Fitness

Posted on April 1, 2024 by metro111c


Title: How to Navigate Weight Loss Wisely

Losing weight is a topic that’s often surrounded by fads, extreme diets, and unrealistic expectations. In a world where instant results are glorified, the journey towards a healthier weight can become overwhelming and discouraging. However, amidst the noise, there exists a balanced approach that not only facilitates weight loss but also promotes overall well-being and sustainability.

First and foremost, it’s essential to shift the focus from quick fixes to long-term lifestyle changes. Crash diets and extreme exercise regimes might yield rapid results initially, but they are rarely sustainable and can even be detrimental to your health. Instead, adopting a holistic approach that encompasses nutrition, physical activity, and mental well-being is key.

When it comes to nutrition, moderation and variety are crucial. Rather than demonizing certain food groups or adhering to strict dietary rules, aim for a balanced diet rich in whole foods such as fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Allow yourself the occasional treat, but practice portion control and mindful eating to prevent overindulgence.

Furthermore, it’s important to set realistic goals and celebrate progress along the way. Weight loss is not a linear process, and there will inevitably be setbacks and plateaus. Instead of becoming discouraged, focus on the positive changes you’ve made and keep moving forward with determination and resilience.

Title How to Create a workout schedule that suits you

Creating a workout schedule is a great way to stay organized, motivated, and consistent in your fitness journey. A well-planned schedule can help you achieve your fitness goals effectively.Start by determining what you want to achieve with your workouts. Whether it’s weight loss, muscle gain, improved endurance, or overall fitness, having clear goals will guide your exercise selection and scheduling.

Consider your daily schedule, including work, school, family commitments, and other responsibilities. Determine how many days per week and what times of day you can realistically dedicate to exercise. Based on your availability and goals, decide how many days per week you’ll work out. Aim for at least three to five days of exercise per week, with at least one rest day for recovery.

Choose the types of workouts you enjoy and that align with your goals. This could include cardiovascular exercise (e.g., running, cycling, swimming), strength training (e.g., weightlifting, bodyweight exercises), flexibility and mobility work (e.g., yoga, stretching), and/or specific sports or activities (e.g., basketball, dancing). Ensure your schedule includes a mix of different types of workouts to target various aspects of fitness, such as cardiovascular health, strength, flexibility, and mobility. Avoid overemphasizing one type of exercise at the expense of others.

Consistency is key when it comes to fitness, so stick to your schedule as much as possible, stay patient, and trust the process. With dedication and perseverance, you can achieve your fitness goals and enjoy the many benefits of an active lifestyle.

Opinion Piece Eating Healthy

In a world of fast food and processed snacks it’s hard to stay away from eating junk when it’s so accessible. But prioritizing healthy eating is essential for overall well-being. So to see progress in your diet you must focus on only eating nutrient-dense foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Practice portion control and mindful eating, savoring each bite. Stay hydrated with water and limit sugary beverages like sprite and coca cola. Plan and prepare meals ahead to avoid temptation. Embrace balance and moderation, allowing yourself occasional treats while prioritizing nourishing choices. Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues, and adjust your eating habits accordingly. Healthy eating is not about perfection but about making sustainable choices that support your health and vitality.

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Self-Reflective – capched

Posted on May 7, 2021 by capched

Reflection

Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development. 

Finding a lot of sources that would support my ideas was hard for me to do. I didn’t know what to search up at first. I just started typing out random phrases that dealt with my topic and eventually I was able to figure out how I should go about my research. What best displays this core value is my Hypothesis. By starting out small, I was able to piece together some arguments that would help validate the points that I set out to prove. Despite the fact that it took me a lot of time, I was able to eventually see my path. The way that I learned how to come up with a hypothesis is something that I recommend for everyone to try. This method of brainstorming is very effective depending on the person and their topic.

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

Putting ideas together is a skill that I need to work on. I often tend to summarize topics instead of correlating them with one another. It’s definitely a handy skill to have in my arsenal. I was able to display this core value when writing my causal argument. I had multiple ideas on different ways police brutality could be caused. It could have been caused by cops feeling threatened all the time so they are always on guard 24/7, or it could have been another reason such as the people attempting to provoke cops into becoming abusive of their power. There were a lot more reasonings besides the ones I had already introduced and being able to relate them was difficult. The ideas were fine, but not all of them were able to help prove the point that I was trying to make.

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

It is always a good idea to know who one is speaking to. Depending on who the person is addressing will determine how they will deliver their message. Executing the message is always important and I was able to do that in my visual rhetoric essay. I explained the meanings of the little details in the video I had chosen. I was also able to identify who the video was directed towards and the reason for the video being created in the first place. There was a lot to talk about for an advertisement that was only about 30 seconds long. I liked the assignment because without playing the sound, it allowed me to really think about the context of the video.

Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

Being able to evaluate certain ideas shows that you are good at processing information and making a conclusion from it. The best representation of this core value is my white paper. I was able to come up with my topics and sort them out into different categories. This helped with the organization of my paper and I use it as a template for other projects similar to it. The white paper is like coming up with a game plan and figuring out how to properly execute it. It was easy to get my ideas out and figure out the direction that I wanted to head in.

Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. My ideas are usually all over the place and sometimes it’s hard to remember where I received these ideas from. I was able to write down my sources and represent this core value best in my annotated bibliography. It has the records of where my ideas came from. Learning how to represent my sources properly was tricky for me at first, but as I went about it with the help of some examples, I was able to create my annotated bibliography in that way.

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Causal Rewrite – capched

Posted on May 7, 2021 by capched

Why Police Brutality?

Social media can influence people in many different ways, highlighting how police officers attack innocent minorities on a daily basis. But not all police officers are the same. It’s weird to see that some police officers abuse their power while others don’t. If that is the case, then there is something going on to make police officers act brutal towards people. There are times where police officers would help give rides for people who are far from their destination all from the kindness of their heart. So where is the disconnection? Police brutality is caused by the improper training that officers receive and also caused by their lack of judgement depending on the situation. 

Speculations of police training being faulty has caused some people to look for the reason why their training is the way it is. Police brutality is not something that these officers just randomly do, it is learned. Smith says that “The academy did not teach us the fundamental difference between power and authority or how to judiciously apply either.” These are words from the mouth of a former police officer who was in the force for about 18 years. This tells us that the training police officers go through doesn’t even include learning how to use their power properly and that is the main part of being a police officer. Not knowing how to use one’s power basically means that person is unqualified to wield that power. Police officers are only mostly taught the basics of their job which are driving, writing reports, using a weapon, and self defense. People on social media want the police programs to train their officers on how to be able to deescalate a situation without the use of unnecessary force. 

Some police officers act brutal just for the fun of it. At a certain point, the former 18 year officer “began to feel less like a cop and more like a member of an occupying army. One summer, I arrested a man on the Fourth of July. I don’t remember why I arrested him, but I can remember taunting him about having his freedom taken away on Independence Day. That was funny to me at the time” as Smith also claims. This is the reason why people want reformations in police training. They don’t want incidents like this to be happening. It isn’t right for a police officer to be making a joke like that towards a victim. Feeling like an occupying army member just shows that the officer’s method of interacting with the public is not acceptable, yet they continue to keep up the act anyway. In Smith’s article it’s proclaimed that “The other members of my unit used the same tactics, and as a group we pretty much just bullied our designated patrol area” (Smith). Police officers would just bully their way to get what they want in life and it’s sad because people aren’t able to do anything about it because they would be threatened with arrest; no one wants to get arrested. People would often speak up about their personal encounters with police but no type of consequence would be given to them.

