Sustainability is a topic that humans have been needing to have a conversation about for a few decades now. The topic has certainly been on the mind of progressives for a while, but only in the past two or three years has the topic been a conversation the general public has been having. Many have taken to making small changes in their daily routines, like giving up plastic straws or turning the lights off when they leave the room. Others have completely changed their way of living. In order to make a tangible difference in the world, a significant number of people will have to change a significant amount of their lifestyle, and this extends to organizations as well. However, any change, big or small, is better than no change.

The specific topic I want to discuss is sustainability within the fashion and retail industry. As a Fashion & Retail Studies minor as well as a Logistics Management major, the discussion of how we can make fashion more sustainable through its production, manufacturing, and distribution has been on my mind for quite some time. This has always been a topic I’ve been very passionate about. It’s unfortunate that this topic is only just gaining publicity, but hopefully, the industry will be able to combat the malpractices it has been seeing through fast fashion before it’s too late.

I will first be discussing the phenomenon of fast fashion and how it has hurt the economy as well as the environment and how it has violated human rights. I will then be discussing ways each individual can do their part in saving the environment by something as simple as what they wear. I will give examples of brands that do a great job of sustainably sourcing their products and how to look for them.

“Fast fashion” is a phrase coined to represent clothing that is inexpensive and moves almost as quickly from the runway to a consumer as it does from the consumer to the consumer’s garbage. The goal of fast fashion is to imitate trends seen on the catwalk and within celebrity style. The way in which fashion presented itself to follow each of the four seasons is no longer. Now brands are delivering new styles sometimes multiple times a week to meet consumer demands. As stated in an article from The Good Trade, “fast fashion utilizes trend replication, rapid production, and low-quality materials in order to bring inexpensive styles to the public.” Some of the biggest and most popular culprits of this practice are Forever 21, H&M, Topshop, Romwe, ASOS, Fashion Nova, Pretty Little Thing, Missguided, Shein, Nasty Gal, and Zara. These companies have all been accused of using harmful materials in the production of their goods as well as mistreating their workers.

As a consumer, we now expect that the quality of a product is as low as its cost, but that doesn’t deter most consumers from still buying the product. These products aren’t built to last and are thrown away after just a few wears. These companies are only concerned with their profit, a mistake many brands make, and make millions just based on the frequency their products sell.

Toxic chemicals, dangerous dyes, and synthetic fabrics are being used to create these items of clothing. These materials all eventually seep into the water in the foreign countries in which these items are being produced as well as into the water at each consumer’s home when the items are washed. This in and of itself is enough to harm the environment, but that is not where the concerns end.

Approximately 11 million tons of clothing are thrown away each year in the United States alone. These items are full of lead, pesticides, and numerous other chemicals that are harmful to the environment as these almost never break down and release their toxic chemicals into the atmosphere. The fashion industry is one of the largest producers of waste in the world.

Besides the concern of the quality of the goods the consumer is receiving, there are also many allegations of brands not paying their workers a living wage. In fact, the garment workers franticly putting these products together are most certainly being paid below minimum wage. The high amounts of lead in these products are dangerous when exposed to humans and the exposure to workers can lead to heart problems and infertility. The exposure to harmful chemicals is only the beginning. Factory workers’ health is jeopardized significantly through long hours, a lack of resources such as food and water, and even physical abuse. No one should have to work in those kinds of conditions, especially those being paid less than minimum wage. There are often no other options for work other than those with less than acceptable conditions for these workers. Fashion cannot be free. These are the costs of purchasing that $3 t-shirt you see at Forever 21.

What can we, as consumers, do to combat this phenomenon? For starters, stop shopping at known fast fashion retailers. While prices may be higher at other retailers, there is a better chance you’re getting a higher quality product that will last longer. However, price is not the only indicator of a sustainably sourced product. A few ways to easily check the quality of a piece of clothing are to check the stitching, hold it up to a bright light to make sure it isn’t see-through, and check if any spare buttons or thread are attached. Look for recyclable materials like nylon, polyester, cotton, wool, linen, hemp, Tencel, and Monocel. Another simple way to combat fast fashion is to stop buying so much stuff. Even ethical brands contribute to the environmental footprint in some capacity.

