Topic Summary
I think clothing is one of my biggest joys in life, and the thrill I get from finding new clothes that will fit in my wardrobe. My personal one is carefully curated, and I only buy clothing that I think I will be able to wear forever, and am willing to spend a pretty penny on it, especially if it is something that I would be wearing fairly often. Fast fashion is also gravely detrimental to the environment, as well as a costly expense for the taxpayer (it costs NYC $20.6 million annually, roughly $45/ton) to dispose of properly after the gleam of a new piece has worn off.
Clothing literally falls apart ending up in landfills rather than making it to consignment shops even if you donate. In the U.S. only 10% of donated clothes get resold. The rest floods landfills - we send 13 trillion tons of our clothes to landfills in the U.S. alone where they sit for 200 years leaving toxic chemicals and dyes to contaminate local soil and groundwater. Some people may think that my habits are strange, however, this global epidemic affects us all, even in an avenue that a lot of people would not think to really deem as all encompassing, such as fashion. Fast fashion hurts labourers and consumers alike, whether in regards to terrible conditions for garment makers or the poor quality of the material.
Target Audience Description
My target audience for this project are relatively younger people, from gen Z to millennials, as I believe that we have the most pull over the current fashion, as in the fashion world, youth has more pull, as we are the targeted consumers for the most part. By targeting an already dedicated audience, I believe that I could do a lot more by educating and encouraging them to make a change without it seeming pretentious or as if it is a lot of work to be a change. Anyone from the ages of 10-35 should be targeted, as they are also in the age range of being the most savvy with technology, meaning that they would be able to educate either a younger or older crowd with their findings, creating more of an overall change in the effectiveness of both the site and the message.
The Goals of the Project
As of current, the project will be focused as a library, as an individual will look up a brand, and be able to see how much environmental impact the brand has, how ethical the brand is, and the quality of the clothing from the aggregate ratings of the website. The user will be able to see how everything is measured, and will hopefully review the terrifying statistics and be able to make the decision to actually change to become a more conscious consumer.
Communication Strategy
I want to use strong, emotionally evocative graphics depicting human and environmental suffering, as well as relatable graphics that my consumers could relate to, as oftentimes, when the consumer is removed from the issue at hand, they tend to focus considerably less, as they feel that they don’t have the propensity to be affected by it, and I aim to give them the rudest of awakenings.
Goals for the Visual Look and Feel
So far, I want to focus on lighthearted minimalism with my color scheme, and integrate clean and fun design, so it’s easier to look at and simpler for everyone to process. I want to make sure people are at ease when they look at how much they can be affected and in turn affect the current sphere of fast fashion, and how they can ultimately become the change that we so sorely need to see in the world, of course, ideally, without being too preachy on the topic.