Social media has been calling for police academy reformations because people believe that there is something wrong with the police training. They believe that their training isn’t thorough enough for them to be out in the real world. “Defund The Police” has been a trending topic that people discuss throughout social media and on the news. When some people hear about defunding the police they think that it means removing the police force altogether, but that isn’t the case. “Defunding the police doesn’t mean that the police force will be entirely gone, points out @Carrujo”  These Instagram Graphics Help Explain What ‘Defund The Police’ Really Means. Defunding the police means to take down the current system that we have and reform it so it is better than how it was before. The training would cover areas of how to handle human interaction and how to make better judgement calls when dealing with victims. Many people are upset with the current system of police because they receive money but they don’t put it towards better training programs and instead waste it on other pointless stuff like coffee makers or video game rooms.  

The type of training that police officers have is really surprising to the world. According to the article The Culture of Policing is Broken by The Atlantic, the recruits are constantly told that the world is threatening, which is basically telling the officers to always stay on guard. It’s brainwashing the officers to treat everything as a threat even during situations where that kind of behavior isn’t needed. This could be the source as to why some police officers are constantly hostile. They are trained to think and behave that way. Police officers are also introduced to new ways of using their power for their own personal needs. Smith introduces how other departments abuse their power as well, “I became an internal affairs detective in 2013 and became privy to other, more nefarious ways cops used and abused their power. It was a common problem for cops to stalk former romantic partners” (Smith). This shows that police brutality is being taught everywhere and not just at the academy. As people climb higher ranks, they gain access to different tactics/methods for abuse on the people. This needs to stop before it gets worse to the point where there’s nothing anyone can do about it. 

 As I said earlier, “Police brutality is not something that these officers just randomly do, it is learned.” In conclusion, police brutality isn’t acceptable and people will not tolerate its continuity. 

References

Miller, K. (2020, June 9). These Instagram Graphics Help Explain What ‘Defund The Police’ Really Means. Women’s Health. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a32803268/defund-the-police-meaning-instagram/.

Smith, L. (2019, August 30). I Was a Cop for 18 Years. I Witnessed and Participated in Abuses of Power. Medium. https://gen.medium.com/i-was-a-cop-for-18-years-i-witnessed-and-participated-in-abuses-of-power-8d057c18f9ee.

Brooks, D. (2020, June 16). The Culture of Policing Is Broken. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/how-police-brutality-gets-made/613030/.

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Bibliography – capched

Posted on May 7, 2021 by capched

Annotated Bibliography

  • Connie Fossi, W. S. (2020, February 20). Body Cameras Turned Off During Miami PD Arrest. NBC 6 South Florida. https://www.nbcmiami.com/investigations/body-cameras-turned-off-during-miami-pd-arrest/2193518/ .
  • A man named Samuel Scott had called police because his car was stolen. When police arrived at the scene, they had arrested Scott instead because he fit the description of the man that had stolen the car. The police had confiscated Scots belongings But Scott had told police that it was not him that you was the one who had called. police. Charges were dropped and Scott filed a complaint claiming that his belongings were not return to him. An investigation took place to find out what happened to Scott’s belongings and it turns out that during the altercation the police officer had his camera off during some parts of the altercation.  The department claimed the altercation to be very suspicious and the police officer was reprimanded for his actions. Scott eventually got his stuff back. 
  • Croft, J. (2017, June 21). Philando Castile shooting: Dashcam video shows rapid event. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/20/us/philando-castile-shooting-dashcam/index.html .
  • A man named Philando Castile was stopped by a police officer for an ordinary traffic stop. When asked to see his license and registration, Philando Castile warns officers that he has a gun and a permit to carry the gun. The police officer got scared thinking that Castile was reaching for a weapon and then eventually the police officer had shot Philando Castile. The incident was recorded on the girlfriend’s cell phone and eventually was posted to social media for the world to see. People viewed the video and they were immediately disturbed. Investigators dissected the video to understand what happened during the incident. The officer had explained his side saying that he was scared and thought Castile was reaching for a gun. 
  • Kennedy, M. (2017, June 16). Hundreds Protest After Minnesota Officer Found Not Guilty In Philando Castile Death. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/16/532783821/minnesota-police-officer-found-not-guilty-in-shooting-death-of-philando-castile  
  • The officer that had shot Philando Castile was put on trial.  The judge found him not guilty of Philando Castile’s death. When the news broke out, people were upset. They did not find the judge’s decision to be fair. People made statements such as the police system fails black people and how Castile was stopped for a broken tail light but ended up dying in the end. After the verdict, the department didn’t allow the police officer to return to active duty. The people would not be pleased to see him still serving the community.
  • Miller, K. (2020, June 9). These Instagram Graphics Help Explain What ‘Defund The Police’ Really Means. Women’s Health. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a32803268/defund-the-police-meaning-instagram/.
  • The video talks about the trending phrase “Defund the Police” and what it actually means. People think defunding the police is to remove the entire police system from existence. It actually means to break down the current system in place and to rebuild it into something better. Better and proper training for the officers, so that the same mistakes won’t happen again.
  • Smith, L. (2019, August 30). I Was a Cop for 18 Years. I Witnessed and Participated in Abuses of Power. Medium. https://gen.medium.com/i-was-a-cop-for-18-years-i-witnessed-and-participated-in-abuses-of-power-8d057c18f9ee.
  • This man was a police officer for about 18 years of his life. He explains how during his time as an officer, he abused his power at times just for the fun of it. He describes how he grew to learn to abuse his powers to the fullest. But he had difficulty realizing when he was crossing the line. He and his co workers had all participated in abusing their power, and as they go through different task forces, they learn more tactics to use at their advantage when dealing with victims.
  • Brooks, D. (2020, June 16). The Culture of Policing Is Broken. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/how-police-brutality-gets-made/613030/. 
  • The hiring and training process of how people become police officers is talked about. The recruits are constantly told that the world is threatening and they’re trained to be on guard at all times. Being a police officer is a dangerous job because their lives are always on the line. The recruits are taught that anyone can make a quick move on an officer before the officer gets a chance to pull out their weapon. 
  • Aleem, Z., & Collins, S. (2020, June 13). The police killing of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-through, explained . Vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/6/13/21290334/atlanta-police-shooting-wendys-video 
  • Rayshard Brooks was shot and killed in Atlanta, Georgia in June 2020. He was asleep in his car at a local Wendys and was approached by police. He was drunk but didn’t want to drive home and offered to walk to his sister’s house nearby. The police officer performs some sobriety tests on Rayshard and it turns out that his alcohol level is higher than the legal limit. Police officers try to put rayshard in handcuffs but Rayshard then resists and escapes with an officer’s taser in hand. The police officers then chased him down the parking lot and eventually shot him. Videos circulated everywhere and it sparked protests in Atlanta. 
  • Hubler, S., & Bosman, J. (2020, June 5). A Crisis That Began With an Image of Police Violence Keeps Providing More. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/us/police-violence-george-floyd.html. 
  • The killing of George Floyd was tragic. Police officer Derek Chauvin had arrested Floyd and placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for about 9 mins. Floyd struggled as he claimed that he couldn’t breathe but police officers ignored him. Bystanders stood and watched in horror as Floyd had lost his life. Police have been displaying violent behavior as an elderly man was seen pushed by a police officer in Buffalo, New York. The man’s head had hit the ground and he laid there unconscious with blood exiting from his head. The level of force that is used on the people needs to be put in check because some officers tend to go overboard with their power.
  • How do people feel when they see a police car — scared or safe? Quora. (n.d.). https://www.quora.com/How-do-people-feel-when-they-see-a-police-car-scared-or-safe.   
  • Some people believe that the police are not on the same side as the people based on their own personal experiences with police. This person has been tailed by police because they thought the person’s car had fit the description of some tires that were stolen prior. There was another encounter when the person’s friend had left their house and officers had apprehended the person because they looked out of place in the neighborhood. They don’t look like they’re from the area and probably assumed the friend was stealing.
  • Browne, M., Kelso, C., & Marcolini, B. (2020, June 14). How Rayshard Brooks Was Fatally Shot by the Atlanta Police. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/us/videos-rayshard-brooks-shooting-atlanta-police.html.   
  • The videos of the Raysard Brooks shooting are displayed here on this website. The videos clearly show how the situation had occurred, as Rayshard is seen running from officers and then being shot in the back. They also show the altercation where the police tried to arrest Rayshard but ended up resisting.

