Exploring popularity, waste, and consumer culture
Meet the Labubu. These ultra-trendy monster character keychains created by Kasing Lung are both cute and disturbing. As the hottest item on social media, these blind-box items have been spotted on the bags of Dua Lipa and Rihanna. However, since consumers never know which Labubu they will unbox, this trend has also led to a vast number of people discarding the unwanted ones. While people do have the option to give away or resell unwanted Labubus, the excessive amount of plastic packaging doesn’t merely disappear, making this into yet another trend that contributes towards unnecessary waste and pollution. Anything to take part in the trend I guess!
In a world that has gone as far as normalizing 24-karat gold Labubus, a new monthly fashion microtrend, and a must-have water bottle every year, keeping up with current trends can become overwhelming. Some people follow fads religiously while others couldn’t care less about whether low-rise jeans are back in style or which brand of blush is selling out at Sephora. While I’ll admit I have hopped on my fair share of trends, I am a strong advocate for individuality—and I’d be just fine if I couldn’t get my hands on the ‘next big thing’ of the month. Finding and expressing my authentic self through how I dress, what music I listen to, where I like to shop, and what hobbies I indulge in hasn’t always been straightforward, especially since many times growing up all I wanted to do was fit in. It’s not so much that I don’t care what other people think now, I just either incorporate what I like from the trending world and add it to the things I already like or put my own spin on it. I think it’s way cooler to have a niche hobby or a one-of-a-kind thrifted find, so I have come to value uniqueness in my personal style above anything else, because at the end of the day, it’s my body, time, and bank account.
But how do trends magically pop out of thin air and die just as fast? Those Stanley water bottles and the cow-print takeover of 2019 didn’t just materialize at random. These movements begin with so-called trendsetters (influencers or people paid to promote certain styles) and then disseminate into the world through a mix of social media along with the human urge to forge a sense of belonging and gain social proof. At the other end, trends die when everyone gets their hands on it as the sense of novelty and originality wears off. For example, a few years ago, I witnessed how oversaturation and the resale market drained sneakers of their peak popularity. I’m not a huge sneaker fan, but seeing people I followed on Instagram resell their worn shoes for outrageous prices—and watching platforms like StockX thrive—made me realize just how effective trends are in shaping the actions of others. In this case, people not only want the sneaker itself, but the social status and sense of belonging that comes with it. The ability to immediately follow a trend is a privilege—to be in a position where you are around others who follow the trend and to buy into it signals to others your economic status and creates a visual barrier between the lower and higher social classes. Many people hop on trends to present themselves more like the ‘rich’ or to not suffer from FOMO, but in reality, trends are just a way for businesses to exploit the human desire to be accepted and liked by others.
On the other hand, while indulging in a microtrend here and there may seem harmless, the environmental impacts of microtrends deplete the earth’s resources and cause irreversible damage. Similar to the Labubu model, fast fashion fads perpetuate a vicious cycle of unsustainable overconsumption where ‘must-have’ items are purchased only to be discarded once the microtrend has expired. Over the years, I have been incorporating more second-hand items into my wardrobe, but more recently, I have noticed an alarming amount of fast fashion microtrend brands, such as Shein, H&M, and Zara dominating the racks at thrift stores. While I am glad these once-trendy pieces have been given a second chance, it’s unfortunate that these items were only used temporarily before they were deemed outdated or simply began to fall apart due to unsustainable materials and a lack of quality. I’ve seen everything from the Melina Pant to Jellycats being sold secondhand and I wonder how long it will take for Labubus to end up at my local thrift store.
So instead of letting trends dictate what we buy, we can start a new trend of buying, wearing, and doing what we want. However, if following trends is what you want to do, I urge you to be an informed consumer and understand how following unsustainable trends affects the world around you. A trend I would love to see is people authentically representing themselves while remembering to care for our only Earth.