Consumers Awaken To Ongoing Ethical Issues In Fast Fashion
Navigating ethical issues surrounding labour force, living wages and environmental issues has continued to plague Fast-Fashion brands. Although these issues aren’t new, they still affect those especially lower down on the pyramid. We are also living in unprecedented times right now so it’s vital that all fashion brands become more transparent by addressing the important issues that will continue to inform the future business of fashion. Attitudes are also shifting: “the customer is always right” easily becomes, “the customer cares about what is right”.
The recent Boohoo scandal revealed how factory employees were working in slave-like conditions and getting paid a measly £4 an hour, drastically below minimum wage: a modern day sweatshop in our very own backyard of Leicester. This creation of the “sweatshop” complex where Fast-Fashion brands like Boohoo persist in having suppliers with poorly regulated factories quickly and cheaply make clothes to meet consumer demands is simply harrowing. The Rena Plaza tragedy of 2013 in Bangladesh was a horrific reminder of the thousands of workers who perished from a building collapse. The badly constructed and therefore poorly regulated building was the manufacturing hub of some of the worlds well know clothing brands. Learning how fashion businesses treat their labour forces is becoming important to consumers as we reject the message that materialism equals power and happiness. This is especially concerning when those who use these materials to make our clothes are financially disempowered.
In the interim as consumer culture evolves the importance of transparency should not be overlooked. To try and tackle these issues the obvious strategies include, supporting independent ethical fashion businesses, recycling and donating clothes, buying second-hand and if needed, boycotting. The latter part should be noted as brands like Next and ASOS have already cut ties with Boohoo which in itself is a clear message that ‘people trump profit’. In addition brands publishing a list of suppliers they use is another step in the right direction especially when we focus on raw materials. As fast fashion is one of the most polluting industries, subsequently the pesticides used in producing materials like cotton has had detrimental effects on agriculture, the environment and the health of people who are directly or indirectly exposed to them. Fashionrevolution.org has a curated list of fashion brands who are transparent about their suppliers.
We may not be granted access to the executive decisions of big fashion companies, yet for any of the speculative issues that the public become aware off, the repercussions are becoming increasingly swift. In order for fashion brands to prevent their trajectory from taking a nosedive more transparency will be needed: addressing ethical issues, disclosing data about fair wages and working conditions is no longer progressive but a necessity.
Words by Funmi Olagunju