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Research – capched

Posted on May 7, 2021 by capched

Police Brutality

There are many systems set into place to serve and protect the people, though more of these collective systems are the ones dividing people apart. Police brutality is one of the many systems that contribute to the division of the people. Police brutality is when officers use unreasonable and excessive force to subdue victims/people. Police officers violate basic human rights which were often concealed in the past, however social media has brought a rise to this ongoing dilemma. Social media has allowed the public to pay more attention to police brutality, as a result more police are being held accountable for their actions. Therefore, it is bringing on a greater call for change within our criminal justice system. 

Moreover, The advancement of social media has blown up excessively compared to past usage. Millions of people log on everyday to view the latest posts, news, or trending topics that are occuring  in the world. When the incident of George Floyd took place , the video was shared everywhere throughout social media. It had become a trending topic for weeks. People were disgusted by the explicit content seen in the video and outraged that a police officer would conduct himself in such a way. The incident  sparked a lot of tension and it was an eye opener to see how police officers really treated people. To some people, it was their first time ever seeing something so profound. 

Police brutality was always an issue, but it was not always made publicly because some police officers would try to cover up the incidents. Some officers would end up turning off their cameras to hide what they were  doing because they knew  that if other people saw , they would be punished accordingly. This is where police officers start to abuse their power. The police officers start to have the mindset that they can do anything and wouldn’t receive any consequences for their actions. This makes it a dangerous game because police officers think they are entitled to do whatever  they want and afterwards  quickly change up the story to save their reputation . For example, in June 2018, Samuel Scott was arrested by the Miami Police for a call that police had received claiming that Scott’s car was stolen. Scott was the one that had made the call and the police thought that he was one who stole it. The car had got into a collision and the police believed that Scott had filed a false report. The description of the person matched  Scott,  so  they took him into custody. Police had confiscated some of Scott’s belongings in the beginning, but when he filed a motion to retrieve them back, they weren’t able to because there was no record of it being confiscated. In the article, Body Cameras Turned Off During Miami PD Arrest, they say that “The body camera video obtained by the NBC 6 Investigators should be able to help track what happened to the items, but after Guzman handled the wallet and cellphone, he is seen reaching up to the camera and turning it off without explaining why. It remained off for several minutes. ‘It all seemed very suspicious. To this date, we don’t really know what the answer is or why the officer even turned it (his body camera) off in the first place,’ Pepper said adding body cameras are a ‘good tool’ to make sure officers follow the department’s rules and procedures.” The officer purposely turned off his camera most likely  because he knew his actions were problematic  and did  not follow the code of conduct. Many police officers tend to do this and it should be recognized rather than ignored. The officer was disciplined by the police department as  stated, but they did not  state what the discipline was. Imagine what could have happened during the time period of the camera not being on. The officer could have harassed Scott and many other altercations may have occurred but there is no evidence to prove the event. Now it is mandatory by law that all officers have their cameras on at all times when confronting a situation.

In the case of Philando Castile, he was shot and killed during a traffic stop after an officer had found out that Castile had a gun. He told officers about the gun and they continued to be hostile with him. People are allowed to have possession of a firearm as long as they have a permit for it which Castile had. The police department described the officer to be scared and nervous and it caused him to pull the trigger. It is  not understandable why the officer would continue to pull the trigger. Croft’s article claims that “He said he’d made hundreds of traffic stops in which the drivers informed him they were carrying firearms. Those stops ended safely ‘100 percent of the time’ because the drivers kept their hands in view and told him when they were reaching for their wallets or other objects, he said.” If the officer had these encounters before and handled them perfectly and safely, why couldn’t he do the same for Castile? Was it because of his race? Philando Castile’s girlfriend had recorded the incident and posted to social media, and people immediately got upset at what was being shown throughout the video.. The police officer was found not guilty of the murder of Castile, but was removed from the police force because “the public will be best served if Officer Yanez is no longer a police officer in our city” as M.Kennedy claims in their article. Protests were formed in the streets of Minnetsota as people were outraged by the murder and the outcome of the verdict. When will it ever stop? 

People tend to view police officers  in a negative way based  on past encounters and senseless murders that have occurred.. Many people are afraid to call the police for help even when they are in a situation that requires aid from them. The fear of someone being falsely accused and possibly murder makes society uneasy about police help. Police brutality impacts many urban neighborhoods, minorities, and young adults. It has made  people in certain communities  lose trust and hope in their offerings to society.. When an officer drives around a neighborhood, people would often adjust their behavior and stay on high alert because most of the time they feel like the cops are not on their side. With that being said, there is a lot of distrust and disconnect between communities and police. 

Social media can influence people in many different ways, highlighting how police officers attack innocent minorities on a daily basis. But not all police officers are the same. It’s suspicious to see that some police officers abuse their power while others don’t. If that is the case, then there is something going on to make police officers act brutal towards people. There are times where police officers would help give rides for people who are far from their destination all from the kindness of their heart. So where is the disconnection? Police brutality is caused by the improper training that officers receive and also caused by their lack of judgement depending on the situation. 

Speculations of police training being faulty has caused some people to look for the reason why their training is the way it is. Police brutality is not something that these officers just randomly do, it is learned. Smith says that “The academy did not teach us the fundamental difference between power and authority or how to judiciously apply either.” These are words from the mouth of a former police officer who was in the force for about 18 years. This tells us that the training police officers go through doesn’t even include learning how to use their power properly and that is the main part of being a police officer. Not knowing how to use one’s power basically means that person is unqualified to wield that power. Police officers are only mostly taught the basics of their job which are driving, writing reports, using a weapon, and self defense. People on social media want the police programs to train their officers on how to be able to deescalate a situation without the use of unnecessary force. 

Some police officers act brutal just for the fun of it. At a certain point, the former 18 year officer “began to feel less like a cop and more like a member of an occupying army. One summer, I arrested a man on the Fourth of July. I don’t remember why I arrested him, but I can remember taunting him about having his freedom taken away on Independence Day. That was funny to me at the time” as Smith also claims. This is the reason why people want reformations in police training. They don’t want incidents like this to be happening. It isn’t right for a police officer to be making a joke like that towards a victim. Feeling like an occupying army member just shows that the officer’s method of interacting with the public is not acceptable, yet they continue to keep up the act anyway. In Smith’s article, its proclaimed that “The other members of my unit used the same tactics, and as a group we pretty much just bullied our designated patrol area.” Police officers would just bully their way to get what they want in life and it’s sad because people aren’t able to do anything about it because they would be threatened with arrest; no one wants to get arrested. People would often speak up about their personal encounters with police but no type of consequence would be given to them.

