The practice of mass production for mass consumption is fashion’s greatest threat to our culture and environment and it has struggled to survive at any cost. Although the theory behind it seems to fit quite nicely into modernity’s terms of progress and history, society has always remained skeptical. The Industrial Revolution and rise in the ready to wear market led to child labor, unsafe working condition, unfair wages and environmental destruction. While America and Europe attempt to clean up their acts, manufacturers move their factories overseas where desperate governments and workers are willing to over look these risks. This pattern has been repeating itself for decades, however, with each failure in the system a network of fissures and cracks in the façade of modernity appear and history and progress are called into question.  McEvilley describes this as an

“increasing realization of imminent ecological disaster- these and other events gradually made it difficult to believe that history was any longer on our side. Postmodernism begins at the moment when one realizes that one no longer believes in the myth of progress, that as a matter of fact, as far as the myth of progress goes, the joke is on us, that history in fact has the most terrible things in store for us, things we do not want to experience.” [1]

By the 20^th century doubt had saturated our collective consciousness. There is no denying the choices of a few have sacrificed the quality of life for all, threatening the sacred balance of our ecology. Losing faith in the belief that history is on our side and our acceptance of progress at any cost, permits innovative and positive growth for a more sustainable future.

The last ten years has seen tremendous growth in fiber technology with new fibers like Tencel and Modal, a rise in organic and safe farming practices, and the research, development and application of recycled fibers. Big business is also taking corporate responsibility seriously as their customers have learned to demand it. For instance, H&M appears dedicated to transparency and efficiency with how it operates and dedicates resources to minimize its environmental impact and to protect the rights of every worker. Corporations do the most damage, as they have no ethical or moral obligations and only exist to make profits for their shareholders. Consumers have learned to demand responsible and ethical behavior by voicing their opinion by controlling their purchasing power.

On a smaller scale, designers are approaching clothing design and distribution in new and varying ways. There is an increased popularity and relevance in vintage clothing, upcycling, recyclying, repurposing, returning to traditional crafts and traditions and experimenting with organic and new fiber technologies. The rise in collectives and organizations that nurture the growth, distribution and awareness of these new industries break free of or diversifies a fashion system that has otherwise sought to marginalize these trends. Clearly, these trends have proved they can compete and will not be bullied.

Our relationship to clothing has developed in tandem with our personal identity and collective ideology making fashion culture an ideal vehicle to observe human behavior and thought. Throughout the last one hundred years society has been trying to reconcile the apparent flaws of manifest destiny, progress and history. Finally, the first decade of the 21^st century has proved that postmodern ideals are viable economically and practically.  Progress in the 21^st century now refers to cradle-to-cradle, closed-loop systems, ethical, sustainable, and viable for future generations. Hopefully, these ideals will lead us to a future where people become more connected to the clothing they wear and thereby reject the disposability of fast fashion making mass consumption passé with a dash of bad taste.

[1] Pg 27 What is at Stake in the Culture Wars? By Thomas McEvilley

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