FAST FASHION: You Might be Killing People
I feel like all I talk about are documentaries. Probably because every time I watch one I learn a new piece of information that changes my life, that’s how I turned into a vegetarian, and now I’m going to stop supporting fast fashion, thanks to the documentary “The True Cost.” What’s fast fashion? An industry that is built on the blood, sweat and tears of underpaid workers in poor communities, primarily in third world countries.
1. Who?
The Fast Fashion industry benefits chain fashion stores (eg. Zara, H&M, Topshop, etc.), but does not benefit the workers who are producing the product. These fast fashion stores mass produce product at a low cost, so the average shopper can consume many goods at once for a low price. This obviously makes the consumer happy, because they think they are getting a bang for their buck, thus, they continue to shop and continuing returning to the store. This means that the workers in production factories, also known as sweatshops, have to meet this demand for a very low cost and in a short period of time, under horrid working conditions. Overall, the big corporations benefit and the workers do not.
2. Where?
Many of the production factories (sweatshops) that big fast fashion corporations use are in Asia (eg. Asia and India). Specifically, many of the workers in these sweatshops belong to poor communities and cannot afford to leave the horrid conditions of their current jobs. Although, many of the workers are paid extremely low wages, as low as $10 a month, many individuals in the industry argue that workers are benefitting from jobs like these. Many of these figures suggest that working in a sweatshop is significantly better, in comparison to the other jobs that they might get elsewhere. I find that really funny. Often times, Americans look down on blue-collar workers or factory workers, and eagerly suggest that they get a better job or a higher education, or something ludicrous like that. Yet these same Americans believe sweatshop workers can’t do any better? Interesting. Perhaps, these workers are trying to earn money to get a higher education or move to an area with better job opportunities, yet they are only paid small amounts and have to work with the possibility of being killed hanging over their head. That’s right, many of these workers work in decrepit buildings that have fractures in their foundation. In fact, on April 24, 2014, over 3,000 sweatshop workers were killed in a building collapse in Bangladesh.
3. Why?
The reason that fast fashion exists is because society is built on the idea that the more an individual consumes, and the more possessions they have will contribute to a better quality of life. Thus, the average consumer who wants to achieve “success” or live the “perfect life” will continue to throw their money away on things like clothes and accessories; the ideal situation for large fast fashion corporations. As long as our society is materialistic and links success to possessions, these corporations will always have a steady flow of income and revenue. This also means that the demand will be greater and more and more product will have to be made at a greater pace.
4. What?
What can we do? Much like with any other industry in America, you have to get the attention of these corporations. Not get their attention by informing them of how their
fast fashion is killing more innocent beings-- they already know that. Get their attention by letting them know, that weknow what’s going on. Once big corporations realize that consumers are aware of the horrors of the fast fashion industry, they will immediately become concerned. If consumers know what’s going on, they’ll stop buying and invest that money elsewhere, perhaps, into a brand that is not fast fashion; that is literally hell for these huge corporations. So, refrain from buying from these stores as hard as it may be. Instead, buy clothing from other stores (eg. Everlane, Patagonia, Eileen Fisher, etc.), see this link for more stores.