tag:theconversation.com,2011:/ca/topics/fast-fashion-29120/articlesFast fashion – The Conversation2024-03-20T13:59:09Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2256962024-03-20T13:59:09Z2024-03-20T13:59:09ZA brief guide to clothes recycling – sustainability expert unpicks how your discarded garments get processsed<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582500/original/file-20240318-18-8tjjds.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">According to a textile sorter and processor based in the East Midlands, approximately 40% of sorted garments were not fit for reuse and needed a recycling solution</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/fabric-scraps-old-clothing-textiles-cut-1118321324">NicoleTaklaPhotography/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Have you ever paused to ponder the fate of those bags of old clothes you carefully deposit into the charity bin at the end of the street or within the bustle of a supermarket parking lot? It’s easy to imagine that those garments get magically transformed into fresh, wearable fashion, but in the UK, the reality is much more complicated. </p>
<p>The truth behind clothing donation and recycling is a journey fraught with <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7248/2/1/10">complexities</a> often not visible to the public eye. Textile waste – the clothing that we all buy, use and dispose of – is a significant <a href="https://changingmarkets.org/campaigns/fossil-fashion/">environmental problem</a> that often goes unnoticed. </p>
<p>Globally 88% of our clothing still ends up <a href="https://earth.org/statistics-about-fast-fashion-waste/">in landfills</a>. The mountains of textile waste will be getting higher as garment production rises at an alarming rate. In 2000, global manufacturers churned out 50 million tonnes of textiles, according to <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/topics/en/article/20201208STO93327/the-impact-of-textile-production-and-waste-on-the-environment-infographics#:%7E:text=The%2520fashion%2520industry%2520is%2520estimated,flights%2520and%2520maritime%2520shipping%2520combined">the European parliament</a>. By 2020, this figure had more than doubled to 109 million tonnes and global textile production is predicted to grow to 145 million tonnes by 2030.</p>
<p>While writing <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=6-znEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT86&lpg=PT86&dq=policy+paired+with+technology+sajida+gordon&source=bl&ots=IkDEODrd-1&sig=ACfU3U1Zi0vMoeA3Nkj6jWa3po71E8Jamw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiBsa2QqfaEAxWnUUEAHTWwDPUQ6AF6BAgdEAM#v=onepage&q=policy%2520paired%2520with%2520technology%2520sajida%2520gordon&f=false">my chapter</a> for the book <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Recycling-and-Lifetime-Management-in-the-Textile-and-Fashion-Sector/Niinimaki/p/book/9780367490836">Recycling and Lifetime Management in the Textile and Fashion Sector</a>, I researched the policies and technological advancements that facilitate the process of textile recycling. </p>
<p>Used or unwanted clothing gets collected from various sources, including donation centres, textile recycling bins, charity stores or direct from consumers. Once collected, the textiles undergo sorting at UK facilities based on what type of material it is, colour and condition. Garments that are deemed reusable – those that aren’t stained, soiled or torn – are <a href="https://theconversation.com/five-ways-to-reduce-your-household-waste-and-stop-it-being-shipped-to-poorer-countries-154123">shipped</a> to countries in <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-international-stateless/2022/04/9f50d3de-greenpeace-germany-poisoned-fast-fashion-briefing-factsheet-april-2022.pdf">Africa</a> and <a href="https://www.globalissues.org/news/2023/05/18/33821">Asia</a>. </p>
<p>However, market sellers in these countries that receive these used garments often complain that the clothing is not fit for resale and ends up <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/may/31/stop-dumping-your-cast-offs-on-us-ghanaian-clothes-traders-tell-eu">in a landfill</a>. </p>
<p>A textile sorter and processor based in the east Midlands told me that approximately 40% of sorted garments were not fit for reuse and needed a recycling solution. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="colourful heap of clothes in a big pile, blue sky in background" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=572&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/582501/original/file-20240318-20-al5lex.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=719&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Growth in fast fashion feeds into the mountain of textile waste that is hard to recycle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/big-heap-colorful-clothes-184331444">Nomad_Soul/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Fibre-to-fibre recycling is different to reuse. <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-secondhand-markets-and-apps-are-not-a-solution-to-clothing-waste-222321">Reuse means that</a> a garment is fit to have a second life and can be donated to charity or resold on websites such as Vinted. Fibre-to-fibre recycling is the process of breaking down the material of the garments so that it returns to its original state of a fibre, which may resemble pieces of fluff. That’s either done mechanically or chemically.</p>
<p><a href="https://reports.fashionforgood.com/report/coming-full-circle-innovating-towards-sustainable-man-made-cellulosic-fibres/chapterdetail?reportid=239&chapter=4#:%7E:text=The%2520mechanical%2520recycling%2520process%2520involves,using%2520a%2520carding%2520process31">Mechanical recycling</a> involves chopping up old clothes into tiny pieces – a bit like shredding paper. Materials are sometimes moistened with water to enhance the tearing process. The fibres are then separated using a process called “carding”, which involves using a machine to comb out and straighten the fibres, ready to be used to make new products. </p>
<p>To <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/3-methods-textile-recycling-dr-tanveer-hussain-gzkdf">transform</a> the fibres into textile yarn, mechanically recycled fibres are mixed with virgin fibres – because these new fibres are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/fibre-size#:%7E:text=Fiber%2520length%2520After%2520size%252C%2520fiber,either%2520staple%2520or%2520filament%2520length">longer</a>, they add strength to the yarn when spun.</p>
<p><a href="https://reports.fashionforgood.com/report/coming-full-circle-innovating-towards-sustainable-man-made-cellulosic-fibres/chapterdetail?reportid=239&chapter=4#:%7E:text=The%2520mechanical%2520recycling%2520process%2520involves,using%2520a%2520carding%2520process31">Chemical recycling</a> involves breaking down fragments of old clothes into smaller parts. These are then cleaned and purified using filters and separators. Chemical <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214993722001270">solvents are used</a> to break down polymers, remove dyes and dissolve other additives. Once clean, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0734242X18819277">broken down fibres</a> can be spun to make new yarn, just like making cotton from scratch. This recycled yarn can be woven into fabric using industrial weaving machines.</p>
<h2>Transforming textiles</h2>
<p>Mechanical recycling produces short lengths of fibre and results in <a href="https://blog.agchemigroup.eu/the-chemical-recycling-of-clothes-part-1-the-challenges/">poor quality</a> yarn. Relying on raw virgin fibre to add length and strength can be costly. </p>
<p><a href="https://resource.co/article/what-chemical-recycling-good-and-bad">Chemical recycling</a> of polyesters, which are made from plastic, can create harmful tiny particles of microplastics in the air and waterways. Volatile organic compounds – chemicals that exist in gaseous form – can be inhaled and cause <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0160412015000082">health problems</a>, such as damaged liver, kidneys and central nervous system, and cancers affecting the lungs and blood. The process also emits carbon dioxide and methane, both greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. </p>
<p>Expanding these recycling methods is expensive and potentially damaging to the environment. Systematic change begins when influential fashion brands reduce overproduction and waste by streamlining their production processes and <a href="https://circulareconomy.europa.eu/platform/sites/default/files/ecodesign_criteria_for_consumer_textiles.pdf">designing products</a> that are easy to recycle as part of a more <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-49479-6_1">circular economy</a>. </p>
<p>While green chemistry and circular design <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452223622000979">solutions</a> could make recycling textile waste more efficient, more effective and safer for humans and the planet, the issue of excess waste still needs to be addressed. As shoppers, we can all make a difference by being mindful of our purchasing habits, appreciating the clothing we already own and repairing items instead of discarding them.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Sajida Gordon works for Nottingham Trent University. She receives funding from UKRI. She is affiliated with WRAP Textile 2030. </span></em></p>Growing mountains of textile waste are hard to recycle. There is scope to improve chemical and mechanical recycling methods but consumers and fashion brands play a role in reducing overproduction.Sajida Gordon, Researcher for the Clothing Sustainability Research Group and Lecturer Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2242532024-03-15T01:53:33Z2024-03-15T01:53:33ZUltra-fast fashion is a disturbing trend undermining efforts to make the whole industry more sustainable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/582074/original/file-20240314-22-28steu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C10%2C6659%2C4456&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-woman-lying-on-pile-different-2212805919">New Africa, Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Since the 1990s, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09593960903498300">fast fashion</a> has enabled everyday people to buy the latest catwalk trends. But the sheer volume of garments being whipped up, sold and soon discarded is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12940-018-0433-7">contributing to a global sustainability crisis</a>.</p>
<p>Now, just when the fashion industry should be waking up and breaking free of this vicious cycle, it’s heading in the opposite direction. We’re on a downward spiral, from <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9">fast fashion</a> to <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40691-023-00337-9">ultra-fast fashion</a>. The amount of <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9">natural resources consumed and waste produced</a> is snowballing.</p>
<p>Ultra-fast fashion is marked by even faster production cycles, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it trends, and <a href="https://www.marieclaire.com.au/latest-news/what-s-the-real-cost-of-shein/">poor labour practices</a>. Brands like Shein, Boohoo and Cider are liberated from the concept of seasonal collections. Instead they are <a href="https://sk.sagepub.com/cases/strategy-at-shein-the-secrets-of-ultra-fast-fashion">producing garments at breakneck speeds</a> and self-generating <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/core-aesthetic-microtrends-2023">microtrends</a> such as balletcore, Barbiecore and even mermaidcore. At the same time there is <a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/IJRDM-04-2019-0133/full/html">limited transparency or accountability</a> around clothing supply chains. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/infs_00082_7">overproduction and consumption of clothing</a> cannot be allowed to continue. Without change, the industry will account for <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/fashion-and-the-circular-economy-deep-dive">26% of the world’s carbon budget</a> for limiting global warming to 2°C by 2050. The fashion industry must take responsibility for its actions. Policymakers also have an important role to play in enabling the necessary shift towards a <a href="https://intellectdiscover.com/content/journals/10.1386/sft_0010_1">more responsible and circular fashion economy</a>. And let’s not forget the power of consumers.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The dark side of Shein’s success (China Tonight, ABC News)</span></figcaption>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-make-our-wardrobes-sustainable-we-must-cut-how-many-new-clothes-we-buy-by-75-179569">To make our wardrobes sustainable, we must cut how many new clothes we buy by 75%</a>
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<h2>Cheap clothing at what cost?</h2>
<p>It was once thought the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15487733.2020.1829848">pandemic would trigger a transition</a> to a more sustainable fashion industry. Unfortunately in reality the industry is getting worse, not better. </p>
<p>Most ultra-fast fashion brands emerged in the late 2010s following the most well known, Shein, founded in 2008. These online, direct-to-consumer brands exploded in popularity during lockdowns, with Shein holding the title of the <a href="https://time.com/6247732/shein-climate-change-labor-fashion/">world’s most popular brand in 2020</a>.</p>
<p>Established brands such as Gap introduce <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/fast-cheap-out-of-control-inside-rise-of-shein/">12,000 new items a year and H&M 25,000</a>. But Shein leaves them in the dust, listing 1.3 million items in the same amount of time. How is this even possible? </p>
<p>The ultra-fast fashion model <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/fast-cheap-out-of-control-inside-rise-of-shein/">thrives on data</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/18/ultra-fast-fashion-retail-sites-shein">addictive social media marketing</a> to create insatiable consumer demand.</p>
<p>But Shein’s incredibly low prices (its website has thousands of items under A$5) come at a human cost. The company’s own 2021 Sustainability and Social Impact Report (later removed from the site) found <a href="https://fashionmagazine.com/style/shein-influencer-trip/">only 2% of its factories and warehouses met its own worker safety standards</a>, with the rest requiring corrective action. </p>
<p>The brand has also forgone in-house designers. Instead it works with independent suppliers who can <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/fast-cheap-out-of-control-inside-rise-of-shein/">design and manufacture a garment in two weeks</a>.</p>
<p>The result is an incredibly profitable business model. Shein filed for an initial public offering (IPO) last year to value the brand at US$136 billion, up from US$2.5 billion in 2018.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">How Shein Built a $66B Fast-Fashion Empire (WSJ)</span></figcaption>
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<p>Shifting from fast to ultra-fast fashion has serious environmental and social consequences. This includes even more exploitative labour practices. Shein garment workers reportedly work <a href="https://www.publiceye.ch/en/media-corner/press-releases/detail/75-hour-weeks-for-shein-public-eye-looks-behind-the-chinese-online-fashion-giants-glitzy-front">75-hour weeks and warehouses operate 24/7</a>. </p>
<p>Ignoring this shift isn’t just a fashion faux pas. Doing so jeopardises national efforts for a more sustainable fashion industry.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-fashion-why-garment-workers-lives-are-still-in-danger-10-years-after-rana-plaza-podcast-203122">Fast Fashion: Why garment workers' lives are still in danger 10 years after Rana Plaza — Podcast</a>
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<h2>A seamless transition to sustainability</h2>
<p>The Australian Fashion Council is leading a <a href="https://ausfashioncouncil.com/program/seamless/">national product stewardship scheme</a> called Seamless that promises to transform the fashion industry by 2030. </p>
