Day in and day out, influencers are getting new fashion items delivered to them free. They’re promoting a particular brand or a piece of clothing from a new collection and sharing unboxing videos on their Instagram.
It’s the influencer’s job to post daily photos and Instagram stories. They need to keep their feed “fresh” with new outfits and inspiration to keep their following interested and interactive.
With this in mind, should we expect influencers to take more accountability in promoting sustainable fashion or recycled fashion?
Changing the Rules
Many brands have created a sustainable/environmentally friendly clothing range, for example ASOS’ “Responsible Edit” which includes environmentally conscious clothing. So why are the influencers not promoting these? And why are brands not pushing the recycled collections out to influencers?
As consumers we need to ask more from brands and influencers to show the demand for environmentally friendly fashion. With climate change becoming more and more of a problem for the world, influencers should be encouraging their large following to become more sustainable within clothing rather than just everyday life.
Living in an age where “outfit repeating” is massively frowned upon doesn’t help. We’re asking brands for more creative clothing every day/week. But influencers can take this trend and “change the rules”. By wearing items multiple times and showing different outfits styled with one key item, they can encourage their followers to do the same.
Why do we need more responsible fashion influencers?
Fast fashion is growing apace but influencers are not the only ones to blame. We, the consumers, are encouraging their behaviour with our need to have something new to wear for every occasion. But it comes at a cost.
The fashion industry produces 8% of manmade CO2 emissions, which has increased from 5% in 2015 from raw material manufacturing, to create new clothing. This is why influencers need to start caring and showing their followers why they need to care too.
Some influencers already do shout about climate change and educate their following, but more is needed from larger influencers to take accountability for their actions.
Promoting beautifully styled clothing is their job, but why can’t they promote sustainable fashion? There are many different options from environmentally conscious brands or collections, or even shopping in charity or thrift shops. These influencers could promote another way of shopping to their followers and help the small, responsible brands grow.
If influencers were to create a more sustainable standpoint, they could encourage others to care about the environment. Now is the chance for influencers to change the status quo and create real change for the planet.