure of treating themselves to something new. I just want to let them know that there are many other, sustainable and ethical—not to mention more satisfying—ways of actually achieving that. I found myself wondering: is it that they don’t know, or don’t care?
What I wish that we had had the opportunity to do is to get beyond the Us v Them vibe altogether. What if we could have created our own pop-up across from SHEIN, complete with repair cafe, vintage and upcycling workshops? This would be my perfect world scenario. For something along these lines, please join me for Slow Fashion in Action on the afternoon of Saturday April 25th at Granville Island.
To those who say that fast fashion clothing is affordable, I challenge them to visit their local thrift or vintage store, or organize a clothing swap. To those who want to keep up with trends, I say learn to sew, or better yet move beyond this Sisyphean hamster wheel altogether.
Me, silently addressing SHEIN customers: take the time to learn who you really are and what you actually like and stop waiting for the capitalist machine to tell you what’s cool. Whatever trend that you are trying to signal that you’re adhering to will be dated soon enough, leaving you with no choice but to buy more in order to look “current.” Feeling manipulated yet? And where do your soon-outdated clothes go? Oh yeah: the magical land of Away.
To underline my point about SHEIN’s customers having other choices, I decked myself out in some of my own creations, including an upcycled tablecloth tunic, renovated jeans and a vintage scarf of my mother-in-law’s (a boss lady if ever there was one!), for extra flair and courage.
A surprising number of people in line actually complimented me on my outfit, to which I replied that they too had the ability to deploy their own creativity to make their own brilliant one of a kind outfits. It’s called slow fashion, and it truly is for everyone, whether you are into vintage, thrift, swap, repair or DIY upcycling.
So many cool, affordable, fun options, with the added bonus that you get to be more unique! More actual you, not a sheep-like follower whose #sheinhaul will ultimately end up polluting a beach somewhere in the Global South. Thrift stores are currently choked with the dreaded skinny jeans, which I assure you can be updated into wider legs in a jiffy (or check out these locally-made beauties!)
A few minutes after I arrived at the pop-up, I was accosted by security guards who informed me that protesting was not permitted on private property and that if I persisted, police would be called. I complimented them on their uniforms and thanked them for sharing this helpful information.
I was unfailingly polite to them, while maintaining my right to peaceful protest. One of the other protesters expressed surprise at my behaviour. “They’re just working, and it makes it harder for them to be mad at you when you are respectful,” I explained. These people are not wrong or bad either.
Our merry band of protesters included vintage leaders, upcyclers and eco-fashion event producers. All my respect to every single one of you. We reconvened outside, across the street from the train station, and proceeded to have multiple friendly, highly productive conversations with curious mall-goers. I was surprised by how many elders in particular were sympathetic to our message.
Want a less extractive, more beautiful, fast fashion-free future? Imagine it. Make it. Remember, your dollars are votes for our future.
And don’t be afraid to take your message to the streets: we all wear clothes, so this is an issue that we can all do something about.
Learn more:
Upcoming local events:
Saturday April 25th, Slow Fashion in Action - part of Fashion Revolution Week at Granville Island (I will be there leading an upcycling activity). FREE.
Saturday May 16th, screening and discussion of River Blue, a documentary about the denim industry. By donation.