A great way to reduce your personal environmental footprint while still being able to shop for clothes is by checking out second-hand stores or services. Your local thrift store most likely has an incredible amount of hidden gems that can be easily upcycled and turned into something trendy. Services like Poshmark, Depop, Mercari, and thredUP have thousands of options to choose from. Lots of these items are brand new or have only been worn a couple of times. Brands like Rent the Runway offer clothing subscription services or clothing rental options, which is a great way to circumvent buying an expensive dress that you’ll only wear once or twice. Overall, choose quality over quantity and buy basic fashion staples rather than following every microtrend on your Instagram feed.

Some ethical brands I like to support are Rent the Runway, Reformation, H&M Conscious, Everlane, Patagonia, and Athleta. There are hundreds of brands just like these and you can easily check the level of environmental consciousness of your favorite brands through a simple Google search. It is also a good idea to check out brands that have a charity component to them in which a percentage of their sales are going back to an outside organization.

You, as a consumer, should care about this. Ways to personally fix this problem are easy, but the hard part is that the solutions are very personal. There’s no way I can come knocking on your door and just tell you to stop buying fast fashion. You have to make that decision for yourself. Hopefully, with the data and the knowledge I have presented you with in this study, you can clearly see that it is beneficial to change your habits, even if it is just slowly at first.

Climate change is clearly a problem as I sit here writing this while it is snowing outside. On April 17th. With the forecast of 50 degrees tomorrow. I’m asking you all to do your part. If we don’t make changes, the environment will disintegrate more than it already has. The data, research, and evidence is out there, but word of mouth is the most effective way to get people to care about this issue. When you go shopping with your friends, instead of stopping in Forever 21, ask if you can check out a different store. When your friends ask why, feel free to quote anything I have stated here. Post about your sustainable style. Bring this topic up in sustainability discussions you’re having in your classes. Sustainability is about a lot more than just not using plastic straws.

Next time you go shopping, think more sustainably. Celebrities like Emma Watson have taken to the 30 Wears campaign, which is a mental test you take when you’re shopping. Hold up a piece of clothing and ask yourself, “Will I wear this at least 30 times?” If the answer is probably not, you should put it back on the rack and find something that won’t sit in the back of your closet for months. Think about what, and who, your clothing is really costing.

Sources:

https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-fast-fashion

https://www.minimalismmadesimple.com/home/-fast-fashion-brands

The Problem with Fast Fashion

There are many benefits of online learning for students, especially college students or nontraditional students who are still looking to get a post-secondary education. The greatest benefit of online learning is the aspect of flexibility that comes with it. Online learning can theoretically be completed anywhere in which a student has access to a computer and the internet. This means students can take classes from the comfort of their own home, which can be beneficial for students with physical disabilities and students who may have other responsibilities, like a full-time job or a family. The flexibility of scheduling is also a benefit to online learning. Some classes will have a few scheduled meetings via Skype or similar services, but most of the course will be able to be completed on a student’s own time. This is beneficial for the same reason that students may have other time commitments during regular school hours. Online learning is beneficial for students who are able to manage their own time effectively and know how and where they learn best.

I have many long-term goals for this coming semester, but I think it is more effective to set several short-term goals in order to accomplish these long-term goals. My first long-term goal surrounds a broad goal of succeeding in my classes. I have a very challenging semester coming up but my goal is to get at least a 3.5 GPA in order to make the Dean’s List. In order to accomplish this, my goal is to get As in my less challenging courses to allow myself the room to get Bs in one or two of my harder classes. On the short-term level, I hope to set goals for accomplishing tasks on specific days during the week and utilizing a physical planner more. I will continue to use my Google Calendar for events and meetings but I want to use my planner for assignment due dates and schedule days to work on assignments through this. I want to have most, if not all, of my assignments finished by Thursday of each week. I hate having to cram an entire week’s worth of assignments into a couple of hours on Sunday nights and I want to change that habit in the future. Better time management is overall the goal.

Another goal I have is to successfully manage my out-of-class commitments. I have leadership positions in my sorority and in my scholars program as well as an on-campus job, so I want to be the best that I can be in those roles while also balancing my schoolwork and social life. I want to build strong relationships and be the type of leader who people can trust. I obviously want to be successful with these positions and do as much as I can for the programs, but I think building relationships and working on soft skills is a lesser-acknowledged benefit of being a leader.

These are my overall goals for the semester and I look forward to using the knowledge I learned about goal-setting to accomplish them.