<p>The idea is to bring fashion into the <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy">circular economy</a>. Ultimately that means zero waste, but in the meantime raw materials would be kept in the supply chain for as long as possible by designing out and minimising waste. </p>
<p>Members will contribute a four-cent levy for every clothing item they produce or import. </p>
<p>These funds go into clothing collection, research, recycling projects and education campaigns.</p>
<p>BIG W, David Jones, Lorna Jane, Rip Curl, R.M. Williams, THE ICONIC, <a href="https://ausfashioncouncil.com/womenswear-giant-sussan-group-joins-seamless-foundation-members/">Sussan Group</a> and <a href="https://cottonongroup.com.au/news/cotton-on-signs-seamless/">Cotton On</a> are <a href="https://ausfashioncouncil.com/program/seamless/">Seamless Foundation Members</a>. Each has <a href="https://ausfashioncouncil.com/meet-the-foundation-members-of-seamless/">contributed A$100,000</a> to the development of the scheme.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://ausfashioncouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/AFC-NCPSS-Global-Scan-Report.pdf">one of the world’s first</a> industry-led collective product stewardship initiatives for clothing textiles, Seamless presents a unique opportunity to drive change towards a more sustainable and circular fashion industry. </p>
<p>But there is a risk ultra-fast fashion brands <a href="https://stewardshipexcellence.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/White-Paper-Overcoming-Freeriders-September-2021.pdf">may act as freeriders</a> in Seamless, benefiting from the investment and initiatives without making meaningful contributions. Shein and others will continue putting more and more product on the market, which will need to be dealt with at the end of its short life. But if they fail to commit to the scheme, they won’t be the ones paying for that. </p>
<p>The government-funded consortium must also recognise ultra-fast fashion in tackling the industry’s environmental and social sustainability challenges. At the moment they’re only talking about fast fashion and ignoring the rise of ultra-fast fashion. Their global scan, for example, includes a discussion of fast fashion and <a href="https://ausfashioncouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/AFC-NCPSS-Global-Scan-Report.pdf">no mention of ultra-fast fashion</a>. </p>
<p>This also points to a lack of data more broadly in the industry but in the case of Seamless, it could have a big impact if this growing market segment is ignored. </p>
<p>Shein and Temu are estimated to earn a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-08/rise-of-shein-temu-effect-on-australian-retail-ecommerce-future/103546188">combined $2 billion in sales in 2024</a>, with customers from all walks of life.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyK4_Z-tRCe","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-fashions-waste-problem-could-be-solved-by-recycled-textiles-but-brands-need-to-help-boost-production-213802">Fast fashion's waste problem could be solved by recycled textiles but brands need to help boost production</a>
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<h2>The critical crackdown</h2>
<p>Some brands are actively engaged and <a href="https://insideretail.com.au/business/ebay-australia-names-dempstah-as-circular-fashion-fund-winner-202402">working towards a more sustainable future</a>. But others such as Temu are learning from Shein and <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-11-06/fashion-retailer-shein-s-competitors-are-copying-its-super-fast-business-model?sref=Yg3sQEZ2">looking to emulate</a> their business model. </p>
<p>The transition to a more sustainable and responsible fashion industry requires a greater understanding of ultra-fast fashion, urgent systemic changes and collective efforts. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/isf">Institute for Sustainable Futures</a>, where I work, is a founding member of an international academic research network aimed at tackling the complexities of ultra-fast fashion. That includes how ultra-fast fashion is affecting the livelihoods of garment workers, how it’s fuelling textile waste and underscoring the industry’s struggle to embrace circular economy principles. We’re also investigating how to reshape consumer behaviour, away from <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/education/war-on-waste-shein-haul/102708968">social media-fuelled hauls</a> towards more sustainable consumption particularly among Gen-Z consumers. </p>
<p>Last month, Federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek announced a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-21/plibersek-warns-fast-fashion-considering-clothes-levy/103492154">potential intervention</a>, perhaps by introducing minimum environmental standards or a clothing levy by July.</p>
<p>The clock is ticking. It is time to lay the foundation for a more sustainable and just fashion industry. Australia has a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1745-5871.12460">rich fashion history</a> and is home to many leading local brands – many of whom have gone global. These brands show us what is possible when good design, sustainability and innovation drive an industry.</p>
<p>Ultimately, our collective choices wield immense power. By understanding the consequences of our fashion habits and advocating for change, we can all be catalysts for a more sustainable and just fashion industry.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224253/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor Brydges is an Advisor to the Product Stewardship Centre of Excellence, which has provided mentorship to Seamless. </span></em></p>We know fast fashion is bad for the environment. Ultra-fast fashion makes matters worse. This disturbing trend towards disposable clothing is the opposite of sustainable. Here’s what must be done.Taylor Brydges, Research Principal, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2242932024-03-11T13:10:43Z2024-03-11T13:10:43ZThree ways your wardrobe could help you avoid fast fashion<p>Think about the clothes you are wearing right now. How long have you had them? How often do you wear them? Like me, you’re probably wearing favourites that you always reach for, despite having <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/resources/report/citizen-insights-clothing-longevity-and-circular-business-models-receptivity-uk">a wardrobe stuffed with rarely worn clothes</a>. </p>
<p>But still, you might feel the irresistible urge to buy more. In high-income countries, <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/report-summary.html">overconsumption</a> of clothing contributes to the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9">climate crisis</a> throughout the accelerating cycle of fashion, from production and distribution to <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/blog/54589/how-fast-fashion-is-fuelling-the-fashion-waste-crisis-in-africa/">mountains of barely worn clothing waste</a>. It might be true that <a href="https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/">the most sustainable clothes are the ones we already own</a>, but has the industry convinced you that’s boring? </p>
<p>Caring about what’s inside your wardrobe, while resisting the urge to buy more clothes, might be more fun than you think. As part of my PhD research into what our relationships with our clothes might mean for sustainability in fashion, I’ve been experimenting with these simple and positive ways to reconnect with clothing:</p>
<h2>1. Put pen to paper</h2>
<p>In 2018, campaign group <a href="https://www.fashionrevolution.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/FashRev_LoveStory_18.pdf">Fashion Revolution</a> encouraged supporters to write a love story about their most-loved garment. Writing about your clothes can uncover <a href="https://wornstories.com/books/">personal stories</a>, gaps in your knowledge and a deeper understanding of why you wear <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1362704X.2022.2100481">what you wear</a>.</p>
<p>I have written poems about some of my clothes and started to write break-up letters to each garment that leaves my wardrobe. It’s a mindful process that reminds me of places I’ve been and people I’ve met in a much more vivid way than scrolling through photos on my phone. </p>
<p>A recent break-up letter to a rarely worn jacket helped me to pinpoint exactly why I wasn’t wearing it, and hopefully will ensure I don’t repeat the same mistake. </p>
<p>Whenever I have invited people to write about their clothes, either at public events or during workshops that form part of my PhD, I’ve been surprised by how willingly they share their stories and the positive actions the writing has inspired. Some people have talked about digging garments out of wardrobes to be worn again and others have found better ways to dispose of unwearable clothes. </p>
<h2>2. Daily stitches</h2>
<p>On average, <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/resources/report/citizen-insights-clothing-longevity-and-circular-business-models-receptivity-uk">each person wears just 74% of their wardrobe</a> and a <a href="https://hotorcool.org/unfit-unfair-unfashionable/">recent report</a> suggested a wardrobe size of just 85 items in order to limit carbon emissions and <a href="https://theconversation.com/global-heating-may-breach-1-5-c-in-2024-heres-what-that-could-look-like-220877">stay within 1.5°C warming</a>.</p>
<p>Curious about the size of my own wardrobe, I did a thorough check and counted 205 garments. I <a href="https://clothingresearch.oslomet.no/2024/01/15/an-arts-practice-approach-to-wardrobe-audits/">began to log</a> which ones I wear by hand sewing a stitch into each garment worn that day, using a different colour thread each season to create a visual marker. </p>
<p>At a glance, I can see which garments I’m wearing, how regularly and at which times of the year. I can more easily decide which clothes to keep, know where the gaps are in my wardrobe and choose the clothes I can part with. </p>
<p>This is just one form of <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/wardrobe-tracking">wardrobe tracking</a>, an activity that’s gaining popularity in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2024/jan/05/how-digitally-tracking-clothes-fashion-consumption-taking-off-online">digital form</a> with <a href="https://whering.co.uk/">apps</a> and <a href="https://hubbub.org.uk/off-the-hanger">online campaigns</a> that help people to track their wearing habits.</p>
<h2>3. Wardrobe portraits</h2>
<p>Making drawings of my clothes helps me notice overlooked details and understand what a garment means to me on a personal level. </p>
<p>While drawing one <a href="https://blogs.shu.ac.uk/c3riimpact/wendy-ward-researcher-blog-a-fashion-for-keeping/">recent picture</a> of a favourite jacket, the fluff of a forgotten jumper caught in the velcro reminded me to wear that jumper again. And once, carefully mapping the creases in a pair of leather gloves that used to be my dad’s, I noticed how the leather had moulded to the shape of his hands and I feel like he’s holding my hands whenever I wear them.</p>
<p>Drawing has long been used to study historical finds and museum collections, often exposing <a href="https://doi.org/10.3366/cost.2020.0164">undocumented details</a>. But if drawing isn’t your thing, most of us have a camera in our pocket. Take a beautiful photograph of your favourite garment or document your fashion revelations on Instagram. </p>
<p>At a garment drawing workshop I hosted in 2022 in the testing phase of my PhD, the small group of volunteers shared stories and noticed new things about their clothes that had previously been overlooked. Some suddenly saw the potential for easy repairs that could make a garment wearable again.</p>
<p>What’s the point of a slowly crafted, organic, recycled garment if nobody wants to wear, keep and love it? Perhaps reconnecting with unworn clothes lurking at the back of your wardrobe could inspire you to wear them again or let them go to someone else while freeing up some much-needed storage space. The key to sustainable fashion could already be inside your wardrobe. </p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Ward does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Every wardrobe tells a story and reconnecting with the clothes you already own could reduce your need to buy more fast fashion. Here are three ways to fall back in love with your wardrobe.Wendy Ward, PhD Candidate, Sheffield Hallam UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2223212024-03-11T13:10:41Z2024-03-11T13:10:41ZWhy secondhand markets and apps are not a solution to clothing waste<p>In theory, apps for selling secondhand clothes such as Vinted, Depop, ThredUp and Schpock offer an opportunity to be both thrifty and fashionable. Good news for shoppers <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/deals-hunter/2023/02/buy-new-second-hand-/">worried about rising costs</a> and the sustainability of buying new clothes.</p>
<p>Secondhand markets like these, and their in-person iterations like charity shops, have long been lauded as a more savvy, ethical, and environmentally sustainable shopping choice. But <a href="https://jomec.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/10.18573/jomec.234">our research</a> has found these markets mask the issues caused by our consumption. They offer only individualised, piecemeal solutions to the vast global problem of waste. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/catherineerdly/2021/06/27/the-resale-market-is-booming-heres-how-small-businesses-can-benefit/">Pundits in the business world </a> enthuse about the “circular economy” created by apps which market “pre-loved” garments as a means of extending the lives of clothing and other consumer goods. As with other online resale markets such as Facebook Marketplace and eBay, these apps are firmly situated within the commonsense understanding of the circular economy, as they enable unwanted goods to move on within the system, rather than being consigned to the bin.</p>
<p>A truly circular economy ought to not only recycle goods, but also prevent the future production of waste. And by that measure, clothing markets are failing spectacularly. According to a report by the <a href="https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/a-new-textiles-economy">Ellen MacArthur Foundation</a>, by 2030 we will produce more than 100 million tonnes of new clothing each year, contributing to climate change more than international flights and shipping combined. Secondhand reselling is failing to make a dent in the unfathomable scale of production in the international textiles market.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://jomec.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/10.18573/jomec.234">critique of secondhand spaces</a> suggests a few reasons for this. First, buying and selling secondhand gets talked about and even advertised as what <a href="https://jomec.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/10.18573/jomec.233">good, clever, thrifty people do</a>, especially under rising costs of living. Using a reselling app, or donating to and buying from charity shops, creates a “warm glow” that offsets the guilt of buying something new. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580729/original/file-20240308-20-vwhdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="woman takes photo of shirt" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580729/original/file-20240308-20-vwhdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/580729/original/file-20240308-20-vwhdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580729/original/file-20240308-20-vwhdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580729/original/file-20240308-20-vwhdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580729/original/file-20240308-20-vwhdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580729/original/file-20240308-20-vwhdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/580729/original/file-20240308-20-vwhdii.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">‘Good, clever and thrifty’.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stock-Asso / shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>But most significantly, secondhand markets are built to increase consumption, not cut it back. Charity shops, for example, under increasing pressure to be profitable, have to take on more professionalised and <a href="https://jomec.cardiffuniversitypress.org/articles/10.18573/jomec.231">“for-profit” merchandising habits</a>.
