The Inequity of Sustainability

    *Allow me to preface so sorry for my absence, I got COVID-19 once again and was down for the count. Anyways I am back and better than ever! 

The paradox of sustainability, the movement, lifestyle, or whatever term tickles your fancy aims to create a world where consumers are investing in products that are good for them and good for the world as a whole, however, sustainability is one of the most inaccessible lifestyles there is. sustainability is so extremely expensive and only caters to a niche of society. 

    I think what makes this so ironic in my eyes is you would think that a lifestyle designed to better society as a whole would seek to cater to the majority of people, the goal would be to curate products with the impact in mind. that the goal would not be to increase accessibility as opposed to personal profit. While obviously, brands should seek to offer a livable wage, and that causes adjustment in prices and wages, many brands seek self-promotion while advocating for “living sustainably”.    

    One of the most obvious factors of this is size inequity, size inequity refers to the lack of sizes for individuals who do not fit into the typical small, medium, and large categories. While the mostly exists on the latter end of the spectrum where brands might offer XXXSmall but only offer a large, across the board this is an issue. I understand that supply, demand, and cost all play a vital part in the size equity however if a brand is advocating for living sustainably but does not cater to all people its message juxtaposes its means. Delving deeper into this issue, it is clear that many brands wear a mask of socio-political advocacy but do not truly care about the issue at hand. Their campaigns often exist to appease the rumbling of the consumer but fail to curate lasting change. These campaigns serve as a distraction from the real issue at hand, if a brand can say “look we recycle fabric”, one becomes fixated on that change, and dismisses the fact that children are still being exploited to create those garments. 

    Furthermore, sustainable brands are so expensive. I understand certain aspects, in terms of choosing domestic labor, and ethical labor requires paying workers more which cuts into profit margins, however, why should I pay 250 dollars for a pair of jeans. From a brand that is supposed to exist for the common person. It is absurd, I want to emphasize that I am an advocate for investing in clothing but that does not make this lifestyle anymore accessible to people. 

    I try to take an optimistic approach to the majority of my writing however I am feeling cynical, it is so irritating to attempt to advocate for sustainable lifestyles while knowing it is only available to a few. It bothers me and I am writing this to voice my frustration, this column is my experience living sustainably as a college student and I am aggravated by these current circumstances. I am at a stalemate; struggling to advocate for many of these brands when it is clear the brand is not seeking to serve the consumer, it is seeking to profit off of the niche that can and will spend money on their products.

    Overall, I have learned that anything I advocate for or attempt to apply to my lifestyle will be aggravating, but it doesn't make it not worth it. Continuing to advocate for inclusivity within sustainable brands will hopefully bear the fruit of change. While I am one person, I still believe I have power to spark conversations which plants change. I hope that this column shows that, I hope you can see the room to be angry and feel distraught, while still understanding that change is not  linear. I want to be real and honest and this is where I am at. 

With all my love and more, 

Willow