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SHOPPING
AROUND
Vocabulary in context
Reading
BUY IT. WEAR IT. THENWHAT? HOME BLOG NEWS MORE Recently, about 5,000 people attended London FashionWeek. Some of the designs are so strange that you may think they have no connection with the clothes you buy in high street shops. But you’d be wrong. The designers who work for big chain stores examine the latest trends and then decide how to adapt them for the general consumer. And make them cheaper.
Shops Shopping in store and online 1 speaking Look at these shops. Give two examples of things you can buy in each one. bakery • butcher’s • charity shop • chemist’s • clothes shop • department store • electrical goods shop • greengrocer’s • jeweller’s • post office • stationery shop 72 Shops
Look at the title of the text. How would
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3b 74 Listen and check your answers. 4 Read the text and check that you understand the words in bold. Use a dictionary if necessary.
you answer that question?
The next exercise is a multiple-choice activity. First, you should read the text quickly to get a general understanding. What do you think you should do next? Exam tip 2 75 Read the text and choose the best answers. 1 The designs that appear in London Fashion Week … a are sold in high street shops. b inspire high street fashion. c are popular because they are so unusual. 2 In the second paragraph, the writer is worried that … a we buy so many clothes. b we throw away so many clothes. c we don’t really use our clothes much before we throw them away. 3 ‘Fast fashion’ happens because … a lots of people want clothes that look similar to the latest designs. b the world wants good-quality designer clothes. c customers prefer low-quality clothes. 4 The fashion industry is responsible for pollution because … a the materials used are harmful for the environment. b the procedure for making clothes is harmful to the environment. c both the procedure and materials can be bad for the environment. 5 Which sentence is true, according to the text? a The UK second-hand market is very important. b Nobody makes new clothes out of old ones now. c Most clothes are not recycled in any way. 3 What do the underlined words in the text mean? Guess and then check in your dictionary. Critical thinkers 4 Will this article change your answer in 1? What makes you say that?
Culture exchange The UK high street
Over the last few years, a number of UK high street shops have been closing. That seems to be partly because online shopping is becoming more popular. The changes are affecting small independent shops as well as large chain stores . They are affecting low cost stores but also designer brands . The behaviour of consumers seems to be changing. Customers are happy to browse online instead of in a physical shop. Many online stores seem to be able to offer great bargains with big discounts , partly because they don’t need to pay shop assistants to work at the checkout . That makes it easier for people to afford the products. High street shops need to have sales more and more frequently to compete. But if the sale is popular, you have to queue a long time to pay. 5 Complete the questions with the correct word from the text in 4. 1 Do you think it’s more enjoyable to in a high street shop or to look at products online? 2 Do you prefer independent shops or big stores? 3 Do you ever buy expensive designer or are you happy with cost products? 4 Do you ever buy things during the so that you can find bargains and buy things with a ? 5 If you had enough money and could something special for yourself, what would it be? Use it … don’t lose it!
It seems that everyone loves buying cheap clothes. And lots of them. The European Clothing Action Plan (2017) calculates that the average person in the UK buys so many items of clothing each year that they can fill a small suitcase. In 2016, a study by Greenpeace found that the average customer buys 60%more clothing than 15 years ago. What is perhaps the most shocking thing is that it seems that the average item of clothing is worn only seven times before it is thrown away. Nowadays, clothes are generally getting cheaper and cheaper. But in many cases the quality is getting worse, too. Chain stores try to please consumers by delivering new fashion to the high street as fast as they can (people call it ‘fast fashion’). They focus on speed and low cost, not on quality. The clothes are made so cheaply and with such poor materials that they don’t usually last very long. The fashion industry is now creating so much pollution that experts are getting very worried. Look at the facts: research by Pesticide Action Network (2017) claims that 11% of the world’s poisonous pesticides are used to help make cotton. According to a study byWater Footprint Network (2005), it can take as much as 2,727 litres of water to make just one T-shirt. Finally, another study by Greenpeace (2017) states that polyester can take decades to decompose. And decomposing clothes can release harmful gases that are bad for the planet. When you think that by 2050, people may buy three times as many clothes as now, you soon realise that the impact could be catastrophic. Lorem ipsum To combat these problems and make fashion sustainable, the fashion industry wants to create a ‘circular fashion system’. This means that the clothes that customers throw away are used again in new clothes. The European Parliamentary Research Service (2019) confirms that, globally, less than 1% of clothing material is recycled into new clothes. Some UK consumers give their old clothes to charity. But only 10% to 20% of these clothes are sold in second-hand or charity shops and most are burnt or go directly to the rubbish. Another more radical solution than the circular fashion system is for customers to decide not to buy clothes, but just to rent them for a while, until they get tired of them. This way, clothes are used for longer. You can try different styles and trends and not worry that you will suddenly get tired of them after wearing them just once or twice. Everybody has probably bought at least one item of clothing for a special event and then never worn it again. Such a waste! Even more radical than the idea of renting clothes is a new initiative in Scotland called ‘Pass It OnWeek’. People can exchange clothes and anything else they don’t want or need any more. When you pass something on, you’re helping yourself, helping somebody else… and helping the planet.
Which type of shops in 1 do you like
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or not like? Why? 3a Complete the text with the correct form of these words. bestseller (n.) • cart (n.) • cash (n.) • deliver (v.) • delivery (n.) • package (n.) • purchase (v., n.) • receipt (n.) • recommend (v.) • recommendation (n.) • refund (v., n.) • replace (v.) • replacement (n.) • return (v., n.) • track (v.) 73 Online shopping When you find a product you want to buy, you add it to your basket, sometimes also called a (a) ONLINE SHOPPING A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO . You can’t pay with When you buy something online, they (c) it to your house. It may be the postman or woman who brings the (d) . You can often (e) the order and find out where it is at each moment. If there’s a problem with your (f ) (the thing you buy), you should be able to (g) it to the seller. The online shop may ask if you want a (h) (the same or a similar product), or a (i) (the amount of money you spent on the product). To show that you really bought the item, you may need to give them a document showing you bought the product, a ( j) . Often online shops will give you (k) for other new things to buy, suggestions based on what you have looked at or bought before. They may also suggest their (l) – their most popular products. (b) – you usually use a debit card.
Ask and answer the completed
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questions in 5.
Use ideas in the text and/or other facts to justify your opinion. Share your ideas with a partner.
Reach higher
page 140
Reach higher
page 140
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Unit 10
Unit 10
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