Even companies that deal in luxury items such as watches and jewellery have embraced the popularity of secondhand shopping as it complements their market and means <a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2020/secondhand-opportunity-hard-luxury">future consumers</a> can access their goods.</p>
<h2>Most secondhand clothes still end up in the global south</h2>
<p>The secondhand myth of “<a href="https://demos.co.uk/research/shopping-for-good/">shopping for good</a>” disguises a mountain of problems. </p>
<p>Only <a href="https://www.circle-economy.com/resources/the-role-of-charity-shops-in-a-circular-textiles-value-chain">roughly 10% to 20% of items donated to charity shops</a> are suitable for sale. The rest are either recycled or sent for resale in countries in the global south, resulting in a multi-billion pound industry <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo3644128.html">propped up predominantly by charitable organisations</a>. Most shoppers and people who donate their clothes don’t know this is happening.</p>
<p>This redistribution of poor-quality unsold items from the west to wholesalers in places such as India, Senegal and Nigeria can undercut local manufacturers and put traders out of business. The sheer volume of textiles means that often huge swaths are dumped or, worse, <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/static/planet4-international-stateless/2022/04/9f50d3de-greenpeace-germany-poisoned-fast-fashion-briefing-factsheet-april-2022.pdf">openly burned on the streets</a>, polluting the air with chemicals. Meanwhile the breakdown of (mostly cheap synthetic) clothing pollutes waterways with microplastics and releases toxic gases. </p>
<p>The hazardous work of picking through such waste for the purpose of recycling is mostly undertaken by women and people in marginalised groups, as shown in the short film <a href="https://youtu.be/bOOI5LbQ9B8">Unravel</a>. The film, based on anthropological work by the academic <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lucy-Norris-4/publication/262820843_Shoddy_rags_and_relief_blankets_perceptions_of_textile_recycling_in_north_India/links/5a293388a6fdcc8e86729691/Shoddy-rags-and-relief-blankets-perceptions-of-textile-recycling-in-north-India.pdf">Lucy Norris</a> documents the labour conditions of women in northern India who risk their health to shred and recycle unwanted western clothing back into yarn.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">‘Unravel’ by Meghna Gupta investigates the final resting place of your cast-off clothing.</span></figcaption>
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<p>Many of the “solutions” that promise to deal with waste from the west share the same dynamics as the maligned fast fashion industries that enabled disasters such as that which took place at <a href="https://cleanclothes.org/campaigns/past/rana-plaza">Rana Plaza</a>: exploiting vulnerable groups (including children) and risking the health and safety of workers. While secondhand consumption offers a convenient solution for the problem of accumulation, recent celebrations of the “circular economy” only endorse the constant flow of commodities through our households, rather than prevent it. </p>
<p>Rather than the individualised solution offered by the secondhand market, we should instead consider collective approaches. This could involve demonstrating solidarity with and securing reparations for those disproportionately impacted by the harms of secondhand markets, for instance by supporting the <a href="https://theor.org/">OR Foundation</a> in Ghana or <a href="https://globalrec.org/organization/the-association-of-ragpickers/">The Association of Ragpickers</a> in Bengal. It could involve <a href="https://blogs.cardiff.ac.uk/secondhandcultures/">making brands responsible</a> for the full lifecycle of the things they create. </p>
<p>Ultimately, holding manufacturers and governments accountable for their environmental and humanitarian failings is the only viable solution to the international waste crisis.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 30,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Triona Fitton received funding for her original research from the Economic and Social Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alida Payson received funding from an Early Career Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust for her research on charity shops. The project was called Charity Shop Country: Conviviality and Survival in Austerity in Britain. </span></em></p>Secondhand markets are built to increase consumption, not cut it back.Triona Fitton, Senior Lecturer in Sociology and Student Success, University of KentAlida Payson, Lecturer in Media and Cultural Studies , Cardiff UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2240092024-03-07T13:03:44Z2024-03-07T13:03:44ZFrom fast fashion to excessive earrings, these trends might be harmful to your health<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/579487/original/file-20240304-18-67z9tp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=211%2C130%2C2425%2C1666&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Jennifer Lopez is a fan of the statement earring, but will her lobes forgive her?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/los-angeles-may-10-jennifer-lopez-2303119289">Kathy Hutchins/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The perilous nature of some fashion items have a long history, from the potentially <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0966636221000199">hazardous heights of stilettoes</a> to the damaging <a href="https://www.rcseng.ac.uk/library-and-publications/library/blog/effects-of-the-corset/">constrictions imposed by the corset</a>. But health-harming trends aren’t a thing of the past. </p>
<p>Fast fashion, the making and selling of cheap clothes with short life-spans at mass volumes, has become a notorious modern-day phenomenon – so much so that in 2023, the <a href="https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/press-room/20230424IPR82040/ending-fast-fashion-tougher-rules-to-fight-excessive-production-and-consumption">European Union</a> attempted to crack down on the “overproduction and overconsumption of clothes and footwear” to <a href="https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/news/remodelling-fast-fashion-understanding-the-need-to-accelerate-sustainability-in-the-fashion-industry-and-how-the-uk-can-respond/">make clothing more sustainable</a> and <a href="https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/85937">reduce worker exploitation</a>.</p>
<p>Fast fashion might be cheap but its environmental costs are dear. The detrimental <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/environmental-costs-fast-fashion">ecological effects</a> of the consumer appetite for trend-driven disposable clothing – and the consequential impacts on <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/environment/how-fast-fashion-harms-the-environment-and-peoples-health">human health</a> – are well known. But <a href="https://repository.usfca.edu/capstone/1624/">toxic clothing</a> is a comparatively under-reported danger of consumers’ continuing love affair with fast fashion. </p>
<p>Affordable, on-trend clothing is often made from synthetic materials that can <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-03827-3_40">irritate the skin</a>. But <a href="https://www.openaccessgovernment.org/article/toxic-textiles-potential-health-risks-associated-with-toxic-chemicals-in-clothing/171082/">throwaway fashion</a> garments can also contain <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/pdfs/Unravelling-Harms-of-Fast-Fashion-Full-Report-2023-02.pdf">toxic chemicals</a> including <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/PFAS_FactSheet.html#:%7E:text=Print-,Per%2D%20and%20Polyfluorinated%20Substances%20(PFAS),in%20a%20variety%20of%20products.">PFAS</a> (synthetic chemicals used widely in consumer products from non-stick baking tins to clothes), <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7002841/">azo dyes</a>, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Phthalates_FactSheet.html#:%7E:text=Phthalates%20are%20a%20group%20of,%2C%20shampoos%2C%20hair%20sprays">phthalates</a> and <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/formaldehyde/default.html#:%7E:text=Formaldehyde%20(CH%E2%82%82O)%20is%20a%20colorless,antiseptics%2C%20medicines%2C%20and%20cosmetics.">formaldehyde</a>. </p>
<p>Approximately <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pfas-in-clothing-household-items-consumer-products-forever-chemicals/">8,000 synthetic chemicals</a> are used in the fast fashion manufacturing process, with residues <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/jul/02/fashion-chemicals-pfas-bpa-toxic">staying on the garments that we purchase</a>. Alden Wicker’s 2023 book, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/705645/to-dye-for-by-alden-wicker/">To Dye For</a>, reveals the unregulated use of <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1805/1805.pdf">potentially harmful chemicals</a> and the impacts these can have on our health. <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Mohamed-Hassaan-2/publication/317006721_Health_and_Environmental_Impacts_of_Dyes_Mini_Review/links/5a032afaa6fdcc6b7c9d09d9/Health-and-Environmental-Impacts-of-Dyes-Mini-Review.pdf">Azo dyes</a>, for example, which are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0273230017301812">restricted in the EU</a>, <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-981-99-3901-5_3">can be absorbed</a> causing a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27635691/">range of reported</a> health issues. </p>
<p>And there are other, perhaps more surprising, potential dangers lurking in your wardrobe too.</p>
<h2>Trainers and sneakers</h2>
<p>Trainers have become the most popular shoe style of the <a href="https://journal.transformativeworks.org/index.php/twc/article/download/1991/2871?inline=1">21st-century</a>, transcending fashion boundaries of gender, race and age. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1740144519300853">trend for athleisure</a> – buoyed by brand collaborations with hip-hop and pop stars such as <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/story/adidas-ivy-park-ivy-noir-collection">Beyoncé</a>, <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/product-recommendations/lifestyle/rihanna-fenty-x-puma-the-creeper-phatty-1234905319/">Rihanna</a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/27/business/kanye-west-adidas-yeezy.html">pre-scandal Kanye West’s</a> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2023/feb/15/yeezy-sneakers-adidas-kanye-west-ye">ultra-successful Adidas Yeezy</a> line – has increased consumer demand for footwear that’s both <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/katehardcastle/2022/11/29/haute-comfort-consumers-choose-comfort-over-style-says-new-research/?sh=2bdb6feb20c4">comfortable</a> and has <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-history-of-sneakers-from-commodity-to-cultural-icon-127268">cult status</a>. </p>
<p>This is a trend that shows no sign of going out of fashion: according to predictions, the global sneaker industry will be worth <a href="https://leaders.com/news/business/inside-the-growing-sneaker-resale-market/">$100 billion by 2026</a>. But how bad can it be to value comfort as well as style? </p>
<p>For example, wearing trainers too much can lead to <a href="https://www.sioux-shop.co.uk/cms/keeping-your-feet-healthy/can-wearing-trainers-too-much-damage-your-feet/#:%7E:text=Therefore%2C%20wearing%20trainers%20continually%20can,not%20need%20such%20extreme%20cushioning.">poor foot posture and the widening of feet</a>, a condition that’s impossible to reverse. The trend for platform trainers isn’t much better: this style can be a painful <a href="https://edit.sundayriley.com/are-platform-sneakers-bad-for-your-feet/">strain on the feet and gait</a>. And sock sneakers – trainers that look like thick, usually colorful socks with rubber soles attached – is the style <a href="https://www.whowhatwear.com/worst-sneakers-for-feet">most likely to lead</a> to a sprained ankle.</p>
<p>The best bet is to opt for athletic trainers that are designed to offer a supportive fit. </p>
<h2>Waist trainers</h2>
<p>Waist trainers, brought into vogue this century by <a href="https://www.vogue.co.uk/news/article/kim-kardashian-west-future-of-skims">Kim Kardashian</a>, are similar to the corsets and girdles of the past. They are designed to pull the wearer’s waist in as <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-waist-trainers-work#:%7E:text=A%20waist%20trainer%20is%20a,tough%20fabric%20and%20hard%20fibers.">tight as possible</a> to achieve an eye-wateringly <a href="https://www.instyle.com/beauty/health-fitness/what-is-a-waist-trainer">“snatched” look</a> – TikTok speak for creating the illusion of a tiny, accentuated waist. </p>
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<p>Endorsed by influential celebrities such as <a href="https://theconversation.com/corsets-and-waist-trainers-how-celebrities-and-influencers-have-driven-our-modern-obsession-with-shapewear-183859">Nikki Minaj</a> and <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/entertainment/a19490856/kylie-jenner-waist-training-post-baby-body-instagram-ad/">Kylie Jenner</a>, the waist trainer, if worn over a prolonged period, may help achieve a temporary <a href="https://www.mymed.com/health-wellness/body-modifications/the-practice-of-waist-training-and-corsetry/the-dangers-and-benefits-of-aesthetic-waist-training">hourglass figure</a>. And like the corset, the waist trainer does seem to <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/591218e0f7e0abcf6ce40add/t/5fbecbbfeaf37e3b64805419/1606339541761/The_Kurious_Kase_of_Kim_Kardashians_Korset_Alanna_McKnight_Fashion_Studies.pdf">have some benefits</a> – it may <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0169814121000433">help improve posture</a>, for example. </p>
<p>Waist trainers and similar shapewear can also give the appearance of significant weight loss. But any actual weight loss from wearing the item is most likely because of water loss through <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-waist-trainers-work">sweating and muscle atrophy</a> – muscles in the core are used less while wearing waist-trainers, so long-term use can lead to muscle wastage.</p>
<p>Also, the pressure exerted on the waist and internal organs can cause appetite loss. Perhaps unsurprisingly, prolonged wearing of waist trainers can result in <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/are-waist-trainers-dangerous">gastrointestinal issues</a> such as acid reflux and, in more extreme cases, the pressure on the diaphragm can cause respiratory problems. </p>
<p>If that isn’t enough, wearers of waist trainers and corsets may be at <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/do-waist-trainers-work#are-they-safe">risk of fainting due to reduced oxygen</a>. There’s also a reported case of a woman who developed <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7566978/#:%7E:text=ALI%20is%20caused%20by%20many,abdominal%20liposuction%20and%20gluteal%20augmentation.">acute lower-limb ischemia</a> (a serious condition usually caused by a blood clot) after wearing a waist trainer – although such extreme health outcomes are very rare. </p>
