Fashion trends fluctuate year after year due to the importance of competition. The industry that created the crisis alters every component in order to capture public attention. In line with this, the fast fashion trend is growing in popularity due to high consumer demand. This means that consumers compete to appear trendy in order to match the expectations of their social surroundings. Yes, the social environment requires people to constantly adapt, because, like a "gang," people will be welcomed into the social group if they can meet the expectations of their surroundings. Harmful fulfillment occurs because, as demonstrated in communication, humans are social beings who are interdependent and form social ties.

What the fashion industry and society should consider when implementing fashion changes is if the products utilized will have a beneficial or negative influence on the environment. Climate change, pollution, soil and water quality degradation, global warming, trash accumulation, and other symptoms are well known manifestations of the environmental catastrophe. The rise of rapid fashion in many circles, particularly among young people, has been identified as one of the causes of the environmental catastrophe. Fast fashion focuses on producing apparel quickly and with low-quality raw materials (Sudaryanto et al. 2023). Fast fashion responds to fashion trends in a mass, quick, and cheap manner, encouraging consumers to wear it for a short amount of time before discarding it. Actually, quick fashion is a very promising business opportunity for textile industry participants. However, large-scale production creates chances for environmental damage by contributing to pollution and carbon emissions produced by recycling challenges (Roozen dan Raedts 2020).

Recycling is part of the approach in the global campaign to maintain the sustainability of the environment and the earth. This approach has been adopted by various countries around the world, especially developed countries that have a strong sense of responsibility. This situation appears to be different in developing countries, which face difficulties for several reasons, such as minimal facilities, readiness of human resources, and lack of dissemination by the media. Delving deeper into the media, it is evident that the media plays a strong role in shaping public awareness of environmental damage caused by fast fashion. The ease of accessing fashion trend information stimulates the public's desire to excessively consume fashion products. This means that the media has a strong role in shaping attitudes to reduce, limit, or even reject excessive consumption of fast fashion. Mesch (2015) states that the media helps identify problems and raise public awareness of issues that need attention.

The media has various impacts in disseminating the phenomenon of fast fashion, both positive and negative. The media plays an important role in raising awareness about the social and environmental impacts of fast fashion. Publications that discuss poor working conditions and environmental pollution due to mass production can influence consumer attitudes. The media can encourage a shift and strengthen the slow fashion movement, which emphasizes responsible use, consideration of eco-friendly materials, and reduction of textile waste (Roozen dan Raedts 2020). One of the media that can be used to campaign against fast fashion behavior is community media. Community media, both local and digital, play an important role in building social bonds within the community.

The development of digital technology also adapts to meet the information and communication needs of society, both in the form of virtual communities and local community-based networks (Mesch 2015). Community media also plays a positive role in enhancing the acceptance of sustainability communication, thereby ultimately influencing behavioral determinants (attitudes, self-efficacy, and social norms) and changing the intention to adopt sustainable behaviors (Shahzalal dan Hassan 2019). In other words, digital community media enables the exchange of information while also fostering discussions about sustainable practices, such as how to reduce textile waste, use eco-friendly products, and implement slow fashion.

Community media can be an effective tool in educating and encouraging young people to be more aware of the negative impacts of fast fashion. With a more personal, participatory approach, community media allows young people to engage directly in discussions about more responsible fashion consumption practices. Therefore, community media can campaign against the use of fast fashion through educational content such as podcasts, short videos, articles, and discussions on community platforms. Roozen dan Raedts (2020) state that negative publicity about the social and environmental impacts of fast fashion is more effective in raising awareness and changing societal attitudes compared to negative publicity. Thus, the campaign can help young people understand the environmental consequences of fast fashion culture and provide alternatives for a more sustainable lifestyle.

Community media also plays a role in building alternative narratives against the instant fashion trends often driven by mainstream media and influencers on social media. Mesch (2015) explains that community media can play a role in enhancing social integration and engagement in local issues, including sustainability. By presenting a more critical and fact-based perspective, community media helps young people recognize marketing practices that encourage overconsumption, as well as providing inspiration to switch to slow fashion practices. Community-based campaigns that can be conducted include clothing swap movements, clothing recycling workshops, or creating challenges such as the 30 wears challenge, which can serve as concrete examples of how young people can contribute to reducing textile waste and adopting more mindful consumption patterns. By building a community based on shared values, community media not only raises individual awareness but also creates a broader social impact in changing consumption and production patterns in the fashion industry. This means that community media can be a catalyst for change that not only educates but also encourages real actions to support more sustainable fashion practices.

Conclusion

Digital community media serves as a catalyst for awareness of the negative impacts of fast fashion, especially among young people. Community media utilizes a community-based participatory approach that enables a deeper exchange of information about sustainability and more responsible fashion consumption. Community-based campaigns such as educational video podcasts, articles, and interactive discussions can help shape a critical attitude towards fast fashion trends driven by mainstream media and influencers. Community media not only disseminates information but also strengthens campaign movements such as slow fashion, swap clothes, recycling workshops, and sustainable consumption challenges. By building alternative narratives that are more critical and fact-based, community media not only educates but also encourages real actions to change fashion consumption and production patterns towards environmentally friendly practices.

-Rosmalia Ahmad & Diana Anggraeni

References

Mesch GS. 2015. Community and Media. Di dalam: International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. Elsevier. hlm. 332–336.

Roozen I, Raedts M. 2020. The Power of Negative Publicity on the Fast Fashion Industry. J. Glob. Fash. Mark.11(4):380–396.doi:10.1080/20932685.2020.1798802.

Shahzalal M, Hassan A. 2019. Communicating Sustainability: Using Community Media to Influence Rural People’s Intention to Adopt Sustainable Behaviour. Sustainability. 11(3):812.doi:10.3390/su11030812.

Sudaryanto, Subagio A, Hanim A, Utami W. 2023. Consumer Behavior Gen Z. Surabaya: Universitas Ciputra.