In today's world, more and more of us are regularly turning to cheap, readily-available fast fashion, myself included. This is an industry which not only does immense harm to the planet, but also perpetuates global inequalities through sweat-shop like conditions and extremely low pay, deepening the divide between the global north and south, and between rich and poor.
My one step is to stop giving in to fast fashion and instead focus on exclusively buying sustainable or second-hand clothing which has a transparent supply chain - or even simply not buying at all. This is also a part of a broader problem within our society; the consumer mindset which pushes us to constantly buy, upgrade and discard without thinking. I would therefore like this first step of stopping fast fashion to be part of a bigger personal movement towards being a more conscious consumer in general.
I think that this movement could also successfully be implemented at university, as it is an issue which many students feel guilty about but also feel powerless to do anything substantial about. This is a problem which encompasses so many disciplines - from environmental science, to global studies, psychology and business just to name a few. As a university wide, interdisciplinary initiative, we have a real chance at meaningfully tackling the issue of fast fashion in Melbourne.