<p>And while the potential health risks of wearing waist trainers might seem overwhelming, a study in the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314102718_Randomized_controlled_trial_of_abdominal_binders_for_postoperative_pain_distress_and_blood_loss_after_cesarean_delivery">International Journal of Gynaecology and Obsestrics</a> found women who wore them following a cesarean delivery experienced less pain. </p>
<h2>Heavy earrings</h2>
<p>The emergence of the <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/fashion/a46493231/mob-wife-aesthetic-trend-explained/">“mob wife” trend</a>, with its <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/28/style/mob-wife-aesthetic-trend.html">aesthetic signifiers</a> of fur coats, leopard prints and <a href="https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/royal-style/513845/princess-diana-original-mob-wife-fashion/">chunky gold jewellery</a>, has also popularised weighty earrings. But the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jocd.14552">regular and prolonged wearing</a> of heavy earrings can cause elongation and thinning of the earlobe, which in extreme cases can <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/heavy-earrings-aging-skin_n_561bf656e4b0082030a35c59#:%7E:text=According%20to%20Edward%20Miranda%2C%20a%20board-certified%20plastic%20surgeon%2C,and%20ultimately%20can%20rupture%20and%20split.%20More%20items">cause the lobe to split</a>. </p>
<p>To correct the damage caused by wearing excessively heavy or large earrings, lobe surgery has become one of the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/earlobe-reduction-plastic-surgery-trend-cosmetics-a8172951.html">most common plastic surgery trends</a>. </p>
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<p>But it is not just heavy earrings that you may need to be wary of. Large <a href="https://galoremag.com/wear-big-hoops-without-getting-caught-everything/">thin hoops</a>, although seemingly lightweight, can get caught in hair and clothes. In 2023, a TikTok video of a woman showing the tear in her earlobe caused by a large hoop earring went viral, with over <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/02/16/i-liked-wearing-heavy-earrings-until-hoops-tore-open-my-earlobe/">1.3 million views</a>. </p>
<h2>Ill-fitting thongs</h2>
<p>Love them or hate them, <a href="https://graziamagazine.com/us/articles/early-aughts-exposed-thong-trend-is-back/">the thong is a fashion classic</a>. From showgirls at the World Fair in the 1930s to 2023’s <a href="https://www.elle.com/uk/fashion/trends/a42416238/celebrity-exposed-thong-trend/">whale tail trend</a> for wearing a thong peeking out from the waistband of clothing, these notorious items have been rubbing us the wrong way for almost a century.</p>
<p>Renowned for being uncomfortable, it’s perhaps unsurprising that ill-fitting thongs can cause intimate irritation and chafing, especially if made from synthetic fabrics.</p>
<p>But it’s not all doom and gloom. <a href="https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jog.13958">Research has shown</a> that a well-fitting thong made from natural fibres, alongside regular washing of underwear and scrupulous personal hygiene, can ensure thong-wearers enjoy their whale tails in comfort.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-warning-five-fashion-trends-that-are-terrible-for-you-43738">Health warning: five fashion trends that are terrible for you</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/224009/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Naomi Braithwaite does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Keeping up with the Kardashians can be a real pain. How fashion trends from waist trainers to celebrity endorsed sneakers could do more harm than good.Naomi Braithwaite, Associate Professor in Fashion Marketing and Branding, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2193652023-12-27T09:10:57Z2023-12-27T09:10:57ZHow to make your life greener in 2024<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565811/original/file-20231214-17-sz6ddr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6016%2C4016&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-chooses-fruits-vegetables-farmers-market-1499488313">j.chizhe/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>People all around the world traditionally use their new year to embark on a change in lifestyle. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.undp.org/publications/peoples-climate-vote">People’s Climate Vote</a>, a UN survey of public opinion on climate change, highlights that citizens around the world recognise climate change as a global emergency and agree that we should do everything necessary in response. </p>
<p>People are gradually adopting <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/sustainable-consumer.html">more sustainable lifestyles</a>, but many find it hard to change habits and often don’t know where to start their sustainability journey. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/eco-anxiety-climate-change-affects-our-mental-health-heres-how-to-cope-202477">Eco-anxiety: climate change affects our mental health – here's how to cope</a>
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<p>So if you’re looking to make your life greener in 2024, here are some manageable and affordable changes you can make.</p>
<h2>1. Eating</h2>
<p>We throw away a <a href="https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/why-global-fight-tackle-food-waste-has-only-just-begun">billion tonnes of food</a> each year. Food waste often generates methane, a greenhouse gas that is <a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/food-waste-makes-up-half-of-global-food-system-emissions/">more potent than carbon dioxide</a>.</p>
<p>But there are simple changes you can make to eat <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/articles/affordable_sustainable">more sustainably</a> (and often at less expense too). These include eating locally and seasonally, or eating less meat and more plants, especially <a href="https://www.resilience.org/stories/2022-03-24/is-there-life-after-fert/">beans and greens</a>. Beans require no nitrogen fertilisers (which are, in part, produced from natural gas) thanks to their ability to convert nitrogen from the air into nutrients. </p>
<p>Going meat-free on one day each week would be a good start. Eating processed “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/aug/10/fake-meat-sales-nutrition-environment">mock meats</a>” can be a stepping stone towards a more plant-based lifestyle, although they are relatively expensive. </p>
<p>Planning your meals in advance and making sure you eat your leftovers will help you reduce unnecessary waste. And use a microwave for cooking where possible since it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2022.03.010">more energy efficient</a> than cooking over a stove.</p>
<p>You don’t have to do them all – choose the ones that work best for you.</p>
<h2>2. Travelling</h2>
<p>We all need to travel, whether to work, school, university or to the shop. Sustainable travel is a balancing act.</p>
<p>Choosing active travel – walking, wheeling and cycling – is the greenest option, keeping us and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.03.030">our children</a> fitter and healthier while producing no carbon emissions. Try replacing one or two car journeys a week with active travel options if you can. </p>
<p>In urban areas, where you’re travelling shorter distances, active transport is often faster and cheaper than car travel. It also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2015.12.010">reduces congestion</a>, which is a significant cause of urban air pollution. </p>
<p>For longer journeys, travelling by train or bus is more environmentally friendly than by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129392">car</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.trd.2020.102378">plane</a>. But you often must plan ahead to get the cheapest tickets.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A rear view of businessman commuting to work on a bicycle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565805/original/file-20231214-15-7bq6iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565805/original/file-20231214-15-7bq6iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565805/original/file-20231214-15-7bq6iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565805/original/file-20231214-15-7bq6iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565805/original/file-20231214-15-7bq6iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565805/original/file-20231214-15-7bq6iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565805/original/file-20231214-15-7bq6iy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Active transport is often a faster and cheaper way of travelling around a city.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/rear-view-businessman-commuter-electric-bicycle-1323592877">Ground Picture/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>3. Energy use</h2>
<p>The energy we use at home is becoming increasingly expensive and is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Making small changes to our daily energy use can make a <a href="https://www.un.org/en/actnow/home-energy#:%7E:text=Improving%20your%20home%27s%20energy%20efficiency,year%20%2D%20that%27s%20almost%201%20ton!">big difference</a>, both to our bills and household emissions.</p>
<p>Most of these changes are easy and convenient. Turn off lights when leaving a room. Cook food with the saucepan lid on. Turn your home thermostat down by 1°C. Wash clothes and crockery at colder temperatures. Take shorter showers. Unplug devices such as microwaves when not in use and chargers when devices are fully charged. And replace broken halogen light bulbs with more efficient LED versions. </p>
<p>Using the data recorded by a <a href="https://www.gov.uk/guidance/smart-meters-how-they-work">smart meter</a> (if you have one) to monitor your energy use can help you make these changes. </p>
<h2>4. Clothing</h2>
<p>People love buying new clothes. But “fast fashion” has an astonishingly <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9">high environmental and social cost</a>. The fashion industry generates over 92 million tonnes of waste every year, most of which is incinerated, sent to landfill or exported to developing countries.</p>
<p>There are lots of ways to be both fashionable and sustainable. Start by organising your wardrobe so you know what you’ve got before you start shopping, and that anything you buy will “work” with what you currently have. </p>
<p>Don’t throw away damaged items – there are loads of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnxGHRlevlQ">YouTube videos</a> to help you repair clothes and accessories. You can even make your clothing more personal using repair methods such as <a href="https://www.wastefreeplanet.org/blog/how-to-mend-your-jeans-using-sashiko-stitching">Sashiko stitching</a>, making the repair a visible feature of your clothing.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.circularonline.co.uk/opinions/lets-get-this-reuse-party-started/">Buying second-hand</a> will save you money, and the social and environmental benefits of charity retail are <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612153">widely recognised</a>. You could also swap clothing you no longer want with friends and family or at <a href="https://www.savethestudent.org/shopping/top-five-swapping-websites.html">swap shops</a>. </p>
<p>Alternatively, you could buy less, but higher quality clothing. These items are usually more durable and last longer. </p>
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<img alt="Young women swapping clothing with each other." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565810/original/file-20231214-27-giz0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565810/original/file-20231214-27-giz0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565810/original/file-20231214-27-giz0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565810/original/file-20231214-27-giz0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565810/original/file-20231214-27-giz0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565810/original/file-20231214-27-giz0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565810/original/file-20231214-27-giz0gd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Swap clothing you no longer want with friends or family.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-women-swap-party-choose-casual-2286018779">Fotoksa/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>5. Waste management</h2>
<p>We generate <a href="https://www.unep.org/resources/report/global-waste-management-outlook">more than 2 billion metric tons</a> of solid municipal waste worldwide each year. This figure is expected to <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/916625/global-generation-of-municipal-solid-waste-forecast/">increase by 70% by 2050</a>. There are many small changes we can make to reduce the amount we put in our bins. </p>
<p>Writing a shopping list can reduce overbuying and impulse buying. Take reusable bags with you when you shop. And shop packaging free. There are lots of places to buy food without excess packaging like zero-waste shops where customers are encouraged to use containers from home to fill and refill with bulk wholefoods. </p>
<p>Make sure you know what you can <a href="https://www.recyclenow.com/how-to-recycle/household-recycling">recycle locally</a> and follow the advice provided. Reducing waste saves valuable resources as well as reducing pollution and your weekly spend.</p>
<p>By making small changes to our lifestyles, we can <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2019.05.002">collectively</a> move towards a more sustainable future.</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Williams receives funding from EU Horizon 2020 and EPSRC. Ian Williams is a member of the International Solid Waste Association, the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management and the Royal Society of Chemistry.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Brock does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>It’s often challenging to live up to your new year’s resolutions – but becoming greener is surprisingly easy.Ian Williams, Professor of Applied Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonAlice Brock, PhD Candidate in Environmental Science, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2138022023-09-22T11:51:08Z2023-09-22T11:51:08ZFast fashion’s waste problem could be solved by recycled textiles but brands need to help boost production<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549148/original/file-20230919-29-c1vz8l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C5088%2C3869&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/reuse-reduce-recycle-concept-background-symbol-1537681748">Fascinadora/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Earlier this year, fast fashion retailer Zara released its first womenswear collection <a href="https://circ.earth/zara-launches-first-of-its-kind-recycled-poly-cotton-capsule-with-circ/">made of recycled poly-cotton textile waste</a>. The collection is available for sale in 11 countries, helping clothing made of blended textile waste reach the mass market. </p>
