OP-ED
W hile many claim that a total collapse
is nearly impossible because of the multiple
servers and collection of networks that the
internet lives on, internet pioneer Danny
Hillis argues that it is entirely possible. He
states, “It can crash since, it was not built for
its current large-scale use.” Not to mention
cyberterrorism is on the rise, thus the
internet could be manipulated as a form
of attack on the United States by outside
forces. A cyberattack that takes down the
nation’s system would halt everything and
bring the U.S. to its knees.
Technology, while still in its youth in some
ways has sparked an esoteric revolution
in the fashion industry. Technology has
changed our lives in many ways. We
have technology all over our homes, it
has seeped into every aspect of life and
business. Almost everything in life relies on
technology and the internet.
To me, this is almost a scary sentiment, in
light of many data breaches like Experian
to the Cambridge Analytica data mining
scandal. It has many Americans thinking
about privacy and why we give up as
much information as we do online, where it
is most vulnerable. If or when this happens
people won’t be buying fashions. They’ll be
focused on survival.
Nobody is safe, even the upper echelon will
be wiped out because the financial world
lives on technology, unless they stockpiled
40
LimeLight
gold bars. It would be worse than the last
recession and far worse than the Great
Depression of the 1930s. Not to mention
majority of the population gets their fashion
news, inspiration and ultimately buys fashion
via the internet.
The cutting edge is crucial in the fashion
industry. Living in one of the nation’s
concentrated tech hubs makes me realize the
fact that tech is so far reaching.
Will tech save fashion? While technology has
its vulnerabilities, tech has made great strides
to solve the fashion world’s biggest and most
pressing issue; sustainability. A monumental
and overwhelming issue with many facets
to it from the production process, labor
practices,end-use to the eventual textile landfill
waste.
“Fashion is the second most
polluting industry in
the world after oil.”
According to the Environmental Protection
Agency, 15.1 billion tons of textile waste is
produced per year, with fast fashion being the
largest contributor.
H&M, the second leading fast fashion
company after Zara/Inditex, produces at the
rate of 600 million garments per year with
52 micro seasons. Danish TV’s Operation X
accused H&M of burning 12 tonnes of
unsold garments per year since 2013 in
Demark alone, which the company denied.
LimeLight
41