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Essay / How Consumerism Arose in the Fast Fashion World and Fashion Cultures
Table of ContentsConsumerism OverviewConclusionPresentationThe fashion industry is one of the largest industries in the world. Fashionable clothing gives a sense of style and individuality, but it also becomes cheap and accessible to purchase. “We communicate to a certain extent, through our clothes. [It’s] fundamentally part of what we want to communicate about ourselves,” says French fashion designer Orsola De Castro (The True Cost).Say no to plagiarism. Get a Custom Essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get an Original EssayDue to the large-scale exploitation and sale of clothing, the fashion industry has become what it is currently called Fast Fashion. Industry. In addition to worker exploitation, fast fashion also has a negative impact on the environment. These are two negative consequences of the fast fashion industry, adding to a bigger problem, the global epidemic of consumerism. Considering that clothes are becoming "more affordable", the idea of fast fashion has created a market where customers are increasingly attracted to purchase. In 2007, a group of researchers from MIT, Stanford University, and Carnegie Mellon conducted a study on why we buy. According to researchers, people spend money until it hurts. This research also studied the brain while the subject was shopping using fMRI (functional magnetic resonance imaging) technology. The results showed that "the pleasure center or nucleus accumbens of the brain lit up while the subject shopped and indicated that the brain released chemicals that signal happiness and satisfaction when the participant engaged in shopping." 'act of shopping'. The study goes on to suggest that a shopper's mindset parallels evidence indicating that "happiness in shopping comes from the pursuit of wanting something" (Brain). The second part of the experiment studied the brains of buyers who made low-cost purchases. Subjects were shown the price of an item that caused the stimulation of pain receptors in the brain, but when the buyer saw that the price of the product was reduced, the stimulation of the pain receptors decreased. According to Dr. Tom Megvis, a professor of business at NYU, "Part of the joy you feel from shopping comes not only from the fact that you have bought something that you really like and will use, but also from So you got a good deal.” Most humans are largely motivated by what makes us feel good, especially when it comes to our purchasing habits. As a result, many companies have started to take a special interest in how the human brain can help them better understand consumers. “People are pretty good at expressing what they want, what they like, or even how much they're willing to pay for an item,” says Uma R. Karmarkar, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School who holds a a doctorate in marketing and neuroscience. "But they are not very good at understanding where this value comes from, or how and when it is influenced by factors such as store displays or brands. Neuroscience can help us understand these hidden elements of the process decision." a constant flow of updated products in the stores they frequent (Brain). To constantly keep the consumer's attention, a company must have the latest fashion trends on its shelves.