<p>The collection came about after Zara’s parent company Inditex <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/inditex-clean-tech-investment-textile-recyling-circ-startup/">invested</a> in textile recycler Circ. This follows <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/inditex-100-mln-euro-deal-make-clothes-recycled-fabric-2022-05-12/">a €100 million (£87 million) deal</a> between Inditex and Finnish textile recycler Infinited Fiber Company for 30% of its recycled output. Zara’s fast fashion rival H&M has also entered <a href="https://www.renewcell.com/en/renewcell-and-hm-group-in-large-scale-fashion-recycling-cooperation/">a five-year contract</a> with Swedish textile recycler Renewcell to acquire <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230227-how-to-recycle-your-clothes#:%7E:text=Swedish%20fashion%20brand%20H%26M">9,072 tonnes of recycled fibre</a> – equivalent to 50 million T-shirts.</p>
<p>There is a growing appetite among some fashion retailers to turn old clothes into high-quality fibres, and then into new clothes. But even though well-known brands are developing lines using recycled textiles, this movement has not yet reached the scale needed to have a truly global impact.</p>
<p>Before this recent growth in interest in textile recycling, fast fashion’s efforts to tackle throwaway attitudes towards affordable clothing often simply added to the global textile waste mountain – especially <a href="https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/h-m-s-response-to-allegations-of-dumping-textile-waste-in-global-south-highlights-industry-s-problems/2023062870246">in developing countries</a>, say campaigners like Greenpeace.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1514968224038731782"}"></div></p>
<p>For example, a skirt deposited at a London chain store under a take-back scheme was <a href="https://changingmarkets.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Take-back-trickery_compressed.pdf">reportedly found</a> in a landfill in Bamako, Mali. This is not an isolated incident, it’s a sector-wide problem that sees old clothes being collected but not disposed of properly. An estimated <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/ghanas-vintage-enthusiasts-give-new-life-western-clothing-waste-2022-12-28/">15 million used clothing items</a> are shipped to Ghana each week from around the world and many end up in the country’s landfills. This is often referred to as <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/sustainability/fashion-pay-waste-colonialism-secondhand-clothes-epr-kantamanto/">waste colonialism</a>.</p>
<p>The fast fashion industry needs greater access to recycled textiles to address this problem. But this means having the means to track “thrown-away” garments to collect those suitable for recycling. The industry also needs facilities that are big enough to turn this waste into new materials for clothing at the scale needed to meet mass market demand.</p>
<p>This is particularly important as these firms prepare for an <a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/reset-trend/how-eu-making-fashion-sustainable_en">EU crackdown</a> on the region’s own waste mountain. Following the <a href="https://environment.ec.europa.eu/publications/textiles-strategy_en">EU strategy for Sustainable and Circular textiles</a> 2022, the European Commission is drafting new legislation over <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/eu-wants-all-textile-waste-rules-place-by-2028-commissioner-2023-06-27/">the next five years</a> to make the fashion industry pay for the cost of processing discarded clothing.</p>
<p>Under the new EU rules, companies will be expected to collect waste equivalent to a certain percentage of their production. While the exact amount has not yet been confirmed yet, European commissioner for the environment Virginijus Sinkevičius has said it will “definitely” be <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/eu-wants-all-textile-waste-rules-place-by-2028-commissioner-2023-06-27/#:%7E:text=%22It%20definitely%20will%20be%20higher%20than%205%25%22%20of%20production%2C%20Sinkevi%C4%8Dius%20said.">more than 5% of production</a>. Companies may have to pay a fee (reportedly equivalent to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/6b3a4ff0-c433-4a1c-9239-c22c4c1dfec6">€0.12 per T-shirt</a>) towards local authorities’ waste collection work.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="White store background with sales display of grey coat, tree and light behind white clothing collection bin." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=899&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549147/original/file-20230919-15-s2rh3i.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1130&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many stores offer collection bins for old clothes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.inditex.com/itxcomweb/en/press/media-gallery/facilities">Inditex</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But fast fashion brands must ensure that this doesn’t just dump the problem of textile waste into other countries’ landfills. Instead, developing lines out of recycled textiles could give these old clothes a new lease of life.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.thefashionpact.org/?lang=en">Fashion Pact</a> signed by more than 160 brands (a third of the sector by volume) commits companies to ensure that, by 2025, 25% of the raw materials such as textiles that they use have a low impact on the environment – recycled fibre is considered a low-impact material. Some brands have set more ambitious targets, including Adidas, which has committed to <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/73ca70d8-84e1-11e8-96dd-fa565ec55929">using 100% recycled plastics</a> by 2024, and Zara-owner Inditex, which pledged to source <a href="https://www.drapersonline.com/news/zara-owner-inditex-sets-extremely-ambitious-sustainability-targets">40% of its fibres</a> from recycling processes by 2030. </p>
<p>These impending deadlines, plus the EU legislation, should motivate brands to use more recycled fibres. While the supply of such material is <a href="https://vb.nweurope.eu/media/19019/2207-scaling-textile-recycling-in-europe-turning-waste-into-value.pdf">currently limited</a>, an influx of recycling start-ups are finding ways to turn old clothes into new fibres that replicate the look and feel of virgin materials. </p>
<p>Start-ups like <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brookerobertsislam/2022/02/25/fashion-isnt-becoming-more-sustainable-but-next-gen-materials-might-fix-that/?sh=71fc2ab468ad">Spinnova, Renewcell and Infinited Fibre</a> have developed chemical recycling technologies to create new fibres from cotton-rich clothing. And while cheap low-cost blended materials like poly-cotton are <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200710-why-clothes-are-so-hard-to-recycle">difficult to separate and recycle</a>, firms like Worn Again, Envrnu, and Circ are tackling this problem, too. </p>
<p>Worn Again plans to build a new recycling demo plant in Switzerland, paving the way for <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/partnerships/worn-again-technologies">40 licensed plants by 2040</a>, which would be capable of processing 1.8 million tonnes of textile waste per year.</p>
<h2>Taking textile recycling from hype to reality</h2>
<p>Up to 26% of Europe’s textile waste could be recycled by 2030, according to some estimates, according to <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/scaling-textile-recycling-in-europe-turning-waste-into-value">a 2022 McKinsey report</a>. This would generate €3.5-€4.5 billion in economic output for the EU, create 15,000 new jobs, and save 3.6 million tonnes of CO². But <a href="https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2022/10/Textile-Exchange_PFMR_2022.pdf">only 1% of textiles</a> are currently being recycled globally into new clothes – the recycling technology needed for this shift is still in its infancy.</p>
<p>Part of the challenge in scaling up textile recycling to this degree is the lack of information available about what happens to clothes that are thrown away. Sharing data on the volume, locations and compositions of waste generated in the supply chain and collected post-consumption would help evaluate the full potential of textile recycling. Companies like <a href="https://reverseresources.net/">Reverse Resources</a> already provide online databases of information on textile waste – in this case for a global network of 70 recyclers, 44 waste handlers and 1,287 manufacturers in 24 countries.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Bales of clothes stacked in piles in a warehouse." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/549150/original/file-20230919-17-z0z4m0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A textile recycling centre.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/used-clothing-wholesaler-textile-recycling-europe-743587066">Martin de Jong/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Increasing textile recycling will require a collaborative approach, as will the development of the technology needed to create high-quality recycled textiles. Brands, investors, suppliers, recyclers, technology providers and local governments must come together to find ways to grow the textile recycling industry. The recent <a href="https://newcottonproject.eu/">New Cotton Project</a> that involves 12 brands (including H&M group and Adidas), manufacturers, suppliers and research institutes is a first step towards increasing textile recycling.</p>
<p>More money is also needed from all of these groups. To reach the recycling rate of 18%-26% by 2030, it will take <a href="https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/scaling-textile-recycling-in-europe-turning-waste-into-value">billions in infrastructure investment</a> for collecting, sorting and processing textile waste.</p>
<p>Textile recycling is no longer for a few “sustainable” fashion firms – it is quickly becoming a reality that no fast fashion firm can ignore. Shoppers must demand that the brands they love show their commitment to textile recycling beyond marketing campaigns and low-volume fashion collections.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/213802/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Brands like Zara and H&M are teaming up with recycled textile producers but more collaboration is needed.Quynh Do Nhu, Assistant Professor in Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Lancaster UniversityMark Stevenson, Professor of Operations Management, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2128252023-09-14T16:37:02Z2023-09-14T16:37:02ZFashion industry’s environmental impact is largely unknown – here’s why<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547509/original/file-20230911-7318-e5kwf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C7360%2C4912&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-clothes-rack-rail-store-items-1727723350">BAZA Production/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>How do the clothes you buy wear out the natural world? To take stock of the damage you have to account for the materials, water and energy that went into making a garment, and the greenhouse gas emissions, chemical pollutants and other byproducts associated with its disposal. </p>
<p>For example polyester, a kind of plastic widely used in T-shirts, is made from oil – a fossil fuel. If you throw it out it degrades slowly, and chemicals from its dyes and surface treatments leach into the soil. </p>
<p>The UK consistently buys more garments than any other European country, spending more than <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/1952.pdf">£45 billion</a> (US$56 billion) annually. Fast fashion, an industry trend which involves getting cheap reproductions of catwalk designs out to a mass market as quickly as possible, encourages this buying frenzy. </p>
<p>Much of fast fashion is known to depend on <a href="https://www.euronews.com/green/2020/07/10/exploitation-and-sweatshops-are-at-the-core-of-fast-fashion-it-s-time-to-dismantle-the-sys">sweatshop labour</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2020/apr/07/fast-fashion-speeding-toward-environmental-disaster-report-warns">polluting factories</a>. But alongside the demand for ever faster fashion at low prices, there is a <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/uk/en/pages/consumer-business/articles/sustainable-consumer.html">growing awareness</a> among consumers that something has to change. </p>
<p>Some firms have caught on: many brands now report their environmental footprint and have disclosed their intention to shrink it.</p>
<p>But how trustworthy are these assessments? My research uncovers how the fashion industry collates, analyses and assesses environmental impact data. Unfortunately, as a result of inaccurate and unreliable methods, among other issues, the true cost of fast fashion remains largely unknown. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A worker in a cloth factory assembly line turns to look at the camera." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547515/original/file-20230911-15463-l8v8jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547515/original/file-20230911-15463-l8v8jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547515/original/file-20230911-15463-l8v8jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547515/original/file-20230911-15463-l8v8jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547515/original/file-20230911-15463-l8v8jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547515/original/file-20230911-15463-l8v8jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547515/original/file-20230911-15463-l8v8jn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fast fashion adds to the strain on garment workers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/female-labors-work-cloth-factory-which-390471148">Frame China/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The hidden price tag</h2>
<p>A multitude of metrics, certification schemes and labels mark the environmental consequences of making and selling clothing. Brands have been <a href="https://www.edie.net/report-fashion-sustainability-schemes-not-fit-for-purpose-and-allowing-greenwashing/">accused of greenwashing</a> due to the poor quality of information used in some of them.</p>
<p>One common product-labelling tool within the industry was the Higg Materials Sustainability Index. Introduced in 2011, the Higg Index was <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/12/climate/vegan-leather-synthetics-fashion-industry.html">a rating system</a> used by several large brands and retailers to determine and report the global warming impact and water consumption of different products, among other environmental measures. </p>
