Haul Culture Has Had a Large Empact on The World Around Us
We are all guilty of watching fashion haul videos every start of a new season to get inspiration for our own wardrobe. If you have no idea what I am talking about, a “haul video” are videos that are typically posted on YouTube and blogs of people buying a large quantity of items at one time then sharing their “hauls” with their viewers. Haul videos are usually of clothing, makeup/skin care, home goods, and sometimes groceries. As a huge fashionista myself I love watching any video that involves cloths and styling new trends. What if I told you there is are enormous problems with these videos, and they are promoting everything that is wrong with fast fashion. As well As, glorifying and condoning bad money spending habits. Giving birth to the “binge-shopping mentality” these videos have taught the younger generation bad spending habits.
Don’t get me wrong I have gotten a lot of use out of these videos over the years. Haul and review videos have saved me so much money over the years with their honest reviews. There have been countless times when a creator has tried a product or style that I have thought about spending my money on and they turned out to be flops. Mostly, these videos are promoting the wrong idea of what “normal” spending habits are. Letting people think it’s healthy and normal to spend a few hundred or even thousands of dollars on one shopping trip. Added to the fact that the creator will post these binge-shopping videos several times in a matter of months. Not only are the spending larges amount of money in one trip but they do it regularly letting younger viewers think this is healthy. The creator of the haul video doesn’t include the fact that they make commission on items purchased through their video. What they also don’t share is that they can write some of these expensive purchases off on their taxes because it’s technically work expenses.
In addition to the false sense of what success and wealth is to their viewers. Haul videos give people the false impression that wealth and success mean owning a large amount of stuff that you don’t need. Also, that being successful means owning only clothes that are currently trending and having the ability to buy new clothes all the time to stay on trend. Growing up I thought being able to wear all the trends and a new outfit everyday was an absolute dream and it still is. The difference between then and now is that I financially know that’s not realistic or good for the environment to live that lifestyle.
How much of the stuff we own is really our taste and style and what’s just stuff we thought we needed or looked cute but, it’s our style. Want over need culture goes hand in hand with haul culture as it feeds into wanting unnecessary things. We don’t really need that new trendy top that’s all-over social media, but we think we do so we can look cute. Even though it is fairly easy to find creators on the internet that we feel we can relate to not all styles are represented. Most haul videos only show people buying what is currently trending in pop culture. This can be damaging to young kids who don’t identify with these trends. It can take away their individuality and feel as if they should buy what’s trending and not what they actually like, leading to low self-esteem. These are just the financial and social aspects that are affected negatively by haul culture let alone the horrible and vast issues it causes on the environment and fast fashion industry.
According to the EPA Americans generate 16 million tons of textile waste in one year. In a break down, 700,000 tons is used clothing that is sent overseas, 2.5 million tons is recycled, 3 million tons are burned, and 10 million tons are dumped in landfills. Donating our unwanted clothes may sound like a great idea and makes us feel better about our consumption but, that doesn’t erase the impact the clothing has on the environment. Although recycling and donating your clothes is a better way to get rid of your unwanted clothes compared to throwing them in the trash it’s still problematic. They can still end up in landfills although it is a small percentage. Textiles can take up to 200 or more years to decompose in landfills. Clothing that spends a while in thrift stores that go unpurchased either makes it way to recycling facilities and end up as couch stuffing or rags. The other ones are sent overseas to other countries. Which sounds great but that causes its own wave of problems. Although it does provided people in other countries cheaper secondhand clothing it kills local small businesses who can’t afford to compete with the low prices. When it is all said and done 80 billion of new pieces of clothing are consumed every year and on average Americans generate 82 pounds of textile waste in just one year.
There are no longer only 4 seasons in the fashion industry, instead there are roughly 10-15 seasons brands must push new styles out for consumers. Giving birth to the fast fashion monster that is affecting the world. Fast fashion brands need to meet the demand for quick cheap clothing at any cost. Side effects include paying works unlivable wages, clothes are not durable and fall apart easily, and extreme about of water consumption to make the clothing, just to name a few issues. From 2012 to 2015 alone about 1,600 garment worker deaths were reported. During that time four major accidents happened due to fires and buildings collapsing. Unfortunately, I was unable to find any newer statistics than 2015.
Living in a culture of waste and unnecessary purchases haul culture is just fueling the fire of consumerism. It’s okay for creators to post shopping hauls on their sites occasionally but when they are posting these types of videos regularly is when there is a problem. Anti-haul videos have become exceedingly popular as well. Creators talk about trends they hate and won’t be buying into or they put outfits together with clothes in their own closet. If you feel the need to buy new clothes check thrift, vintage, and secondhand shops first before looking elsewhere.
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