The Problem With Haul Culture – & Its Sudden Return

Have you ever heard someone say, “What’s the shoe of the summer?” or “What are we wearing this season?” It’s natural and usually comes from a place of genuine interest and a love for fashion. However, have you ever stopped to think about what these trends and rapidly changing styles indicate about us as a society?

First, many fast fashion ‘influencers’ are really just shopping influencers. Their mindless consumption is both environmentally harmful and socially irresponsible.

Influencers dictate what’s ‘in’ and what’s ‘out.’ Consumers are then subconsciously persuaded to replicate these fast-evolving trends. While it is ultimately the consumers responsibility to control what they purchase, influencers also have a duty as many people that follow them are young and impressionable.

Haul culture’s glorification of over-consumption is problematic on a societal and environmental level. It appeals as it caters to people’s desire to see something before buying it and to receive a sense of instant gratification.

Hauls have always been present on the internet, dating as far back to the inception of YouTube in 2005, with YouTubers such as Bethany Mota and Zoe Sugg being notorious in the beauty/lifestyle sphere. Mota had the ‘ideal’ American high-school girl aesthetic in the early 2010s. Her hauls mostly featured Target, Bath and Body Works and Ulta.

Sugg, known on YouTube as Zoella, is the quintessential British beauty and lifestyle influencer. She started her channel in 2009 which often featured massive Primark hauls. Her ‘Huge Spring Primark Haul’ video, released in 2015 has amassed over 4.3 million views.

Unboxing is a prominent feature of haul videos. It involves revealing an item and appeals to people’s emotions by providing a hit of dopamine and excitement. Furthermore, many hauls involve a try-on aspect where creators showcase what their new purchases look like on. This allows viewers and consumers to see a frame of reference and envision what it would look like on themselves.

Interestingly, this type of content is a potential recession indicator. Over the past couple of years there has been an increase in budget-friendly hauls as opposed to luxury goods, from SHEIN, Temu and Penneys. This showcases people’s desire to obtain mass amounts of goods at an affordable price. The reality is that many people can’t afford luxury goods, especially as society approaches a potential economic recession.

With the emergence of TikTok, haul culture is at an all-time high. This is particularly evident as we approach summer. Popular hauls on TikTok around this time of year include swimsuit hauls from fast-fashion brands, with many creators making use of affiliate marketing to make profit.

Affiliate marketing is highly prevalent on TikTok. It “allows creators to earn commissions by promoting products and sharing affiliate links with their followers, and while it can be a great way for people to earn extra money, it’s important to be conscious of the products or number of products being promoted to avoid careless promotion of fast fashion.

Trend cycles are a prominent aspect of the fashion industry. Styles and fashion trends fluctuate in and out of popularity and usually reemerge several years later. That’s why it’s important to either keep your old clothes, donate them to a charity shop, dispose of them in an environmentally conscious manner or re-sell them on Depop or Vinted.

We know that fast fashion is bad for the environment but it’s essential to highlight how it can be detrimental to personal style as-well. Style should be, for the most part, individual. The way that we dress and express ourselves visually is meant to be personal but fast fashion influencer culture has depleted this. They knowingly – or unknowingly – promote a globalised monoculture where the same trends are popular worldwide.

This loss of culture, breakdown in individuality and acceptance of the status quo are worrying indicators for the progression of our society. As shallow as it may sound, there are few things more personal than the way you dress.

Words by Sarah Hanrahan