Clothing Consumption

Along with the consumption of food and shelter, consumption of clothing fulfills the fundamental physical needs of humans. Without thick layers of bodily hair, a human body requires clothing to protect itself from the elements, distinguishing it from that of other animals. Clothing is also used as a symbol to distinguish a person from other people or to assimilate with others, in which case, clothing consumption transpires beyond that of basic needs. Although clothing appeared by the Neolithic period and since then has been a feature of human societies, consumption of clothing itself, separate from consumption of textiles, appeared in more recent societies with the emergence of the ready-made clothing industry.

The origins of ready-made clothing are found in the early uniforms of armies and navies ...