Rethinking the “For the Gram” Mentality

By: Christen Fuentes and Jack Miller

The “for the gram” mentality has convinced many festival-goers that in order to have a feed-worthy post, you need to buy a brand-new look for each day. This often impossible social media standard has made us believe that new outfits are necessary to maintain a perception of being interesting and unique. “For the gram” reinforces that a public-facing digital photo album may be more important than other aspects of our lives such as our wallets, sense-of-self, and environmental footprints. 

Our Wallets

When thinking about what fuels the “for the gram” mentality, fast fashion companies are part of the issue. These brands drive constant consumption with their non-stop “drops.” With low prices, buying fast fashion may seem affordable, but low prices means low-quality. The fashion quickly falls apart, and you end up replacing it frequently. This constant cycle of buying and discarding clothes costs you more money over time than investing in high-quality garments. If the price tag of a higher quality garments scares you, know that you can easily re-sell it on Raveival because buyers will have more confidence that the item will last.

Sense-of-Self

Fashion brands market their clothing to make consumers feel that in order to be “enough”, you need to buy their latest products. They want us to think that to look as good as their models, we need to open our wallets. This type of marketing perpetuates and capitalizes on unrealistic beauty standards. Our sense-of-self is affected as we shift more focus to impressing others rather than exploring and creating our own aesthetics. Raves have been, and always will be, an opportunity to piece together our own looks, make fashion with upcycled materials and fabrics, and wear fits that come from our imagination (rather than from a website). We have strayed from our creator culture as we have become inundated with marketing that tells us who we are and what to wear. 

Environmental Footprint

The “for the gram” mentality paired with the fast fashion industry leaves us drowning in textile waste. Nearly every second, a garbage truck’s worth of fashion is landfilled or incinerated (United Nations). This stat encompasses the world, and our individual impacts are shocking too. Every year, the average American generates 80 lbs of textile waste (Earth.org).

The fashion industry’s water impacts are huge too. To manufacture just 1 cotton t-shirt, 2,700 LITERS of water is required. This is enough drinking water for an adult to survive for 3 YEARS (Global Society World News)! And that’s crazy when we consider that about 1 in 4 people on Earth don’t have access to clean drinking water (World Health Organization). 

We may never be able to fully break free from the “for the gram” mentality. It is a lot of fun to wear unique and exciting outfits to festivals and then show the world how great we look on social media. Nonetheless, there are things we should do to decrease the negative financial, emotional, and eco-impacts that come with this collective mindset. 

If you want to wear something different: 

• Choose pre-loved! The most sustainable product is the one that is already in existence. You can mix & match with what you already have, shop your friends’ closets, throw a rave wear swap, or thrift your festival looks on Raveival.

If you want to repeat an outfit:

• Know that you have the confidence to rock that look again. You looked great in it before, and you will look great wearing it again. Your style has been curated by you. Cherish it!

And always:

• Remind yourself that the most important part of the festival is being there, listening to the music, making friends, and enjoying the moment. Not showing off to others that you did something cool.

Join us in saying ‘No thanks’ to fast fashion fueling the “for the gram” mentality by thrifting you festival fits on Raveival!

If you want to learn more about festival fast fashion, check out our blog Festival Fast Fashion.