For my final thesis in my undergrad, I created Truth Behind The Label. It is a fictional awareness campaign. The purpose of this campaign is to enlighten people who aren’t aware of the repercussions of their shopping actions (and addictions). The goal is to drive awareness for people and what they don’t know about their beloved shopping spots and what they are really “buying” into.
The campaign would be presented via Instagram as research showed, that is where the target market is found. There would also a mobile microsite developed as a supporting factor with resources for the consumer to learn more. The idea behind it being a microsite was to keep it short and research also showed that the user did not want to feel like they were 'leaving Instagram'.
TBTL calls to consumers to get loud by posting and re-sharing posts from their Instagram, to buy smarter (when they need to buy), and to donate to organizations.
Buying less is a large contributing factor is the overbuying that consumers do. Without demand, there wouldn’t be a large market for the cheaply fast-made clothing that consumers purchase.
Buying smarter: When you do buy, be smarter about it. Educate yourself, look into the quality that they are making, how sustainable a brand is, etc. www.remake.com has a really great resource directory that ranks popular clothing brands on their sustainability.
Donate: To organizations that aim to help. There are many NFP charities that are fighting for workers’ rights and their labour laws. Instead of shopping and purchasing something you might not need, consider donating to organizations that are doing the hard stuff for the people that are making your clothes.
Truth Behind the Label is an awareness campaign, meant to open up the eyes of the consumer, not to bash them and tell them to stop altogether. Fast fashion is in fact a billion-dollar industry and it won’t stop completely ever, but it does have the ability to slow it down.
