First-Year Writing Competition (AY2324 Term 2)

Always chasing the cheapest deals, I got sucked into the whirlwind of fast fashion during my teenage years. Like most youths, the irresistible appeal of cheap clothing and the convenience of online shopping lured me into a cycle of constantly refreshing my wardrobe. Little did I know about the hefty price tag our planet was paying for my quick fashion fix.

From our closet, our clothes’ next home is the landfill. Every year, a staggering 100 million tonnes of clothing gets discarded, as the industry exacerbates the cycle of ultrafast garment production and disposal (Basalamah et al., 2023). This significant amount of textile waste releases 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, making the industry the second-largest polluter (Letsari & Asmarani, 2021). If we continue down this path, that number is projected to skyrocket to over 25% by 2050, accelerating global warming (United Nations Environment Programme, 2021) - unless we make a change, and fast.

With youths holding the key to creating a better future, how should today's budget-conscious youth shop sustainably to protect the planet? In reality, we do not need to look far and hard for the answer. 

Enter thrifting, the act of buying second-hand clothing. By embracing the ethos of reusing and repurposing, thrifting is an accessible means to shop for clothes at an affordable price (Okafor, 2022). This makes thrifting an effective alternative to fast fashion for youths to mitigate the environmental damage by reducing textile waste while aligning with their economic and environmental values.

The appeal of thrifting lies in its dual benefits: affordability and environmental friendliness. A study by Milieu Insight revealed that 69% of second-hand fashion consumers are driven by the affordability of pre-loved clothing compared to purchasing new clothes (Rong, 2022). Thrifting thus becomes a game-changer for the 63% of youths who, like me, often turn to fast fashion due to budget constraints (YPulse, 2022). 

And the environmental impact speaks for itself! With every 100 second-hand clothing items purchased, we prevent the production of 60 to 85 new clothing items, resulting in a 14% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions (Basalamah et al., 2023). Furthermore, the desire for guilt-free, sustainable shopping has also fuelled the popularity of thrifting activity among youths, from less than 30% in 2016 to 40% in 2019 (Watson, 2021). As the thrifting movement continues to gain momentum, the environmental benefits will only multiply, proving that looking good does not have to cost the Earth.

However, one might argue that thrifting is just a band-aid solution. Fashion sustainability expert, Anna Fitzpatrick, critiqued that thrifting does not address our addiction to shopping, and may instead fuel overconsumption by giving us a false sense of eco-friendliness (Watson, 2021). And she’s got a point - when survey respondents were asked if thrifting had reduced their consumption of clothes, although 28% of survey respondents reported buying fewer new fashion items, 48% of them admitted to an increased overall fashion product consumption (Rong, 2022). 

Despite its flaws, thrifting still offers a practical and accessible entry point for youths to embrace slow sustainable fashion. In a world where the allure of thrifting culture is captivating the hearts of youths far and wide, it offers a tangible escape from the detrimental grip of fast fashion, allowing youths to contribute to a greener, more conscientious future collectively. 

As someone guilty of fuelling the problem, I now see the importance of being part of this thrifting movement. Thrifting is not just about finding affordable clothes; it is about taking responsibility for our choices. So, count me in, one pre-loved clothing at a time!

Reference List

Basalamah, R. A. M., Rashya, M., & Tan, A. P. (2023). Awareness of fast fashion’s environmental effects and its correlation to thrifting habits in private university. Journal of Sustainable Business Practices, 1(1), 20–29.
https://sustainable.my.id/index.php/josbp/article/view/5

Letsari, F. A., & Asmarani, R. (2021). Thrifting culture during the covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the environment. E3S Web of Conferences, 317(01006), 1-6.
https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202131701006

Okafor, J. (2023, August 15). Why is thrifting so popular? Trvst.
https://www.trvst.world/sustainable-living/fashion/why-is-thrifting-so-popular/

Rong, T. Y. (2022, July 7). Is thrifting really the answer to fast fashion woes? Milieu Insights.
https://www.mili.eu/insights/is-thrifting-really-the-answer-to-fast-fashion-woes#:~:text=Why%20thrifting%20has%20taken%20off,textiles%20like%20polyester%20(source)

United Nations Environment Programme. (2018, November 12). Putting the brakes on fast fashion.
https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/putting-brakes-fast-fashion

Watson, S. K. (2021, February 26). Thrift shopping is an environmental and ethical trap. Popular Science. https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/thrift-second-hand-shopping-sustainable-ethical/

YPulse. (2022, August 31). Young consumers’ (complicated) love for fast fashion in 3 stats.
https://www.ypulse.com/article/2022/08/31/young-consumers-complicated-love-for-fast-fashion-in-3-stats/

Back in high school, downloading TikTok was my biggest regret. Eliciting giggles with its videos, TikTok felt like a brief escape from overwhelming tasks. That was, until my daily screen time exceeded 7 hours, and it dawned on me how it killed my productivity. However, I was not alone; between 2019 and 2021, the average screen time among teens rose to 8 hours 39 minutes (Common Sense Media, 2022). These are alarming numbers, as teens replaced more of their productive time with screen usage, possibly leading to decreased productivity. Though, fret not, I’ll show you how tomatoes can help you like they helped me. The Pomodoro—an Italian word that translates to tomato—Technique is a time management strategy that can tackle decreased productivity due to excessive screen time by limiting distractions such as social media and increasing productivity.