Social media has been calling for police academy reformations because people believe that there is something wrong with the police training. They believe that their training isn’t thorough enough for them to be out in the real world. “Defund The Police” has been a trending topic that people discuss throughout social media and on the news. When some people hear about defunding the police they think that it means removing the police force altogether, but that isn’t the case. “Defunding the police doesn’t mean that the police force will be entirely gone, points out @Carrujo” as said in the article These Instagram Graphics Help Explain What ‘Defund The Police’ Really Means. Defunding the police means to take down the current system that we have and reform it so it is better than how it was before. The training would cover areas of how to handle human interaction and how to make better judgement calls when dealing with victims. Many people are upset with the current system of police because they receive money but they don’t put it towards better training programs and instead waste it on other pointless stuff like coffee makers or video game rooms.  

The type of training that police officers have is really surprising to the world. According to the article The Culture of Policing is Broken by The Atlantic, the recruits are constantly told that the world is threatening, which is basically telling the officers to always stay on guard. It’s brainwashing the officers to treat everything as a threat even during situations where that kind of behavior isn’t needed. This could be the source as to why some police officers are constantly hostile. They are trained to think and behave that way. Police officers are also introduced to new ways of using their power for their own personal needs. Smith introduces how officers behave when given certain jobs. “I became an internal affairs detective in 2013 and became privy to other, more nefarious ways cops used and abused their power. It was a common problem for cops to stalk former romantic partners” (Smith). This shows that police brutality is being taught everywhere and not just at the academy. As people climb higher ranks, they gain access to different tactics/methods for abuse on the people. This needs to stop before it gets worse to the point where there’s nothing anyone can do about it. 

 As I said earlier, “Police brutality is not something that these officers just randomly do, it is learned.” Police brutality isn’t acceptable and people will not tolerate its continuity.

Police brutality consists of a plethora of instances in which the police are negatively targeted for solely doing their job. Social media has played a wide role in the false deception of police and continues to increase the hatred that Americans are growing for the people who we rely on to protect us. The victims often play a role as well by triggering police officers and using violence to fight back. Such actions often lead to police officers taking alternative measures by utilizing excessive force only to complete their job. Police officers are not the main source of police brutality on social media, a lack of education upon what is the standard for force and  violent citizens is what causes the false portrayal of brutality for all police officers. 

In 2020 during the numerous Black Lives Matter protests, the government had implemented a mandatory curfew because the chaos was at an all time maximum with looting, burning things, and street violence. Originally, the protests were planned peaceful but eventually the anger and frustration led the people fighting for justice to get out of control. Once businesses were being looted and public property was being damaged, it was time for the police to do their job and take action. Tear gas was sprayed to control crowds, many were arrested for inane behaviors and protests were shut down in regards to safety concerns for many Americans. Police officers are only there to do their job that they were hired for, but people make it hard for them. What many fail to acknowledge is that the police are people too and by subjecting all police officers to what they see trending on social media is unjust. Social Media eventually tried to take a stance in defense of police by making movements such as Blue Lives Matter to raise awareness and protection of crimes committed against the police. Social media has a great impact on the world today and creating a negative view against the police only allows one to become blindsided to the other side. Police do contribute to many goods in society and should not only be visualized by their flaws. 

Police officers are trained to earn their badges. They understand basic human rights and what is considered “acceptable force” in today’s society. A lack of education by the people contributes to false deception of police because now false accusations are consistently being made on what force is legal. People who do not know anything about the training of police officers are adding input which only continues to promote the hate of all police. If everyone got on the same page and created a law on the maximum amount of force allowed in an encounter by the police then no gray areas would emerge. Often times police encounters that were labeled “brutality” were a result of a misunderstanding. 

America is a democracy that emphasizes freedom amongst the people. Police officers play a vital role in maintaining the peace. Violence has been submerged within our communities for years and police seem to be the main source of ensuring the peace. Police often combat violence through measures that many people may not agree on. They often do not intentionally mean to cause harm or crime however it can be said that the police think negligently while in the heat of the moment. What many people fail to consider is that they are putting their lives on the line as well for every incident they encounter. Violence is dangerous for every party in an encounter and police are needed to limit such offenses that can ultimately be detrimental to families and friends. 

For example, police officers had shot and killed Rayshard Brooks back in 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia at a local Wendys. In the Vox article by Z.Aleem, “Rolfe and Brosnan grab his arms, and he begins to twist away from them…Brooks continues to wiggle, and the officers yell, ‘Stop fighting, stop fighting,’ and ‘You’re going to get Tased!’” Rayshard had resisted arrest and tried to flee the scene with one of the officer’s taser in hand. Police officers don’t have the intention to kill, but given the circumstances, they will do what they feel is necessary. Rayshard could have injured bystanders with the taser and the police officers goal is to make sure that the people are safe. So they did what they had to do which ultimately led to Rayshard’s death.

I understand that critics would disagree with my stance and argue that police brutality is what opens the door to discrimination, inequalities against minorities and misuse of excessive force. However as the future continues to progress so should our government workers. Police serve our neighborhoods with intentions of keeping it safe. Yes police are continuing to get themselves into civil rights lawsuits, and caught in violation of training mechanisms. Yet, such instances allow past and future cops to evaluate not only how you are speaking to them but also improvements that could be made within our criminal justice system and the labelling of “police brutality”. 

Ultimately, so many factors contribute to the negative portrayal of police seen throughout the United states. The main source of police brutality is social media, a lack of education upon what is the standard for force and  violent citizens is what causes the false portrayal of brutality for all police officers. Police protect us citizens and help create safe spaces for when one is in need. In order to continue thriving we the people have to acknowledge the many pros that police exhibit and create an environment where police are not the only target.

Resources

Connie Fossi, W. S. (2020, February 20). Body Cameras Turned Off During Miami PD Arrest. NBC 6 South Florida. https://www.nbcmiami.com/investigations/body-cameras-turned-off-during-miami-pd-arrest/2193518/ .

Croft, J. (2017, June 21). Philando Castile shooting: Dashcam video shows rapid event. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2017/06/20/us/philando-castile-shooting-dashcam/index.html .

Kennedy, M. (2017, June 16). Hundreds Protest After Minnesota Officer Found Not Guilty In Philando Castile Death. NPR. https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/06/16/532783821/minnesota-police-officer-found-not-guilty-in-shooting-death-of-philando-castile  

Miller, K. (2020, June 9). These Instagram Graphics Help Explain What ‘Defund The Police’ Really Means. Women’s Health. https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a32803268/defund-the-police-meaning-instagram/.

Smith, L. (2019, August 30). I Was a Cop for 18 Years. I Witnessed and Participated in Abuses of Power. Medium. https://gen.medium.com/i-was-a-cop-for-18-years-i-witnessed-and-participated-in-abuses-of-power-8d057c18f9ee.

Brooks, D. (2020, June 16). The Culture of Policing Is Broken. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/06/how-police-brutality-gets-made/613030/. 

Aleem, Z., & Collins, S. (2020, June 13). The police killing of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-through, explained . Vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/6/13/21290334/atlanta-police-shooting-wendys-video 

Hubler, S., & Bosman, J. (2020, June 5). A Crisis That Began With an Image of Police Violence Keeps Providing More. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/05/us/police-violence-george-floyd.html. 

How do people feel when they see a police car — scared or safe? Quora. (n.d.). https://www.quora.com/How-do-people-feel-when-they-see-a-police-car-scared-or-safe.  

Browne, M., Kelso, C., & Marcolini, B. (2020, June 14). How Rayshard Brooks Was Fatally Shot by the Atlanta Police. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/14/us/videos-rayshard-brooks-shooting-atlanta-police.html.   

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Rebuttal Rewrite – capched

Posted on May 7, 2021 by capched

Are Police Officers Actually Good?