I’ve recently been trying to reflect on learning strategies that personally work the best for me. After evaluation, I don’t believe I fit into just one specific category of a learner, so I don’t believe I’m just a visual learner or just an auditory learner, but I believe I am a blend of all types of learners. I have realized that I need a specific setting in order to learn effectively. I need to be in a classroom or watching online lecture videos of a professor talking to an audience or a camera while also going through the slides on the module of the day. I need the visual of the powerpoint slides to condense what the professor is saying into concrete notes which I then copy down for my personal notes. I need the physical feeling of writing notes down in order to retain information. I need to hear the professor’s voice, see the lecture, and write it in my own words. No one area of this is necessarily more beneficial than another, but I know that this is what I need in order to successfully retain information.

Taking an actual class on tips to being successful in online learning has helped me tremendously and I believe it has helped me recognize what type of learner I am in general. Online learning is harder for me because it requires a lot of self-discipline and it is harder for me to retain information since there often isn’t a physical professor talking through the lessons, but I’ve been able to recognize that the resources posted in online classes really aren’t optional. I have to take full advantage of all the resources provided in order to be personally successful and reach my full potential. I love the flexibility of online learning, but it is difficult to manage my time wisely in order to succeed. Overall it was a very beneficial class and I enjoyed learning about learning.

Is there a way to change Congressional apportionment in the House to make it “fair”?  If yes, how?  If no, why not? 

Representation is a significant issue in the United States of America. Each state elects a certain number of representatives to the House of Representatives depending on the size of the state’s population, but there are several problems associated with this. For example, both Wyoming and Montana are each represented by a single representative, but Montana has a population of 1,050,493 while Wyoming only has a population of 579,315. Furthermore, the District of Columbia is appointed no representatives, and neither are any of the citizens of American territories like Puerto Rico and Guam.  

Since 1910, the House has been capped at a total of 435 representatives. However, before this, the size of the House continued to expand relative to the growing population of the country. Since 1910, our nation’s population has grown exponentially and has almost tripled. The fixed number of seats is therefore causing significant disparities among state representation.  

There are definitely feasible ways to adjust Congressional appointment in the House to make it more fair than it is now. First and foremost, there should be representatives for the District of Columbia as well as representatives for each of the American territories. Even though these areas aren’t necessarily considered states, they are comprised of American citizens and the actions of the United States government directly affect these territories. Therefore, they should have fair representation within our central government, just like a state would have.  

There have been a few suggestions to fix the disparity of representation between the 50 states as well. One of them is called the “Wyoming Rule,” which would take the population of the 50 states and divide it by the population of the smallest state, which would then be the number of districts to be appointed. This rule would result in fairness of representation because the population of the smallest state would then also be the average population of congressional districts.  

Another suggestion is the “Cube Root Rule,” which states that the number of seats in the House would always be the cube root of the United States population (minus 100 for the Senate). This rule would be very efficient and responsive to population changes within the country.  

There would obviously have to be other factors taken into account, like preventing the House from becoming too large and tracking population changes, but either of these methods, or even a combination of these methods, would make voting more fair in the United States.

Source: https://www.fairvote.org/how_we_can_change_the_size_of_the_house_of_representatives

Part of being a 1st year in the PSL Scholars program involves being put into a small mentor group. Both of my mentors have been great resources, especially in the first couple of months in college. I was given the opportunity to talk with one of my mentors, Anya Chew, a little more in depth about her experiences in Scholars. Anya is double majoring in Political Science and Security and Intelligence. She chose to major in these subject areas because she has always been interested in government as well as cyber security and defense systems. She wants to eventually have a career in the Department of Defense or practice law. Like myself, she is also on the Pre-Law track and is considering attending law school after finishing her undergraduate career at The Ohio State University. She is currently applying for internships in the legal sector and is hoping to work for an attorney.

Anya is extremely involved in activities outside of the classroom. This was encouraging to hear as someone who is hoping to get more involved on campus as the year goes on. She is on the Collegiate Council on World Affairs and she is in Model UN. She volunteers with Habitat for Humanity and Buckeye Food Alliance. Anya is also in Kappa Kappa Gamma. I am rushing at the beginning of next semester, so this was good to hear!

Anya joined PSL Scholars because she thought it would be cool to meet others who are interested in politics and law. Her favorite part of PSL last year was the annual Washington D.C. trip. When I asked Anya how being in a Scholars program makes a difference in the college experience, she shared that it changes the experience by allowing you to connect with others who are motivated by academics and it connects you with people who share a specific interest. She said that it is important to keep in mind that college can be fun, but it is first and foremost about learning.