Between an exploitative streaming economy and a “cost-of-touring crisis,” buying merch is sometimes the most direct way to get money into an artist’s pocket, even with venue cuts. Just ask Taylor Swift, who, according to Pollstar, made approximately $200 million in merchandise from her 2023 Eras tour dates.
Fast fashion companies focus on low-cost garments that replicate the latest fashion trends, quickly pushing them into stores to capitalize on these trends. This means that retailers are able to offer a greater variety of products in large quantities and allow consumers to get more fashion and product differentiation at a low price.
According to an analysis by Business Insider, fashion production comprises 10% of total global carbon emissions, as much as the emissions generated by the European Union. The industry dries up water resources and pollutes rivers and streams, while 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year. Even washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibers into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles.
Band T-shirts are sometimes — or even often — the highest quality T-shirts available. Many bands bother to make sure that the stuff they sell is 100% cotton, fair trade, etc. I think I even have some that were made by union labor.
Band T-shirts are sometimes — or even often — the highest quality T-shirts available.
Small local bands tend to source from local manufacturers and distributors. And as they consider their merch a form of advertising, it pays to invest in material that lasts.
But the bigger and more volume-based franchises tend to get their clothes from the same global production and distribution chains as every other Fast Fashion brand. Taylor Swift isn’t contracting with a dozen different local print shops per venue to fill an order big enough to saturate a stadium. She’s going to the same folks that sell to H&M and Zara.
Between an exploitative streaming economy and a “cost-of-touring crisis,” buying merch is sometimes the most direct way to get money into an artist’s pocket, even with venue cuts. Just ask Taylor Swift, who, according to Pollstar, made approximately $200 million in merchandise from her 2023 Eras tour dates.
The Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion, Explained
Band T-shirts are sometimes — or even often — the highest quality T-shirts available. Many bands bother to make sure that the stuff they sell is 100% cotton, fair trade, etc. I think I even have some that were made by union labor.
Small local bands tend to source from local manufacturers and distributors. And as they consider their merch a form of advertising, it pays to invest in material that lasts.
But the bigger and more volume-based franchises tend to get their clothes from the same global production and distribution chains as every other Fast Fashion brand. Taylor Swift isn’t contracting with a dozen different local print shops per venue to fill an order big enough to saturate a stadium. She’s going to the same folks that sell to H&M and Zara.
Yeah I’ve never cared enough to check and don’t own any of her merch but you’re probably right in this specific case.