Reasons millennials are opting for slow fashion post the COVID-19 pandemic

Slow fashion is the best alternative to fast fashion. Fast fashion is a manufacturing and marketing strategy that involves the production of mass clothes that are usually of low quality, replicating trends and making them available to the public at a low price. This kind of fashion mostly ends up at dumps.

On the other hand, slow fashion is sustainable as it focuses on quality and longevity. It is a slow production of clothes that uses craftsmanship to create high-quality clothes that meet consumers' demands and are both friendly to consumers and the environment. It is seen as the green alternative to fast fashion as it eliminates dumping.

During the pandemic, most millennials faced tough economic times. There was a loss of jobs, travel restrictions, which limited their income-earning activities and raised the awareness of smart consumption in the fashion industry. After the pandemic, most of them opted to shift from fast fashion to slow fashion for several reasons.

Shopping Smart

Millennials have found the need to be smart shoppers during and after the pandemic. Opting for slow fashion helps them achieve this as they avoid jumping into crazy fashion trends and buying clothes that, a few months later, will be considered out of fashion and having to buy other trendy clothing that will go through the same cycle.

With slow fashion, they'll only need to buy a few pieces of clothes that will outlast the fashion trends and other factors such as fading, wear and tear and help them save money. While slow fashion clothes are expensive, in the long run, they'll prove to be more economical as the need for new purchases reduces.

Slow Fashion Allows Reselling

As slow fashion ensures that the cloth is of high quality compared to fast fashion, the owner holds the power to resell the cloth at some point when the need arises. The cloth will still be of excellent quality, and the buyer gets good quality at a lower price, which saves money. These second-hand clothes could be sold and bought at second-hand cloth stores.

Being Thrifty

With the pandemic, millennials became aware of the need to use money carefully. One of the ways that they could achieve this is through slow fashion. Cloths in slow fashion are of high quality and last longer than fast fashion. The longevity of slow fashion helps to reduce purchases. The craftsmanship used also allows for the clothes to fit different occasions, trends and match with different outfits; hence, there is no need to have much of them. Slow fashion also allows the recycling of clothes, and millennials are therefore more conscious of how they use their money in slow fashion.

Style

In fashion, people usually express themselves through styles. Fast fashion denies them the uniqueness and freedom to express themselves as it focuses on mass production and the economic view rather than the style. On the other hand, slow fashion gives consumers the ability to express themselves and say how they want their clothes made. For years, having been denied this chance, the introduction of slow fashion has caused them to shift and go for it as now they can have different clothes that express their preferred style instead of a trendy style.

Getting the Right Jewelry

Clothes have to match with the right fashion accessory such as jewelry to announce one's presence. Getting the right jewelry is therefore important. Fast fashion allows imitation and fake jewelry to enter the jewelry market because they are cheap. These pieces don't always last because of the production's unethical nature, and some even contain toxic particles that could harm people. However, the slow fashion stresses using timeless classics such as diamonds and pearls, well-crafted to meet a certain standard and sustainability. The slow market has high ethics of production and eliminates the risk of mimicking jewelry and therefore protecting its consumers, leading to millennials opting for slow fashion.

Environment Conscience

During the pandemic, and most people accessing news, the awareness to conserve the environment and protect the planet from pollution and avoid future pandemics became popular. This has led to people shifting from fast fashion, a significant polluter of the environment through machine production and dumping, to slow fashion. Slow fashion is greener as it focuses on recycling clothes, hand craftsmanship, longevity, and slow production.

Remark

Slow fashion has generally proven to be the better option of the two. Not only does it ensure that consumers get quality clothes that will be a timeless classic over fashion trends, but it also ensures that the environment is protected. The shift from machine production to hand-making also helps reduce the issue of employment.