Police brutality consists of a plethora of instances in which the police are negatively targeted for solely doing their job. Social media has played a wide role in the false deception of police and continues to increase the hatred that Americans are growing for the people who we rely on to protect us. The victims often play a role as well by triggering police officers and using violence to fight back. Such actions often lead to police officers taking alternative measures by utilizing excessive force only to complete their job. Police officers are not the main source of police brutality on social media, a lack of education upon what is the standard for force and  violent citizens is what causes the false portrayal of brutality for all police officers. 

In 2020 during the numerous Black Lives Matter protests, the government had implemented a mandatory curfew because the chaos was at an all time maximum with looting, burning things, and street violence. Originally, the protests were planned peaceful but eventually the anger and frustration led the people fighting for justice to get out of control. Once businesses were being looted and public property was being damaged, it was time for the police to do their job and take action. Tear gas was sprayed to control crowds, many were arrested for inane behaviors and protests were shut down in regards to safety concerns for many Americans. Police officers are only there to do their job that they were hired for, but people make it hard for them. What many fail to acknowledge is that the police are people too and by subjecting all police officers to what they see trending on social media is unjust. Social Media eventually tried to take a stance in defense of police by making movements such as Blue Lives Matter to raise awareness and protection of crimes committed against the police. Social media has a great impact on the world today and creating a negative view against the police only allows one to become blindsided to the other side. Police do contribute to many goods in society and should not only be visualized by their flaws. 

Police officers are trained to earn their badges. They understand basic human rights and what is considered “acceptable force” in today’s society. A lack of education by the people contributes to false deception of police because now false accusations are consistently being made on what force is legal. People who do not know anything about the training of police officers are adding input which only continues to promote the hate of all police. If everyone got on the same page and created a law on the maximum amount of force allowed in an encounter by the police then no gray areas would emerge. Often times police encounters that were labeled “brutality” were a result of a misunderstanding. 

America is a democracy that emphasizes freedom amongst the people. Police officers play a vital role in maintaining the peace. Violence has been submerged within our communities for years and police seem to be the main source of ensuring the peace. Police often combat violence through measures that many people may not agree on. They often do not intentionally mean to cause harm or crime however it can be said that the police think negligently while in the heat of the moment. What many people fail to consider is that they are putting their lives on the line as well for every incident they encounter. Violence is dangerous for every party in an encounter and police are needed to limit such offenses that can ultimately be detrimental to families and friends. 

For example, police officers had shot and killed Rayshard Brooks back in 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia at a local Wendys. In the Vox article, The police killing of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-through, explained “Rolfe and Brosnan grab his arms, and he begins to twist away from them…Brooks continues to wiggle, and the officers yell, ‘Stop fighting, stop fighting,’ and ‘You’re going to get Tased!’” Rayshard had resisted arrest and tried to flee the scene with one of the officer’s taser in hand. Police officers don’t have the intention to kill, but given the circumstances, they will do what they feel is necessary. Rayshard could have injured bystanders with the taser and the police officers goal is to make sure that the people are safe. So they did what they had to do which ultimately led to Rayshard’s death.

I understand that critics would disagree with my stance and argue that police brutality is what opens the door to discrimination, inequalities against minorities and misuse of excessive force. However as the future continues to progress so should our government workers. Police serve our neighborhoods with intentions of keeping it safe. Yes police are continuing to get themselves into civil rights lawsuits, and caught in violation of training mechanisms. Yet, such instances allow past and future cops to evaluate not only how you are speaking to them but also improvements that could be made within our criminal justice system and the labelling of “police brutality.” 

Ultimately, so many factors contribute to the negative portrayal of police seen throughout the United states. The main source of police brutality is social media, a lack of education upon what is the standard for force and  violent citizens is what causes the false portrayal of brutality for all police officers. Police protect us citizens and help create safe spaces for when one is in need. In order to continue thriving we the people have to acknowledge the many pros that police exhibit and create an environment where police are not the only target.

Aleem, Z., & Collins, S. (2020, June 13). The police killing of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-through, explained . Vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/6/13/21290334/atlanta-police-shooting-wendys-video

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Rebuttal – capched

Posted on May 6, 2021 by capched

Are Police Officers Actually Good?

Police brutality consists of a plethora of instances in which the police are negatively targeted for solely doing their job. Social media has played a wide role in the false deception of police and continues to increase the hatred that Americans are growing for the people who we rely on to protect us. The victims often play a role as well by triggering police officers and using violence to fight back. Such actions often lead to police officers taking alternative measures by utilizing excessive force only to complete their job. Police officers are not the main source of police brutality on social media, a lack of education upon what is the standard for force and  violent citizens is what causes the false portrayal of brutality for all police officers. 

In 2020 during the numerous Black Lives Matter protests, the government had implemented a mandatory curfew because the chaos was at an all time maximum with looting, burning things, and street violence. Originally, the protests were planned peaceful but eventually the anger and frustration led the people fighting for justice to get out of control. Once businesses were being looted and public property was being damaged, it was time for the police to do their job and take action. Tear gas was sprayed to control crowds, many were arrested for inane behaviors and protests were shut down in regards to safety concerns for many Americans. Police officers are only there to do their job that they were hired for, but people make it hard for them. What many fail to acknowledge is that the police are people too and by subjecting all police officers to what they see trending on social media is unjust. Social Media eventually tried to take a stance in defense of police by making movements such as Blue Lives Matter to raise awareness and protection of crimes committed against the police. Social media has a great impact on the world today and creating a negative view against the police only allows one to become blindsided to the other side. Police do contribute to many goods in society and should not only be visualized by their flaws. 

Police officers are trained to earn their badges. They understand basic human rights and what is considered “acceptable force” in today’s society. A lack of education by the people contributes to false deception of police because now false accusations are consistently being made on what force is legal. People who do not know anything about the training of police officers are adding input which only continues to promote the hate of all police. If everyone got on the same page and created a law on the maximum amount of force allowed in an encounter by the police then no gray areas would emerge. Often times police encounters that were labeled “brutality” were a result of a misunderstanding. 

America is a democracy that emphasizes freedom amongst the people. Police officers play a vital role in maintaining the peace. Violence has been submerged within our communities for years and police seem to be the main source of ensuring the peace. Police often combat violence through measures that many people may not agree on. They often do not intentionally mean to cause harm or crime however it can be said that the police think negligently while in the heat of the moment. What many people fail to consider is that they are putting their lives on the line as well for every incident they encounter. Violence is dangerous for every party in an encounter and police are needed to limit such offenses that can ultimately be detrimental to families and friends. 

For example, police officers had shot and killed Rayshard Brooks back in 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia at a local Wendys. In the Vox article, The police killing of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-through, explained “Rolfe and Brosnan grab his arms, and he begins to twist away from them…Brooks continues to wiggle, and the officers yell, ‘Stop fighting, stop fighting,’ and ‘You’re going to get Tased!’” Rayshard had resisted arrest and tried to flee the scene with one of the officer’s taser in hand. Police officers don’t have the intention to kill, but given the circumstances, they will do what they feel is necessary. Rayshard could have injured bystanders with the taser and the police officers goal is to make sure that the people are safe. So they did what they had to do which ultimately led to Rayshard’s death.

I understand that critics would disagree with my stance and argue that police brutality is what opens the door to discrimination, inequalities against minorities and misuse of excessive force. However as the future continues to progress so should our government workers. Police serve our neighborhoods with intentions of keeping it safe. Yes police are continuing to get themselves into civil rights lawsuits, and caught in violation of training mechanisms. Yet, such instances allow past and future cops to evaluate not only how you are speaking to them but also improvements that could be made within our criminal justice system and the labelling of “police brutality.” 