<p>The approach adopted by the index was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2022/jun/28/fashion-brands-pause-use-of-sustainability-index-tool-over-greenwashing-claims">challenged</a> by the Norwegian Consumer Authority for limiting its assessment to only certain phases of a product’s lifecycle, such as the sourcing of materials. It was criticised for overlooking pollutants such as microfibres, which are released from textiles during manufacture, wear and washing. As a result, the index was <a href="https://qz.com/2180322/the-controversial-higg-sustainability-index-is-being-suspended">suspended</a> pending a review in June 2022. </p>
<p>Since then, further issues have come to light. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li>unreliable data – measures often rely on brands self-reporting without their information being verified by an impartial third party</li>
<li>vested interests – many tools and indices are funded, or part funded, by organisations that could benefit from more positive reporting</li>
<li>tunnel vision – existing methods tend to focus on only one environmental impact, such as water use or carbon emissions, while the relationship between these factors is overlooked</li>
<li>paywalls – many tools require brands to pay into them. This can effectively exclude smaller businesses and limit the tool’s coverage</li>
<li>lack of standards – there is no official baseline to determine acceptable thresholds of environmental footprint of any one product.</li>
</ul>
<p>Without reliable and accurate assessments of a product’s environmental impact, consumers are left in the dark. For example, a common misconception is that cotton, being a natural fibre, is better for the environment than synthetic materials such as acrylic and elastane. </p>
<p>But cotton requires vast quantities of water to grow, harvest and process. A standard cotton t-shirt, for example, requires <a href="https://www.commonobjective.co/article/the-issues-water">2,500 litres</a> while a pair of jeans consumes <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blink/know/it-takes-7600-litres-of-water-to-make-your-jeans/article30871977.ece">7,600 litres</a>.</p>
<p>One fibre is not necessarily better than the other. Rather, every material and manufacturing process affects the natural world in one form or another. With such misconceptions rife, it’s difficult for consumers to make sound comparisons. That’s why accurate measures are desperately needed. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="An aerial view of a machine picking cotton in a field." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547514/original/file-20230911-8175-nz6qqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/547514/original/file-20230911-8175-nz6qqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547514/original/file-20230911-8175-nz6qqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547514/original/file-20230911-8175-nz6qqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547514/original/file-20230911-8175-nz6qqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547514/original/file-20230911-8175-nz6qqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/547514/original/file-20230911-8175-nz6qqe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cotton farms also use insect-killing chemicals to boost yields.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/aerial-view-large-green-cotton-picker-725189389">StockStudio Aerials/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The true cost of fashion</h2>
<p>The complexity of fashion’s global supply chain, which spans thousands of miles from fields to shop floors, makes accurate measurements exceptionally difficult. Capturing an accurate picture of the industry’s environmental footprint will rely on a certain level of transparency across the industry. It will also require multiple sectors – including production, manufacturing and retail – working collectively towards a common goal. </p>
<p>An acceptable definition for “sustainable”, informed by standards and baselines, could empower consumers to make more informed decisions about their purchases. With Gen-Z labelled the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregpetro/2021/04/30/gen-z-is-emerging-as-the-sustainability-generation/?sh=3e08ca258699">sustainable generation</a>, it is time for fashion to reform.</p>
<p><em>An earlier version of this article stated that the Higg Materials Sustainability Index had been suspended. The index is actually paused pending a review.</em></p>
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<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
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<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/212825/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alana James receives funding from United Kingdom Reseach and Innovation (UKRI).</span></em></p>Product-labelling tools have been criticised for making partial assessments of a brand’s impact.Alana James, Assistant Professor in Fashion, Northumbria University, NewcastleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2042152023-05-05T16:24:09Z2023-05-05T16:24:09ZFive reasons you should consider renting your outfits this wedding season<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524459/original/file-20230504-29-s0dwy3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=53%2C8%2C6000%2C3979&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We tend to wear our wedding outfits only a handful a times.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/candid-shot-two-female-lesbian-lgbt-2044763174">Supamotionstock.com/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Wedding season is upon us and if you’ve received an invite, you’ll no doubt be having the usual thoughts of what to wear. But the outfits we buy for special occasions often end up hanging in our wardrobes gathering dust and <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/15/6219#B10-sustainability-12-06219">becoming unfashionable</a>.</p>
<p>A 2019 <a href="https://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/our-news/barnardos-calls-people-think-pre-loved-buying-new-clothes">survey</a>, which was commissioned by UK children’s charity Barnado’s, revealed that 10 million wedding outfits would be bought that year with the expectation that they will be worn just once. This can be costly. In the same survey, Britons reported spending an average of almost £80 on a wedding outfit. </p>
<p>But it’s not just the strain on our finances that can really start to mount up. As an industry, fashion has a huge environmental cost. The carbon footprint of a <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/report-files/195206.htm">polyester shirt</a>, for example, is equivalent to 5.5kg of CO₂ on average, while that of a <a href="https://www.carbonfact.com/blog/dress#-22-kg-co2-equivalent-kgco2e-note">dress</a> and a <a href="https://howbadarebananas.com/">pair of leather shoes</a> is 22kg and 15kg respectively. </p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
<p><em>You may be interested in:</em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">Love Island ditches fast fashion: how reality celebrities influence young shoppers’ habits</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-make-your-clothes-last-longer-its-good-for-your-bank-account-and-the-environment-too-201823">How to make your clothes last longer – it’s good for your bank account and the environment too</a></em></p>
<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/its-not-just-weddings-how-celebrating-small-wins-and-unconventional-milestones-can-bring-joy-197755">It’s not just weddings – how celebrating small wins and unconventional milestones can bring joy</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Maybe instead of buying something new, you might consider something borrowed this wedding season. </p>
<p>Rental fashion is becoming a big business. Fashion rental companies such as <a href="https://www.mywardrobehq.com/">My Wardrobe HQ</a> and <a href="https://www.hurrcollective.com/">Hurr</a> in the UK and <a href="https://www.renttherunway.com/">Rent the Runway</a> in the US already allow customers to rent and return outfits. The global rental clothing market is expected to reach a value of <a href="https://www.statista.com/statistics/1195613/rental-apparel-market-revenue-worldwide/">£7.5 billion by 2026</a>.</p>
<p>So, here are five reasons why you might consider renting your outfit for this year’s weddings.</p>
<h2>1. Reduce your environmental footprint</h2>
<p>Across the world, people are buying more clothes. But <a href="https://emf.thirdlight.com/file/24/uiwtaHvud8YIG_uiSTauTlJH74/A%20New%20Textiles%20Economy%3A%20Redesigning%20fashion%E2%80%99s%20future.pdf">the number of times</a> we wear each item is falling. This is clearly an issue. The materials, manufacturing, transportation, use and disposal of our clothes all carry an environmental cost. Every second, the equivalent of a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352550921001603">rubbish truck full of clothes</a> is either buried in landfill or burnt. </p>
<p>Renting an outfit instead means it can be worn <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kirsi-Laitala/publication/352993732_Environmental_improvement_by_prolonging_clothing_use_period/links/60e2df23299bf1ea9ee13411/Environmental-improvement-by-prolonging-clothing-use-period.pdf">many times by different people</a>, rather than by one person just once or twice. A dress rented from Rent the Runway, for example, goes out to customers <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3036876/inside-rent-the-runways-secret-dry-cleaning-empire">30 times</a> on average before being sold. </p>
<p>But it’s worth considering that rental clothing has several hidden environmental costs too. Every time a rental garment is returned, it will likely be dry cleaned. The process of dry cleaning is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/jul/06/renting-clothes-is-less-green-than-throwing-them-away">energy intensive</a> and the chemical solvents used can <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301479716305151">contaminate soil and water sources</a>.</p>
<p>Rented clothing must also be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652617312982">transported to and from your home</a> and will come in packaging. This raises further concerns about its true environmental impact. </p>
<p>Despite this, <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666784323000049#sec4">research</a> has found that rental clothing is still the greener option for formal wear (like the maxi dress you might wear to a wedding). When rented, the number of times these clothes are worn increases by so much that the greenhouse gas emissions associated with each wear is greatly reduced. </p>
<p>Some rental clothing services are also taking steps to improve the circularity of their operations by using <a href="https://www.johnlewis.com/content/tried-and-tested/john-lewis-fashion-rental">reusable packaging</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A landfill site." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524472/original/file-20230504-13354-xpkgjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524472/original/file-20230504-13354-xpkgjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524472/original/file-20230504-13354-xpkgjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524472/original/file-20230504-13354-xpkgjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524472/original/file-20230504-13354-xpkgjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524472/original/file-20230504-13354-xpkgjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524472/original/file-20230504-13354-xpkgjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Every second, the equivalent of a rubbish truck full of clothes is either buried in landfill or burnt.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/work-special-equipment-pumping-range-bulldozers-1910534770">NZ3/Shutterstock</a></span>
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<h2>2. Save money</h2>
<p>It’s not just lowering your environmental footprint that might appeal to you. By renting you can access a range of outfits that ordinarily you may be <a href="https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/shopping/designer-clothes-rental/">priced out of buying outright</a>. </p>
<p>Occasion wear can be pricey, so renting is a great option if you are on a budget. At UK department store John Lewis, for example, a dress that would cost £95 to buy <a href="https://johnlewisfashionrental.com/items/puff-sleeve-midi-dress">can be rented</a> for as little as £19. You can’t keep it, but if it was just going to gather dust in your wardrobe after being worn then renting the outfit may save you money that can be spent elsewhere.</p>
<h2>3. Mix it up</h2>
<p>If you have a lot of events this season, the <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/the-end-of-wear-it-once-culture-instagram">social pressure</a> of not wanting to wear the same thing again and again can mount up. In the aforementioned <a href="https://www.barnardos.org.uk/news/our-news/barnardos-calls-people-think-pre-loved-buying-new-clothes">survey</a>, one-quarter of Britons reported that they would feel embarrassed wearing an outfit to a special occasion more than once. </p>
<p>For these people, renting is one way of wearing different outfits without having to buy each one.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman near her wardrobe with her hands on her head." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524468/original/file-20230504-23-8da8bi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/524468/original/file-20230504-23-8da8bi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524468/original/file-20230504-23-8da8bi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524468/original/file-20230504-23-8da8bi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524468/original/file-20230504-23-8da8bi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524468/original/file-20230504-23-8da8bi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/524468/original/file-20230504-23-8da8bi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Many people are reluctant to wear an outfit to a special occasion more than once.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-near-her-open-home-wardrobe-2255878655">Maria Surtu/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>4. Try something ‘new’</h2>
<p>We are all becoming increasingly aware of the environmental impact of our clothing habits. But <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/ijcs.12540">boredom with our clothes</a> can still seep in. So, for those who love fashion and find it hard to resist the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281065940_The_Desire_for_the_New_Its_Nature_and_Social_Location_as_Presented_in_Theories_of_Fashion_and_Modern_Consumerism">desire to buy something new</a>, renting can still give you that thrill of opening the box and seeing a new outfit. And better still, this thrill isn’t accompanied with the guilt of then barely ever wearing the item once it has been unboxed.</p>
