Eva and I’s Zine focused on the relationship between consumer and seller at both the Whole Notions Market and the Shanghai South Bund Soft Spinning Materials Market. We wanted to look deeper into the superficial, day to day interactions between both groups, and to further understand the similarities and motivations behind these interactions. I appreciated the ethnographic research method we did, but I wished I had more of a Chinese language ability in order to investigate more of our interest with such little time. I took care of the written part of the zine (all except the “What Is Concious Shopping?” tab), copied and pasted below. Eva was in charge of taking the photos and the zine’s visual aspects, both tasks she did perfectly! I could not be happier with how it looks, and I cannot wait until our final project!
“Consumers:
The aspirational image of the 21st century human is the millennial entrepreneur. The most successful of which here in China are owners of Taobao shops. The app has a stronghold on the buying practices of consumers across the country, and those wishing to make it big are smart to capitalize on the ever-increasing speed of China’s fast fashion. Whether making their own designs or copying others, these owners need a place to buy cheap materials in large quantities in order to keep up with their stiff competitors. For that, they come to establishments like the Wholesale Notions Market (Shanghai Tan Shang Xia) and the South Bund Soft Spinning Materials Market. These materials are cheap and in high quantities; both typical qualities of unsustainable objects. The shop owners could choose to be more sustainable if the options were presented to them, but a walk around both markets shows cheap materials ready to fly off the shelves and nothing else.
Producers:
It is hard to explain the feeling while walking through these markets. The whole atmosphere screams “quick, cheap, easy!” And if that vibe isn’t enough, the stall owners will literally scream it while you walk past. Besides the labyrinth-like set up of both marketplaces, everything is optimized for the quickest and most efficient consumer-seller relationship, regardless of language ability. As you make your way through these markets and pay attention to the activity within the stalls, you can see packages upon packages of materials coming in and whole products coming out. Although both markets are bustling with activity, there is an air of desperation while walking through these locations. The issue facing both the materials market and the tailor market is the encroachment of larger fast fashion brands on the Chinese online marketplace. Just as the Taobao shop owners depend on the cheap materials from both markets, the stall owners need the patronage of the shop owners, and both sides of this consumer-seller relationship have everything to lose if larger, mostly foreign fast fashion brands keep expanding at their current exponential rate. For this reason, it is difficult for these vendors to care about—much less to become aware of—sustainable alternatives to the items they sell. This change will come with the conscious shopper.
Conscious shopping:
Regardless if you live in a capitalist or a socialist-with-Chinese-characteristics economic system, the world around you works on a supply and demand system. If the demand for an item is high, then the economic system around that item adjusts to meet it. Products become cheaper and more efficient when there is a market for them, and this can lead to huge changes for the sustainable fashion movement. The consumer has the control; they are not the victim nor the villain in the fast fashion narrative. If made aware of options and alternatives to big fast fashion brands they’ve come to rely on, the consumer can lead the charge towards a more sustainable fashion future. An influx in demand for sustainable, quality materials will allow stall owners to supply their Taobao shop-owner customers with these at a competitive price. Opting for tailor-made pieces over ill-fitting fast fashion products will enlighten the consumer to remember the worth clothing has, and how important intent is behind design. “Quality over quality” is the mantra of the conscious consumer, and if implemented in the buying habits of enough Chinese consumers, both the Taobao shop owners and the market stall owners here in Shanghai will follow suit.”