Ultimately, so many factors contribute to the negative portrayal of police seen throughout the United states. The main source of police brutality is social media, a lack of education upon what is the standard for force and  violent citizens is what causes the false portrayal of brutality for all police officers. Police protect us citizens and help create safe spaces for when one is in need. In order to continue thriving we the people have to acknowledge the many pros that police exhibit and create an environment where police are not the only target.

Aleem, Z., & Collins, S. (2020, June 13). The police killing of Rayshard Brooks at a Wendy’s drive-through, explained . Vox. https://www.vox.com/2020/6/13/21290334/atlanta-police-shooting-wendys-video

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reflective-honeysucklelilac

Posted on May 6, 2021 by honeysucklelilac

Core Value 1. My work demonstrates that I used a variety of social and interactive practices that involve recursive stages of exploration, discovery, conceptualization, and development.

This class has been one of the most challenging writing classes I have ever had. I say this as the greatest compliment. Never before have I been forced to focus so hard on the words I put on the page and the importance of each one. In response to the feedback I received for my Definition Essay I ended up changing most of the contents. I threw too many terms at the reader without focusing on each one and submitted a condensed version of the final 3000 word argument.  I took out the several terms I tried to originally explain and narrowed in on collaborative consumption. In response to this feedback, I went back and focused more on defining fast fashion and slow fashion for the reader.

Core Value 2. My work demonstrates that I read critically, and that I placed texts into conversation with one another to create meaning by synthesizing ideas from various discourse communities. 

I think the best demonstration of Core Value 2 is represented in the Visual Rhetoric  assignment we had to do. This assignment forced us to look into the deeper meaning of EVERYTHING that you see when you watch an ad. The point of an ad is to communicate ideas through visuals. Everything in an ad is placed there for a certain reason, nothing is there for you to see that doesn’t make you draw a connection to something else. 

Core Value 3. My work demonstrates that I rhetorically analyzed the purpose, audience, and contexts of my own writing and other texts and visual arguments.

I’ve never had to think so hard in a writing course and this class forced me to identify rhetoric arguments and see their effectiveness in persuading a reader. I was able to demonstrate this core value in my  Definition Essay. In the introduction I prompt the reader to think about the environmental impact that a $3 top really causes. The purpose of making the statement was to force the reader to recall the last time they were online shopping and chose the cheaper shirt without thinking about the implications it has. 

Core Value 4: My work demonstrates that I have met the expectations of academic writing by locating, evaluating, and incorporating illustrations and evidence to support my own ideas and interpretations.

In this class we were told to have our own ideas and that there was no point in writing about an opinion on a topic that has already been explored. We were challenged to think of counterintuitive statements to guide our research papers. In my Rebuttal Argument I was able to look into other ways to dispose of clothing. By looking at all the different options and their environmental impacts I was able to build a case as to why donating to thrift stores is the best option.  

Core Value 5. My work demonstrates that I respect my ethical responsibility to represent complex ideas fairly and to the sources of my information with appropriate citation. In all of my writing I cited my sources when taking direct quotes from articles. In my  Rebuttal Argument I was able to respect the opinions of those who had other alternatives to disposing clothes. I prioritized the logical over the emotional by looking at the data I found to draw conclusions about which method was best for the environment.

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annotated bibliography-honeysucklelilac

Posted on May 6, 2021 by honeysucklelilac

Annotated Bibliography

Bahareh Zamani, Gustav Sandin, Greg M. Peters, Life cycle assessment of clothing libraries: can collaborative consumption reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion?, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 162, 2017, Pages 1368-1375, ISSN 0959-6526

Background: This article discusses one solution to lessen the environmental impacts of fashion and lengthen the practical service life of clothes is collaborative consumption. Collaborative consumption is consumers exchanging the ownership distribution of a resource for a fee or other compensation. This includes when a resource is borrowed, swapped, traded or rented. Collaborative consumption is part of the sharing economy.

How I Used It: This article helped me define collaborative consumption and how to describe it as a solution to lessening the amount of clothing that ends up in landfills. I used it as a way to explain that this example of consumerism can help lengthen the lifespan of clothes. 

Bennett, Roger (2003),  “Factors Underlying the Inclination to Donate to Particular Types of Charity,” International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing,” Vol. 8, pp. 12-29.

Background: This study surveyed 250 people in central London and asked them what charity they would donate to if given a certain amount of money. The respondents were then asked questions regarding their personal values. 

How I Used It: From this study I found that 60% of donations come from those aged 60-70 years old. From that I concluded that younger generations are not donating clothes as they buy new ones.

Commerce statistics for individuals.  Retrieved April 12, 2021. 

Background: This article provided information on the popularity of online shopping in the EU. Each age group was found to have an increased percentage of online shopping over the last 10 years. 

How I Used It: It was found in the article that those aged 16-24 had the largest increase of online shopping at 29%. I used this information to further my point that younger generations are driving the emergence of fast fashion websites. 

Greenhouse gas emissions from a typical passenger vehicle. (2018, May 10). Retrieved May 01, 2021, from Greenhouse gas emissions from a typical passenger vehicle.

Background: This article from the EPA discusses the average greenhouse gas emissions from a car. There were other links included that answered questions based on how much tailpipe carbon dioxide is created from burning one gallon of gas and driving one mile. 

How I Used It: I used the statistic that a typical vehicle emits 4.6 metric tons of carbon dioxide per year. I used this statistic to further my argument that textile recycling centers produce more carbon dioxide when compared to using a car to drop off clothes at a thrift store.

Howell, Rachel (2020, October 10)  Gen z’s pressure to keep up with fashion trends.  Retrieved April 12, 2021.

Background: This article discusses the pressures Generation Z undertakes in order to keep up with fashion trends. With the emergence of social media, it is increasingly difficult to fit in with one’s peers. The author also notes that fashion can have a damaging effect on young people as fashion and one’s image has an impact on someone’s lifestyle.

How I Used It: I used quotes from this article to strengthen my claim that young generations are driving the fast fashion websites. I connected the need for validation to increased buying of clothes in order to stay in style. Also most teenagers cannot afford to buy “good” quality clothes that are in style so they turn to fast fashion websites to get similar clothes at a much lower price, and once the clothes are out of style they have no issue throwing them away because of the little amount of money they spent on the items.  

Joung, H.-M. (2014), “Fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviors” , International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 42 No. 8, pp. 688-697.

Background: This paper focused on the behaviors of consumers who bought from fast fashion companies. The relationships explored were disposing, hoarding, participation in recycling and the consumers’ attitudes towards the environment. 

How I Used It: I used the conclusion of the paper that consumers have a positive attitude towards the environment but don’t act on their feelings. From this information I concluded that consumers of fast fashion want to contribute positively to the environment, they just lack the knowledge of how to do so. 

Laitala K. and Klepp I.G. Age and active life of clothing. (2016, October 27). Retrieved April 12, 2021.

Background: The author conducted a study to measure the life span and active use period of clothing. The article used data from 620 items of clothing across 16 households in the timespan of six months. 

How I Used It: The study found that out of the 620 articles of clothing 50 of them were never used, allowing me to conclude that consumers buy more clothes than they use even on a monthly basis. The data provided from the study also allowed me to narrow down the age group of those who most frequently got rid of clothes to be teenagers and young adults. 

NPR/Marist poll: Amazon is a Colossus in a nation of shoppers. (2018, June 06). Retrieved April 12, 2021. 

Background: The article found that Amazon is dominating the world of all online shoppers. The key notes of why those who were served shop online is due to convenience and speed. Several statistics were stated in the article stating the percentage of consumers who buy through Amazon and why they do so.