<h2>5. Free up wardrobe space</h2>
<p>It’s all too common to have that section in your wardrobe for formal clothing that, apart from a couple of weddings and maybe a Christmas party, barely sees the light of day. When you rent clothes, you don’t have the hassle of washing and ironing the worn clothes. And by sending them back, you can save some precious wardrobe space. </p>
<p>Renting your outfits this wedding season – and beyond – may not be enough to cut the clothing industry’s staggering environmental footprint completely. If eco-choices are top on your agenda, then consider embracing what you already have in your wardrobe (make <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315099620-21/fashion-sustainability-alison-gwilt">alterations or repairs</a> if you have to), buying secondhand or borrowing from friends and family. </p>
<p>But renting your outfits does have some great personal benefits. And if you’re the sort of person who will always buy something new (and perhaps not wear it again), then renting something special this season might be a good idea.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204215/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amber Martin-Woodhead does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you’re going to a wedding this summer, you should consider renting your outfit.Amber Martin-Woodhead, Assistant Professor in Human Geography, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2044812023-04-27T13:15:58Z2023-04-27T13:15:58Z10 years after the Rana Plaza collapse, fashion has yet to slow down<p>This week marks at once the <a href="https://www.fashionrevolution.org/frw-2023/">annual campaign of the Fashion Revolution</a> and the <a href="https://theconversation.com/rana-plaza-ten-years-after-the-bangladesh-factory-collapse-we-are-no-closer-to-fixing-modern-slavery-203774">10th anniversary of the tragic collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory building</a>. The event, which <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/bangladesh-disaster-ranaplaza/feature-a-decade-after-rana-plaza-bangladesh-garment-workers-fight-on-idINL8N36O4IR">killed over 1,100 garment workers and injured two thousand more</a>, sparked a global debate at the time about the true cost of the fast fashion industry. Everyday brands such as Benetton, Mango, Zara, Walmart, and C&A <a href="https://ww.fashionnetwork.com/news/Rana-plaza-ten-years-later-has-the-fashion-industry-learned-its-lesson-,1506162.html">were revealed</a> to have resorted to factories inside of the faulty eight-story building, setting many on a racetrack to reclaim their ethical and environmental credentials since. </p>
<h2>The fashion industry, ten years on from the disaster</h2>
<p>But ten years on, has anything changed? There is widespread agreement to the contrary. In fact, it would appear the pace in the fashion industry has accelerated. This is evident from the rise of ultra-fast fashion retailers like Shein, which carries the fast paced logic of the field to extremes by adding <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/fast-cheap-out-of-control-inside-rise-of-shein/">several thousand new items per day</a>. In this regard, no one can deny it is important we have a public conversation about the toll fast fashion is taking on people and the environment. However, too often that conversation ends with individual responsibility and customers’ “<a href="https://edition.cnn.com/style/article/rana-plaza-garment-worker-rights-accord/index.html">hunger for cheap clothing</a>.” The chorus is now a familiar one, as civil society calls on consumers to stop buying fast fashion and those who still do struggle with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/20/fashion/fast-fashion-sustainable-clothing.html">feelings of guilt</a>. As marketing scholars specialised in <a href="https://em-lyon.com/en/verena-gruber/research">sustainable consumption</a> and <a href="https://www.hec.ca/en/profs/marie-agnes.parmentier.html">fashion</a>, we argue that it is misguided to focus on consumer responsibility to solve systemic issues that seem <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2015/06/patagonia-labor-clothing-factory-exploitation/394658/">too large even for companies to address</a>. </p>
<p>Indeed, studies show focusing on consumers as scapegoats further <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296322001928?casa_token=UFWlu3zOpjsAAAAA:g67306857pcmSwTKbDK3vMqCeUF1di8s_Z6-rErJH4HebWpGCn3ZLPxaFvfYQyw1vgU9OnNH">reinforces power imbalances</a> that exist in the industry, as the focus distracts from the financial and technical resources that powerful corporations possess. Rather than empowering consumers to solve the problem, the approach often leaves them feeling <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-018-3795-4">demoralized</a>, in prey to shame and and <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jcr/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jcr/ucac037/6663865?redirectedFrom=fulltext">confusion</a> over the multitude of choices spread before their eyes. Started in early 2022, our ongoing research on slow fashion shows that there is a more beneficial way to move away from fast fashion. </p>
<h2>A closer look at consumers’ perspective</h2>
<p>Everyone needs clothes, but for consumers the choice of clothing has become a moral minefield. Consumers are held responsible for issues that they are not the architect of. Rather, we argue they are the victims of a system that glorifies outfit variety and makes exposure to fast fashion items unavoidable. Aggressive social media advertising keeps consumers <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/18/ultra-fast-fashion-retail-sites-shein">addicted</a> and influencer-generated content of <a href="https://greenisthenewblack.com/shein-ultra-fast-fashion-consumerism-tiktok-influencer/">#sheinhauls</a> further normalizes enormous volumes of disposable fashion. </p>
<p>Even when consumers try to step out of this treadmill, they often struggle to orientate themselves toward ethical options. The power relations in the fashion industry go in hand with an information asymmetry and consumers often have no possibility to know how and by whom their <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/611479/unraveled-by-maxine-bedat/">clothes are made</a>. Initiatives such as the <a href="https://www.fashionrevolution.org/about/transparency/">Fashion Transparency Index</a>, which ranks fashion brands and retailers according to the information they disclose on their supply chain operations, are laudable but even when possessing all necessary information, consumers are still constrained by parameters outside their control, not least economic ones. </p>
<p>Indeed, fast fashion is often the only clothing affordable especially to younger consumers for whom <a href="https://www.bustle.com/articles/169800-why-freedom-to-experiment-with-fashion-as-a-teenager-is-so-important">expressing themselves with fashion</a> is an important part of their personal development. Rising inflation has made the financial accessibility of fast fashion clothes even more attractive. According to recent studies by customer research company Untold Insights, the majority of Generation Z and Millennials are <a href="https://hypebae.com/2023/4/gen-z-millennials-sustainable-fashion-cost-of-living-crisis-study-findings-details">unable to shop sustainably</a> as a result of the rising cost of living. Sustainable fashion is simply <a href="https://thewalrus.ca/teen-walrus-fast-fashion/">out of reach</a>. Even among those individuals privileged enough to afford fair fashion, turning to cheap clothes is perpetuated by psychological mechanisms, such as our ability to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1509/jmkr.2005.42.3.266">purposefully ignore</a> ethical product aspects to prevent potential negative feelings or to retrospectively <a href="https://theconversation.com/we-know-sweatshop-clothing-is-bad-and-buy-it-anyway-heres-how-your-brain-makes-excuses-192944">find arguments</a> that justify our decision. Last, social considerations such as the acceptability of <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/confessions-of-an-outfit-repeater-rules-tiffany-haddish-kate-middleton">outfit repeating</a> and the <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2022/11/11190896/plus-size-vintage-resale-shops">difficulty to find size-inclusive preloved clothing</a> have pushed some consumers to turn to fast fashion. </p>
<p>If the only accessible option is fast fashion, the problem at the base is the productive model and not the person who looks for a practical solution. So, what are the potential pathways left for consumers who care?</p>
<h2>Slow fashion tips from experts</h2>
<p>Rather than asking consumers to shop more ethically and guilt-tripping them over certain brands, our research shows slow fashion practices offer us the best chance to reboot our relationship with clothes. Our aim is to better understand how slow fashion practices empower individuals and help them gain a sense of control by decelerating the pace of their fashion consumption. To explore this, we are currently following 14 slow fashion consumers and observing their practices, from carefully picking fabrics and threads to patch their clothes to patiently rummaging clothing racks at thrift stores. </p>
<p>Slow fashion is about <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02761467221116294">mindfulness and attentiveness</a> and can help consumers “get out of the frenzy in which [they] are in,” as one of our interviewees puts it. To get started, consumers should turn to their wardrobes and look at what they already have. Then, they can explore practices that are ready-to-hand: If you wear mainstream sizes, organize a clothing swap party with friends or join one of the events organized via platforms such as <a href="https://www.meetup.com/topics/clothesswap/">Meetup</a>. </p>
<p>Clara, one of our interviewees, consider them a “fantastic way to satiate your appetite for something new.” Don’t hesitate to bring the fast fashion pieces that might be banned from resale sites such as <a href="https://www.vestiairecollective.com/journal/our-fight-against-fast-fashion/">Vestiaire Collective</a>. The longer clothes are kept in circulation, the better. If the clothes needs touching up, and you have the time to do so, repair them with guidance from online tutorials such as <a href="https://fixing.fashion/">#fixingfashion</a> or in one of the local workshops that have popped up across Europe. </p>
<p>Fancy making a statement? <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2022/may/17/patch-me-if-you-can-how-to-mend-clothes-creatively">Visible mending</a> is a trend that allows to show your creativity while extending your clothes’ lives. Our research shows that the manual activity and process of craft allows consumers to regain a sense of control and empowerment in a system Lara, one of the slow fashion practitioners we spoke to, describes as “suffocating”. This week represents a great opportunity to explore slow fashion practices and do something for individual, collective, and planetary well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204481/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Les auteurs ne travaillent pas, ne conseillent pas, ne possèdent pas de parts, ne reçoivent pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'ont déclaré aucune autre affiliation que leur organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>Ten years after a garment factory collapsed in Bangladesh, scholars find slow fashion practices hold the keys to a more sustainable, joyful relationship with clothes.Verena Gruber, Associate Professor of Marketing, EM Lyon Business SchoolMarie-Agnes Parmentier, Professor of Marketing, HEC MontréalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2041922023-04-23T22:42:55Z2023-04-23T22:42:55ZA decade after the Rana Plaza garment factory disaster, New Zealanders still rely on fast fashion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522274/original/file-20230421-20-zluw54.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C4%2C3170%2C2086&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty Images</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ten years to the day after the <a href="https://live.ilo.org/events/rana-plaza-collapse-ten-years-2023-04-20">collapse of the Rana Plaza</a> garment factory in Bangladesh, a disaster that killed more than 1,100 workers and injured another 2,500, the global addiction to cheap clothing remains strong. </p>
<p>In New Zealand, fast fashion has gone from strength to strength, fuelled by the ongoing cost of living crisis, low wages and accessible cheap clothing. </p>
<p>And it is understandable. </p>
<p>When you’re struggling to pay rent or put food on the table, it’s a lot harder to think about the needs of others – particularly those overseas and essentially invisible in your daily life. </p>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mar.21606">Our research</a> has shown that a person’s subjective wellbeing – how they evaluate their life circumstances, experiences and feelings in relation to the people around them – needs to be good before they have room for moral and ethical consumer dilemmas such as sustainability, the environment and fair wages. </p>
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<h2>The cracks that killed</h2>
<p>There were a number of factors that led to the Rana Plaza disaster. The eight-storey building had visible – and growing – cracks in a wall that were worsened by the vibrations of a two-tonne generator on the roof. </p>
<p>Garment workers, working in conditions <a href="https://thespinoff.co.nz/society/24-04-2022/nine-years-since-rana-plaza-its-time-for-nz-to-stand-up-against-modern-slavery">akin to modern slavery</a>, raised their concerns with managers but were told they would lose their jobs if they didn’t continue to work in the building. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-fashion-why-garment-workers-lives-are-still-in-danger-10-years-after-rana-plaza-podcast-203122">Fast Fashion: Why garment workers' lives are still in danger 10 years after Rana Plaza — Podcast</a>
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<p>A power cut on the morning of April 24, 2013, led to the use of the generator, causing the building to collapse. Garment labels for a number of global brands were found in the rubble. Rana Plaza is considered one of the <a href="https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/effect-international-scrutiny-manufacturing-workers-evidence-rana-plaza-collapse">worst industrial disasters</a> ever, second only to the 1984 Union Carbide accident that killed 3,787 people in Bhopal, India. </p>
