By Ana Syifa’u N
18th – 24th of August 2022. It was the date for the international training course “Understanding Circle of Fashion” in Pekalongan, Central Java, Indonesia, that I had joined. I was really excited to join this training course because I believe that the fast fashion sector has a significant impact on our modern environment. As we can see, a lot of fashion trend has been immensely developing everywhere, thanks to social media, which help the rapid growth. Unexpectedly, there are so many younger people keen on following fast fashion. When I look into fashion vloggers showing their new outfits, the comment will be flooded by comments such as, “OMG. I should have this, where did you buy it? Is it cheap?” etc. Nevertheless, they didn’t realize the huge impact of fast fashion trends.
During the training course, I got a chance to learn how to tackle the impact of the fast fashion industry from different perspectives of participants coming from different countries. The whole discussion was going to be very interesting, as the program was participated by 4 countries of 2 continents: Sweden, Lithuania, Cambodia and Indonesia. We discovered that the impact of the fast fashion industry not only spans environmental problems but includes social justice, health and economic dominos. Within the program, we also got the opportunity to share our country and what our country has been doing regarding the issue.
The sharing and discussion not only covered the fast fashion industry and the issues within, but we also had a chance to visit one of the batik home industries in Pekalongan, traditional fashion. We learnt the process of making batik clothes and how the waste is managed. At that moment, we also noticed that the workers hadn’t received a decent income or health care. This was another issue we want to raise regarding the fashion industry, which seems to be thriving outside, but much concerning inside.
In this project, I also learnt about new cultures and new languages, which became my favourite part of an international project. Now, I can say “Astafa Milo” or “ Jag elskar dig” I also learnt Cambodian and Lithuanian dances, which were very interesting for me. Also, I don’t forget new foods! I love them.
Lastly, my final quote on this training course is even though we realize that the fast fashion industry will always keep running, we have to start the change from our own selves, by beginning to buy more sustainable fashion. Thank you, Circle of Fashion project, for the new knowledge and this wonderful experience!