I Vote Against Vote Clothing
Graphic by Grace Lougheed.
One of the most exciting parts about voting is leaving with the “I Voted” sticker. We proudly boast our proof of civic duty as our sticker is highlighted in a social media story or stays on our jacket for a few weeks too long (I have been privy to both). However, this past year, an “I Voted” sticker paled in comparison to the amount of merchandise that was created to encourage people to vote.
Voter fashion became one of the most prominent fashion trends of 2020. I first noticed this phenomenon a few weeks before the election when I saw a face mask with “VOTE” sprawled across the front in big white letters. Then I noticed Taylor Swift’s gold “Voter” necklace, Jill Biden’s $695 VOTE boots, Harry Styles’s Free & Easy T-shirt and all of the targeted ads on Instagram that encouraged tempting and stylish “vote” merchandise. These persisted even just days before the election actually took place, meaning if I had ordered a T-shirt, I would have received it after election day.
This fashion trend stems from an important cause. In fact, the “I Voted” sticker became popular because it encouraged people to vote and reminded people that it was Election Day. Wearing merchandise that encourages people to vote most likely has the same effect and could have been even more effective than stickers, as seen by the massive 2020 election voter turnout (of course, it would be silly to attribute this only to T-shirts). Despite the good intentions of this fall trend, I could not help but think how wasteful it was. Now that the election is over, is there really any point to wearing a T-shirt, face mask or other apparel that has “VOTE” on it?
The fashion industry is already one of the most polluting industries in the world, and this “vote” clothing is one of the most tangible examples of it creating waste. While seeing celebrities with one-and-done pieces is nothing new, I was appalled at how many people bought into vote-fashion. I saw “vote” clothing everywhere in the days leading up to the election, but absolutely none in the days after. As someone who tries to buy clothing intentionally, I wondered when the next time these clothes would become relevant again would come. I wondered why so many people bought into this trend, and how quickly these clothes would be given away, or worse, thrown out. I also clung to the hope that maybe people would continue to wear them, or at least save them for the next election.
In future elections, I hope this trend does not repeat itself. There are so many ways to encourage people to vote that do not involve indulging in fast fashion trends. However, this fault is not only with the consumer, but the fashion industry itself. We need to do better and stop capitalizing off of consumption.