How I Used It: I used a specific statistic from the article in my research paper, “84% of Americans have purchased clothes or shoes from a digital retailer.” This statistic allowed me to further my claim that the majority of America has turned to online shopping over the past few years.

Ro, Christine. Can fashion ever be sustainable? Retrieved May 01, 2021, from Can fashion ever be sustainable? 

Background: This article discusses how most people buy several pieces of cheap clothing instead of investing in one item that costs more but will last longer. It discusses ways consumers can be more conscious of their clothing choices to lessne their environmental impact. Also, the article talks about how some manufacturers are looking into how to recycle jeans to reduce their environmental impact.

How I Used It: I picked out a statistic from the article that stated that as much as 10% of greenhouse gasses come from human activity. I used this statistic to emphasize my point that consumers should be paying attention to what happens to their clothes when they throw the items away. 

Semba, T., Sakai, Y., Ishikawa, M., & Inaba, A. (2020). Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions by Reusing and Recycling Used Clothing in Japan. Sustainability, 12(19), 8214. doi:10.3390/su12198214

Background: This article states that in 2015 there was 1.2 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions from fabric manufacturing. The authors stated that this number needed to be reduced by reusing and recycling used clothing. The five solutions they looked into were reuse overseas, textile recycling to wipers, fiber recycling, chemical recycling and thermal recycling. 

How I Used It: I specifically looked at the data for reclaimed and thrifted clothes and the carbon emissions compared to the carbon emissions created from textile recycling. The carbon emissions from reclaimed and thrifted clothes was almost half of that to recycled textiles. I used this information to point out that thrift stores are the most environmentally friendly option to get rid of clothes. 

 Textiles: Material-specific data.  (2020, October 07). Retrieved March 08, 2021

Background: This article states that the main source of textile waste comes from discarded clothing. There were statistics stated in the article that estimated the generation of textile in 2018 was 17 million tons.

How I used It: This article helped me provide evidence to show how much clothing is placed in landfills every year. I also used it to demonstrate how little of the clothing that is produced is actually recycled. 

Young, R., & Hagan, A. (2019, December 03).The environmental cost of fashion.  Retrieved May 01, 2021 

Background: This article focuses on the Fashion Revolution and how it has become the world’s largest activism movement. The organization hosts events and tries to pressure brands to avoid human right abuse and environmental degradation throughout their supply chain. The article also makes points that fast fashion cycles add large amounts of waste to the environment. 

How I Used It: I used a quote from Carry Somers, founder and global operations director of the nonprofit organization Fashion Revolution , “Even extending the life of our garments by an extra nine months of active use would reduce the carbon, water and waste footprint by around 20% to 30% each.” This quote furthered my argument that reusing clothes by donating them is the best option for clothes after the first owner no longer has use for them. 

Posted in Bibliography, honeysucklelilac, Portfolio HoneySuckleLilac | Leave a comment

research-honeysucklelilac

Posted on May 6, 2021 by honeysucklelilac

Fast Fashion: The Environment’s Downfall

The price of the $3 top we find online is as low as it can go. But the cost of that top to the environment is way higher than we ever stop to think. The popularity of inexpensive clothing websites has increased significantly over recent years. These fast fashion websites have begun to dominate the world of online shopping. The appeal of these sites is that the clothes are in style and obtainable at low price. 

The rise of fast fashion websites and the poor quality clothes they offer has consumers shortening the clothes service life. The cycle of fast fashion and the want to stay trendy also has the majority of clothes bought from these sites to end up in landfills after they have served their short lived purpose. “Fast fashion” is the term that has been coined to describe these websites that have become favorable to consumers looking for cheap, trendy clothes. According to the EPA on their website, on their page “Textiles-Material Specific Data,” it was “estimated that the generation of textiles in 2018 was 17 million tons.” Specifically in the United States, the volume of clothing that is thrown away each year has doubled in the last 20 years. It’s important to note that out of the 17 million tons of clothes, only 14.7 percent is recycled. Less than 15 percent means that there is room for improvement in how we dispose of clothes when we no longer find them useful. 

Fashion is among the world’s most polluting industries: it requires large quantities of raw materials, creates high levels of pollution, leaves a significant carbon footprint, and generates copious levels of waste. The relationship between the fashion industry’s need to continually evolve to satisfy consumers’ insatiable desire to acquire the latest trends and the loss of exclusivity as consumers acquire the most popular garments, shows that the fashion industry is inherently opposed to sustainability.

Solene Rauturier in the article, “What Is Fast Fashion” for good on you, made the point, “Clothes shopping used to be an occasional event—something that happened a few times a year when the seasons changed or when we outgrew what we had. But about 20 years ago, something changed.” The main goal of fast fashion is to get the newest styles on the market as fast as possible. Then these companies hope that consumers grab these clothes while they’re at the pinnacle of popularity and then discard them after a few years. This cycle contributes to the idea that wearing the same outfit more than once is looked down upon. This mindset promotes the current system of overproduction that has made fashion one of the largest polluters. 

A movement to combat fast-fashion has arisen known as slow fashion which places emphasis on more sustainable practices. This movement naturally promotes sustainability through more ethical sourcing and production techniques as well as by using organic, recycled, or more durable materials. The labor involved in the production of such garments receives higher wages and greater protection than those in the supply chain of the fast fashion industry. While finished garments may cost more, they last longer and incorporate more timeless styles to combat the need for only wearing the latest trends. One example of slow fashion that is most popular is collaborative consumption. In a broad sense of the term, collaborative consumption, is the shared use of a service or good by a group of people. The main example used for collaborative consumption when talking about clothing is thrift stores. By donating and buying clothes that were donated, consumers are able to extend the longevity of the clothes instead of throwing them away. There is a solution that promotes collaborative consumption and the slow fashion movement. Going to thrift stores to seek out pieces of clothing that are timeless rather than focusing on the latest trend is a huge step in the right direction of lowering the environmental impact of clothes. Taking the time to look for clothes that will be able to stay in your wardrobe long term is worth the environmental payoff.

The convenience of the internet has made shopping for virtually anything extremely accessible. Now, if somebody sees something they like that is owned by someone else they can easily type into Google the description of the item and find it, or something similar, in seconds. Online shopping has become the norm for consumers when looking for clothes. A study by NPR found that as many as 84% of Americans have purchased clothes or shoes from a digital retailer. Clearly online shopping is popular and will continue to rise, particularly amongst young adults as the world becomes more technologically advanced. In the EU, e-commerce picked up, that over the 2010-2020 period those aged 16-24 had the biggest increase of online shopping at 29%. Younger generations are driving the increase of online shopping more than any other age group. 

Generation Z, (those born from 1990-2010) are in the most impressionable part of their lives right now. The desire to fit in and conform to cultural norms to get a positive reaction on social media is a factor that influences their eating habits, hobbies and clothing choices. Much of this generation is preoccupied with social acceptance and coolness associated with the clothes they wear. People liked to be liked, and tend to conform to popular trends in order to feel accepted. In an article for Mindless Mag, Rachel Howel makes the point that, “Although fashion can contribute to aiding an individual with good mental health, the immense pressure for young people to stay up to date can be jarring.” Trends in the world of fashion are constantly changing with every season so consumers need to buy more clothes before they’ve even worn through their old ones in order to keep up. Those on social media feel pressure to keep up to date with the newest trends because they want the validation received through likes on the pictures they post. Generation Z is also looking for lower priced clothes because most of them cannot afford to pay much more for their wardrobe. They are focused on putting their money towards other things and don’t want to pay designer prices if they can find something that looks the same for less. The most common solution for those in Generation Z has been to turn towards fast fashion websites. Fast fashion has allowed people to keep up with the newest trends at the cheapest price.