The Pomodoro Technique was introduced by Francesco Cirillo who split his work into intervals of 25 minutes with 5-minute breaks in between (Septiani et al., 2022). Firstly, the technique enables social media usage regulation because the breaks’ time limits ensure that individuals use social media moderately. Research showed that people who watched videos without alternating between tasks were 22% more likely to watch another video (Woolley, 2022). This indicates that the Pomodoro Technique allows its users to regulate social media usage and limit distractions using its “interrupting” time limits. Furthermore, it prevents individuals from getting distracted due to burnout, which is one of the root causes of excessive social media usage. When faced with burnout, humans tend to seek instant gratification from social media as a means of escape, just like I did. The Pomodoro Technique solves this through its micro-breaks, which can alleviate fatigue (Albulescu et al., 2022). Hence, it minimizes the desire to use social media for instant gratification.

Apart from limiting distractions, the Pomodoro Technique increases productivity by enabling task organization and increasing concentration. Due to its short-interval nature, this technique requires its users to organize their tasks and focus on one at a time to accomplish their goal within the time limit. Those conditions allow individuals to enter flow—a state of complete immersion—that can increase productivity by five times (Kotler, 2019). Such immersion brings in another benefit, which is increased concentration because individuals are more attentive and less distracted. This is supported by a study finding that students who utilize the Pomodoro Technique were more concentrated during study sessions (Biwer et al., 2023) as compared to those who did not. Therefore, the Pomodoro Technique increases productivity by enabling task organization and increasing concentration.

Conversely, some argue that the Pomodoro Technique is problematic because it takes an average of 23 minutes to get into a deep work zone, so the technique’s breaks would interrupt focus (Dalton, 2019). However, this argument overlooks the declining average human attention span (LaMotte, 2023), signifying that more people struggle to focus on their tasks over longer periods. This method is more optimal because setting shorter work sessions makes work less overwhelming and incentivizes individuals to stay concentrated, especially knowing that a break is coming up shortly. Therefore, instead of interrupting focus, these tomatoes maximize them. Moreover, the break itself could refresh individuals, helping them prevent burnout that provokes distractedness and sustaining productivity as compared to doing work for longer periods.

In this digital age where attention spans have decreased, what you need to stay productive is a sustainable solution that provides balance in both study and social media usage. Your journey towards more productive work begins with the Pomodoro Technique. Are you ready to take your first step with tomatoes?

Reference List

Albulescu, P., Macsinga, I., Rusu, A., Șulea, C., Bodnaru, A., & Tulbure, B. T. (2022). “Give me a break!” A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance. PLOS ONE, 17(8), Article e0272460. 
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272460

Biwer, F., Wiradhany, W., Egbrink, M. G. O., & De Bruin, A. B. H. (2023). Understanding effort regulation: Comparing ‘Pomodoro’ breaks and self‐regulated breaks. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(S2), 353–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12593

Dalton, T. (2019). Why the Pomodoro Technique Is Failing You. Entrepreneur. 
https://www.entrepreneur.com/living/why-the-pomodoro-technique-is-failing-you/335138

Kotler, S. (2019, October). Create a work environment that fosters flow. Harvard Business Review. 
https://hbr.org/2014/05/create-a-work-environment-that-fosters-flow 

LaMotte, S. (2023, May 30). Your attention span is shrinking, studies say. Here’s how to stay focused. CNN. 
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/11/health/short-attention-span-wellness/

Rideout, V., Peebles, A., Mann, S., & Robb, M. B. (2022). Common Sense census: Media use by tweens and teens, 2021. Common Sense Media.
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/8-18-census-integrated-report-final-web_0.pdf

Septiani, W. E., Sulistyaningsih, S., & Syakur, A. (2022). The Effectiveness of Pomodoro Technique on Students’ Descriptive Text Writing Quality. Jurnal Basicedu, 6(3), 3384–3390. https://doi.org/10.31004/basicedu.v6i3.2619

Woolley, K & Sharif, Marissa A. (2022, January). The psychology of your scrolling addiction. Harvard Business Review. 
https://hbr.org/2022/01/the-psychology-of-your-scrolling-addiction