15. Sharayah McDonald- Textbook Reading 5

 In the last reading for the semester, Chapter 14, the textbook discusses different technological and consumption industries and cultures that need to be changed, for individual action is not enough anymore. The thing that stood out the most to me in this chapter was the quote that "inventiveness includes changes in our conceptions of need- that is, changes in the character of consumption and its relationship to well-being and sustainability" (373). The textbook goes on to give an example of automobiles, for we do not truly need them to survive, but since the industrial revolution, they have more and more become a need to engage in society and jobs. This is a great example, but I feel as though it goes even deeper than that. I feel as though there are things in our American society in particular that we truly do not need, but through our wealth and privilege have convinced ourselves we do. It reminds me of a child pleading and begging their parent for a toy that they "need"- Americans do not need everything we claim we do, and this is why our consumption is so high. My mind immediately goes to the fashion industry, and how wasteful Americans are of clothes. Specifically wealthier citizens waste so many clothes by convincing themselves they need the latest fashion trend, they need something to wear to a particular occasion, they need to get new clothes for school every year even if they are done growing, they need buy the newest designer piece because the brand tag on the item is a status symbol, they need new clothes because they see something they want. I will admit that I am guilty of over consuming clothes myself, and it is something I have tried to work on, for now I understand how truly wasteful the fast fashion industry is. Between the cotton and materials in the clothes, the water used to grow these materials, the dyes used, and the often outsourced, exploitative labor used to make the clothes, fast fashion is an incredibly wasteful, harmful industry. Furthermore, in our fast-moving society, trends change so quickly, and this is intentional. Fashion brands intentionally create and change trends in order to sell more clothes and make more money, and we as consumers convince ourselves we need to keep up with this change. We account for so much waste in landfills simply through our consumption of clothes. I personally hate the culture of "influencers" on social media who convince their followers they need to buy a product they are being sponsored to endorse, for it creates so much unnecessary waste. I feel as though this is something Americans truly need to examine in order to understand purchases that are really necessary, and things that are going to end up in the trash a year later.  

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