High school and college students are looking for clothes they can buy for cheap to wear once out at a party or other social event. They are looking for something to fit the theme of the outing they’re going to without breaking the bank. It’s known when they begin the process of looking for new clothes that the quality of the clothes isn’t going to be the best but that’s what they are expecting. If the clothes are damaged or the purchaser does only wear it once before it’s out of style, it doesn’t matter because they didn’t spend a lot of money on it to begin with. Due to the low price of the clothes, the quality of the material is also going to be low. A study done by Laitala K. and Klepp I.G. through PLATE, found that of the 620 clothing items used by 16 households, 50 of the garments were never used. In total every fifth garment was either never used or used only a couple of times by the current owner. Klepp and Laitala also found that of all the age groups studied, teenagers and young adults had the shortest average lifespan of all their garments at less than half compared to older generations. 

It is becoming more popular for these younger generations to shop at thrift stores. The motivation to shop in thrift stores is shifting towards being for fashion purposes.Thrift stores are trying to get rid of the stereotype that they are dark, disorganized and dirty. The motivation to shop at thrift stores is shifting away from being purely economic. For example, Plato’s Closet is a second hand store that specifically asks it’s donors for brand name clothes like Free People, LuluLemon and Urban Outfitters. They ask for name brands so that they’re target market knows that Plato’s Closet is a place to go to find those popular clothing brands. 

The problem is that the younger generations shop at thrift stores more than they donate. In Roger Bennett’s study titled “Factors Underlying the Inclination to Donate to Particular Types of Charity,” in the International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing, he found that 60% of donations come from those aged 60-70. The reason these fast fashion clothes are being thrown away before their full potential is used is because there aren’t advertised places and ways to easily donate clothes.Data found in a study, Fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviours found that “fast-fashion consumers had positive attitudes towards the environment, yet they did not participate in recycling.” Author Hyun-Mee Joung, concluded that the want for these consumers to recycle was there, fast fashion companies just need to implement and remind their customers of the importance of sustainability. 

Thrift stores are the best places for clothes to go so their wearable lifetime extends beyond the first owner. These secondhand stores are not only the most convenient and popular places for clothes to be dropped off but also the best environmentally friendly option. There are other ways for consumers to dispose of their clothes that include throwing them away so they end up in landfills and take years to break down. People could also drop them off at recycling centers so they can be turned into other items such as upholstery and seat stuffing but the carbon emissions are extremely large. Recovering the energy used from burning textiles sounds like an okay idea until you look at how much energy is used to burn the materials. These alternatives don’t accomplish increased longevity of the lifespan of clothes like thrift stores. 

Throwing clothes away is the least environmentally friendly option because most clothes contain manmade fibers that don’t break down as easily and they release toxic greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide and methane. Smart Guide to Climate Change author Christine Ro makes the point in “Can fashion ever be sustainable?”, that as much as 10% of greenhouse gasses come from human activity. Carry Somers, founder and global operations director of the nonprofit organization Fashion Revolution in an interview for Wbur “The Environmental Cost of Fashion,” notes that “Even extending the life of our garments by an extra nine months of active use would reduce the carbon, water and waste footprint by around 20% to 30% each.” According to the US census, “There are currently more than 25,000 resale, consignment and Not For Profit resale shops in the United States.” Donating clothes to thrift stores is the most convenient way to recycle old clothes. 

Textile recycling is when fabrics are collected and then reprocessed into useful products. This process is better than throwing clothes away, but the carbon waste and greenhouse gasses emitted is still much greater than donating clothes to thrift stores. In a study done for MDPI by Toshiro Semba, Yuji Sakai, Miku Ishikawa and Atsushi Inaba titled, Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions by Reusing and Recycling Used Clothing in Japan, the CO2 emissions of clothes that were “reclaimed” or thrifted was only 2.10×109kg. To compare, from the same study it was found that the CO2 emissions from clothes that were used for textile recycling was almost double at 4.01x 109kg. There are thrift stores located in every town across America meaning, there is easy access and common knowledge as to where the closest one is in relation to an individual. If people go to drop off their clothes at a thrift store in their town that’s close enough to them that they can walk to, they wouldn’t even be contributing to releasing carbon emissions from driving a car. According to the EPA the average carbon emissions for a car per year is 4.6 metric tons. To put the carbon emissions of a car into perspective when comparing it to the emissions from textile recycling, there are only about 4100 kilograms in 1 ton. In one year, a car emits about 4.4×106 kg of carbon emission in comparison to textile recycling’s 4.01×109kg. 

Recovering the energy used from burning textiles is a way to recycle clothes but doing so raises environmental concerns. A study done for the Royal Institute of Technology, Environmental Assessment of Textile Material Recovery Techniques by Lena Yohannan found that the main benefit of incineration is that textiles don’t need to be separated and the collected waste can be brought directly to the incineration plant. However, when textiles are incinerated in large amounts there is the potential issue that the packed textile particles can leave material about it un-ignited. Incineration of textiles causes negative impacts on the environment because of the ashes, both bottom and fly away in addition to other emissions. It’s also important to note that the study done by Yohannan found that most of the energy being used came from non-renewable energy sources. Yohannan shockingly notes that, “When only considering the combustion of the cotton and polyester content in 1 ton of textile waste, 785 kg of CO2 is found to be emitted.” When you incinerate clothes, plastic is being burned which contributes to the emission of CO2.

After examining other avenues of getting rid of clothes from one’s closet it has been found that donating is the best option. From a convenience standpoint, finding a thrift store is much easier than finding a textile recycling bin or incinerator as they are the most accessible places to drop off old clothes. Textile recycling causes more CO2 emissions than dropping clothes off at a local thrift store. Burning the textiles can create energy that can be reused but it takes more energy to burn the clothes than it makes up for. 

References

Bahareh Zamani, Gustav Sandin, Greg M. Peters, Life cycle assessment of clothing libraries: can collaborative consumption reduce the environmental impact of fast fashion?, Journal of Cleaner Production, Volume 162, 2017, Pages 1368-1375, ISSN 0959-6526

Bennett, Roger (2003),  “Factors Underlying the Inclination to Donate to Particular Types of Charity,” International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing,” Vol. 8, pp. 12-29.

Brown, R. (2021, January 08). The environmental crisis caused by Textile Waste. Retrieved April 06, 2021

Commerce statistics for individuals.  Retrieved April 12, 2021. 

Greenhouse gas emissions from a typical passenger vehicle. (2018, May 10). Retrieved May 01, 2021.

Howell, Rachel (2020, October 10)  Gen z’s pressure to keep up with fashion trends.  Retrieved April 12, 2021.

Joung, H.-M. (2014), “Fast-fashion consumers’ post-purchase behaviors” , International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management, Vol. 42 No. 8, pp. 688-697.

Laitala K. and Klepp I.G. Age and active life of clothing. (2016, October 27). Retrieved April 12, 2021.

NPR/Marist poll: Amazon is a Colossus in a nation of shoppers. (2018, June 06). Retrieved April 12, 2021. 

Rauturier, S. (2021, March 29). What is fast fashion? Retrieved April 06, 2021

Ro, Christine. Can fashion ever be sustainable? Retrieved May 01, 2021, from Can fashion ever be sustainable? 

Semba, T., Sakai, Y., Ishikawa, M., & Inaba, A. (2020). Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions by Reusing and Recycling Used Clothing in Japan. Sustainability, 12(19), 8214. doi:10.3390/su12198214

Textiles: Material-specific data.  (2020, October 07). Retrieved March 08, 2021Young, R., & Hagan, A. (2019, December 03).The environmental cost of fashion.  Retrieved May 01, 2021

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