ENGLISH​ LNG1001 SECTION 3 - ASSIGNMENT 1

MS. KHADIGA EL-BOHOTY

FASHION
AND ITS POSITIVE AND
NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON
SOCIETY
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By Mazen Samy Kamel

INTRODUCTION
Fashion is a form of expression through clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup and
hairstyle. It’s a social construct that’s existed for as long as humans have been wearing clothes.
It is a distinctive and industry-supported expression that relates to trends in style among
people of different cultures along different periods of time, and is a great indicator of the state
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of those cultures at those times. Just like all other social constructs, it has many effects on
society, some of which are positive and some of which are negative.

Positive Effects

1. Inspiration & Creativity

On the positive side, fashion is an art, which stimulates and inspires people to express
themselves. Often people use what they see on fashion runways and in stores to create
their own unique looks, expressing their creativity.

2. Cultural Representation
People often show off their personal identity, talent and culture through their fashion
choices. Unique fashion of a certain culture can attract people from all over the world to
said culture and spread more awareness about its other aspects in general.

Negative Effects

3. Environmental Impact
The fashion industry is one of the major polluting industries in the world. The
production and distribution of crops, fibers and garments used in fashion all contribute
to differing forms of environmental pollution, including water, air and soil pollution.
The textile industry is the second greatest polluter of local freshwater in the world. The
vast over-production of fashion items, the use of synthetic fibers and the agricultural
pollution of fashion crops all contribute to the industrial caused pollution of the
environment.

4. Economical Impact
Fashion is becoming a more fast-paced, diverse and trendy industry every passing day.
There are lots of fashion brands that compel the majority of people to spend their
hard-earned cash on various items of clothing and accessories that they don’t
necessarily need in order to keep up with the latest fashion trends, which messes up the
order of these people’s priorities and distracts them from more important ongoing life
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affairs that need to be addressed first. This obsession with keeping up with fashion may
sometimes lead to an addiction cycle that can hardly be broken.

5. Self-image Issues
According to various studies, low self-esteem arises when you start thinking that people
around you are better, smarter and more effective than you. Many impressionable
groups of people - like teenagers for example - have experienced low self-esteem. And
this has been largely contributed to by the fashion industry.
In a lot of instances, people with the most fashionable clothes, hairstyles, footwear and
accessories are shown more admiration than others. But most people aren’t fortunate
enough to keep up with these costly fashion trends, which results in them feeling worse
about their self-image and leads to low self-esteem.

Body image is also negatively affected by the fashion industry. When people compare
their bodies and way of life to top models of the fashion industry, it always leads to
feelings of inadequacy and pressure to conform to unrealistic expectations. This
pressure often leads people to unhealthy habits like eating disorders and more.

Conclusion

Fashion is a construct with a huge industry behind it that is really powerful, and with great
power comes great influence, some of which is beneficial to society and some of which is
harmful. But bringing awareness to these topics helps us in avoiding harmful influence and
benefiting from good influence.