META: if you’re using this sub as natural fiber/ethical labor r/findfashion, you’re missing the point.

this is not directed at any one specific post, it’s a recurring issue i have noticed in the sub.

if you’re using this sub to ask for sustainable or ethical brands with the goal of purchasing new clothes guilt-free or to get a pass on buying the fast fashion you already want to buy because you have some reason why you need it (the other too common type of post here), you are missing the point.

we are in a climate crisis. textile overproduction and overconsumption is a major contributing factor, and the clothing industry has never been worse than in recent history. if you’re buying a firsthand garment, that is already not sustainable, because part of the problem is that despite how much already exists, the demand for firsthand is always there. companies respond to demand by creating more of what’s selling. greenwashing is ubiquitous because it provides an easy out for both the brand and the consumer having to be genuinely eco-conscious, and many consumers even sustainably-minded ones do not have the patience to do deep dive research into where they are shopping.

there are no truly sustainable firsthand items. no matter how fairly the workers were paid or how biodegradable the materials are, almost every firsthand purchase is an item that, other than maybe undergarments, could have realistically been secondhand. firsthand items can be owned sustainably, but i believe we are no longer at a point where purchasing them can be sustainable.

i know that there is a fine line between critiquing consumer behavior and offloading brand ethics onto the consumer. of course one person buying a new item here and there that they use until it’s a rag is not the difference between global warming and not having global warming. but that picture of this ideal firsthand consumer who buys only what they need and uses it forever is not how people have been consuming clothing in our current culture. it’s a culture of excess and disposability. and sadly nobody is immune to falling into the increasingly normalized overconsumer mentality.

you can feel very motivated to be sustainable and still have brainrot that makes it not occur to you to buy secondhand. everyone gets fast fashion brainrot sometimes. i mend like 90% of my things that get damaged, but 10% of the time i still feel tempted by the convenience of replacing them instead. secondhand, but still. and i otherwise have good habits! it’s understandable to have internalized the pro-consumption messaging and have a bit of brainrot, that’s not the problem. the problem is never questioning the brainrot and just looking for workarounds to continue consuming in a way that doesn’t cause as much guilt.

sustainable business practices have their place, but before posting that “where can i find [x item]?” question hoping to get recommendations for brands, consider that what you want probably already exists. ask yourself, why do you feel the need to have something brand new? because most of the time, it probably isn’t as necessary as you think for your item to be firsthand.