<p>In the Rana Plaza aftermath, the building’s owner, factory bosses and the Bangladesh government <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/19/rana-plaza-bangladesh-one-year-on">were blamed</a>. But the spotlight was also shone on the fast fashion phenomenon. The workers and factory owners were under intense pressure to meet relentless production deadlines for clothing brands around the world, and do so at minimum cost.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522280/original/file-20230421-2957-p8wwc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522280/original/file-20230421-2957-p8wwc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522280/original/file-20230421-2957-p8wwc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522280/original/file-20230421-2957-p8wwc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522280/original/file-20230421-2957-p8wwc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522280/original/file-20230421-2957-p8wwc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522280/original/file-20230421-2957-p8wwc0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Cheap, abundant clothing is a staple of the Western consumer economy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Low cost, high price</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-fast-fashion/">Fast fashion</a> refers to the rapid and cheap design, manufacturer and marketing of high volumes of clothing. The garment production often uses low-quality materials (like synthetic fabrics) and low-cost labour in countries like Bangladesh and China. </p>
<p>It is fairly well agreed that fast fashion exploits people and the environment. So, why don’t we stop? The answer may lie in why we shop.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fast-fashion-why-your-online-returns-may-end-up-in-landfill-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-188090">Fast fashion: why your online returns may end up in landfill – and what can be done about it</a>
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<p>Consumers buy things for three main reasons: function (because we need it to do something), symbolic reasons (to associate with others or develop a unique identity) or experience (to feel something special). </p>
<p>When it comes to fashion there’s a tension between functionality – the bang for buck that fast fashion gives you – versus the symbolism that is associated with sustainable clothing. </p>
<p>But when money gets tight, symbolism and experience lag far behind functionality. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1645849194517745668"}"></div></p>
<h2>The luxury of ethical shopping</h2>
<p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joca.12089">Previous consumer research</a> looked at whether certain behaviours – like ethical shopping and minimalism – lead to an improved outlook in how people viewed their wellbeing in comparison to others.</p>
<p>We flipped that idea and asked whether people need to first feel good about themselves and their place in the world before they can engage in good consumer behaviour.</p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-only-do-so-much-we-asked-fast-fashion-shoppers-how-ethical-concerns-shape-their-choices-172978">'I can only do so much': we asked fast-fashion shoppers how ethical concerns shape their choices</a>
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<p>What we found is that people with higher levels of subjective wellbeing had increased capacity to practice anti-consumption and pro-environmental behaviour. People with less subjective wellbeing, however, found it harder to go against brands they otherwise might have wanted to reject.</p>
<p>And that is a problem during a cost-of-living crisis. </p>
<p>New Zealand is a <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/low-wage-economy-what-you-need-to-earn-to-be-an-above-average-earner-in-nz/AQRSOMJUA7SQGQ2TZWYAE35FC4/">relatively low-wage economy</a>, meaning price is a significant motivation when we shop. At the same time, goods tend to be more expensive due to our <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/opinion-analysis/300562109/why-is-new-zealand-so-darn-expensive">small scale and high shipping costs</a>. <a href="https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/300853040/nz-in-a-worse-inflation-position-than-other-countries-infometrics">Rising inflation</a> has put further pressure on households. </p>
<p>People who are stressed about their finances, paying the rent, dealing with rising interest rates and the rising price of food will not care about where or how a pair of socks is made. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-fashion-expert-why-im-cutting-my-wardrobe-down-to-ten-items-this-month-177936">Sustainable fashion expert: why I'm cutting my wardrobe down to ten items this month</a>
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<h2>Consumers can’t do everything</h2>
<p>With rising prices and a low-wage economy, it is probably too much to ask for New Zealand consumers to lead the charge against fast fashion. While shoppers can buy less, most will still be looking for the cheapest deals on items they need. </p>
<p>There is an argument for greater regulation and government intervention at the point of production. But these manufacturing nations depend on the wealth produced by their garment workers. Pushing up prices to improve regulations could cause brands to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>Businesses could reduce profit margins in favour of decent pay and working conditions. However, the <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270888325_Shareholder_Primacy_Corporate_Social_Responsibility_and_the_Role_of_Business_Schools">current business model</a> that puts shareholders first means it’s unlikely most corporations (particularly those that compete on low cost) will place people over profits. </p>
<p>Currently there is no perfect solution, but leaving consumers to resolve the fast fashion dilemma on their own might be the least promising approach. </p>
<p>Multilateral government oversight of working conditions (at the point of production) combined with further regulations encouraging ethical supply chains (at the point of import), may be a more effective way to reduce the chances of another Rana Plaza.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204192/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mike Lee does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The collapse of Rana Plaza on March 24, 2013, put the focus on fast fashion. But research shows that stressed and struggling consumers don’t have the luxury of making ethical choices.Mike Lee, Associate Professor of Marketing, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata RauLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2015382023-04-22T16:20:10Z2023-04-22T16:20:10ZFast fashion still comes with deadly risks, 10 years after the Rana Plaza disaster – the industry’s many moving pieces make it easy to cut corners<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522252/original/file-20230421-26-yyte0s.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=3%2C3%2C1019%2C679&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Activists in Dhaka demand safe working conditions in 2019, on the anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/industry-all-bangladesh-council-activists-protest-to-news-photo/1139075620?adppopup=true">Mamunur Rashid/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>On April 24, 2013, a multistory garment factory complex in Bangladesh called Rana Plaza collapsed, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-22476774">killing more than 1,000 workers</a> and injuring another 2,500. It remains the worst accident in the history of the apparel industry and one of the deadliest industrial accidents in the world.</p>
<p>Several factories inside the complex <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/clareoconnor/2014/04/26/these-retailers-involved-in-bangladesh-factory-disaster-have-yet-to-compensate-victims/?sh=3444108c211b">produced apparel for Western brands</a>, including Benetton, Primark and Walmart, shining a spotlight on the unsafe conditions in which a sizable portion of Americans’ cheap clothing is produced. The humanitarian tragedy hit home as wealthy nations’ shoppers wrestled with their own complicity and called for reforms – but a decade later, progress is still patchy.</p>
<p>As <a href="https://michiganross.umich.edu/faculty-research/faculty/ravi-anupindi">a professor of operations and supply chain management</a>, I believe it is important to understand how the complex and fragmented supply chains that are the norm in the clothing industry create conditions where unsafe conditions and abuse can flourish – and make it difficult to assign responsibility for reforms.</p>
<h2>Shamed into action?</h2>
<p>Rana Plaza was <a href="https://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2022/06/05/the-worst-industrial-disasters-in-bangladesh-since-2005">not the first garment industry accident in Bangladesh</a>. While the government had stringent building codes “on the books,” <a href="https://ces.ulab.edu.bd/sites/default/files/Building_Code_Analysis-hi.pdf">they were rarely enforced</a>. Most workers lacked the information and power to demand safe working conditions.</p>
<p>Yet the fact that the Rana Plaza collapse was not only a humanitarian crisis, but a public relations crisis, prompted swift action by international organizations and Western brands and clothing retailers. A campaign for <a href="https://ranaplaza-arrangement.org/">full and fair compensation</a> for families of victims was launched immediately, facilitated by <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/lang--en/index.htm">the International Labor Organization</a>, a U.N. agency. Within a few months, two initiatives were designed to bring garment factories in Bangladesh up to international standards: the European-led <a href="https://bangladeshaccord.org/">Accord for Fire and Building Safety</a>, and the American-led <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/bangladesh-alliance-for-bangladesh-workers-safety-announces-end-of-its-tenure/">Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety</a>.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Uniformed rescue workers stand on top of a slab on top of a collapsed cement building." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522273/original/file-20230421-1623-jworr4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Rescue and recovery personnel on the site of the Rana Plaza factory collapse in 2013.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://newsroom.ap.org/detail/BangladeshBuildingCollapse/7f235631839d40e4ad3cbba1e0825166/photo?Query=(renditions.phototype:horizontal)%20AND%20%20(%22rana%20plaza%22)%20&mediaType=photo&sortBy=arrivaldatetime:desc&dateRange=Anytime&totalCount=297&currentItemNo=295">AP Photo/Wong Maye-E</a></span>
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<p>While the two initiatives differed in some important ways, both shared the common goal: to improve building and fire safety by leveraging the purchasing power of the member companies. In other words, Western brands would insist that production partners get up to standard or take their business elsewhere.</p>
<p>Altogether, the two agreements covered about 2,300 supplier factories. The coalitions conducted factory inspections to identify structural and electrical deficiencies and developed plans for factories to make improvements. The initiatives also laid the groundwork to form worker safety committees <a href="https://iosh.com/news/bangladesh-project-success-story/">and to train workers</a> to recognize, solve and prevent health and safety issues. Member companies set aside funds for inspections and worker training, <a href="https://cleanclothes.org/issues/faq-safety-accord">negotiated commercial terms</a> and <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/alliance-sets-plan-to-finance-bangladesh-factory-upgrades-1417791607">facilitated low-cost loans</a> for factory improvements.</p>
<p>Both were five-year agreements: the Alliance <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/bangladesh-alliance-for-bangladesh-workers-safety-announces-end-of-its-tenure/">was sunsetted in 2018</a>, whereas the Accord operated for a few more years before handing operations over to the locally created <a href="https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/bangladesh-rmg-sustainability-council-to-take-over-accord-operations-after-281-days/">Readymade Sustainability Council</a> in June 2020.</p>
<h2>The record since</h2>
<p>The onus and expense of making these improvements, however, were largely to be borne by the suppliers – a substantial financial burden for many factories, especially considering the low cost and slim profit margins of the clothes they were producing. </p>
<p>Under the Alliance and the Accord, thousands of factories were inspected for building and fire safety, identifying problems such as lack of fire extinguishers and sprinkler systems, improper fire exits, faulty wiring and structural issues. At the end of five years, both initiatives reported that <a href="https://issuu.com/nyusterncenterforbusinessandhumanri/docs/nyu_bangladesh_ranaplaza_final_rele?e=31640827/64580941">85%-88% of safety issues were remediated</a>. Around half of the factories completed more than 90% of initial remediation, while over 260 of the original 2,300 factories under the initiatives were suspended from contracting with member companies.</p>
<p>In addition, more than 5,000 beneficiaries, including injured workers and dependents of victims, were compensated <a href="https://ranaplaza-arrangement.org/">through the Rana Plaza Arrangement</a>, receiving an average of about US$6,500.</p>
<p>Overall, I believe that these initiatives have been successful in bringing safety issues to the forefront. In terms of infrastructure improvements, however, while there has been decent progress, much still needs to be done; for example, the initiatives covered just about <a href="https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/%7Etwadhwa/bangladesh/downloads/beyond_the_tip_of_the_iceberg_report.pdf">one-third of all the garment factories in Bangladesh</a>. Importantly, neither addressed company sourcing practices.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman in a pink shawl stares at the camera, with a green field amid tall buildings behind her." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522275/original/file-20230421-26-smyb9q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Family of Rana Plaza victims look at their relatives’ graves as they mark the disaster’s anniversary in 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/dhaka-bangladesh-april-24-2017-relatives-of-rana-plaza-news-photo/672595062?adppopup=true">Rehman Asad/NurPhoto via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Clothes yesterday and today</h2>
<p>To understand why so much apparel manufacturing takes place in substandard conditions, we need to understand the underlying economic forces: extensive outsourcing to countries with low wages in the quest to meet demand for more – and cheaper – clothing to sell to customers in the West.</p>
<p>In the 1960s, the average American family <a href="https://www.kqed.org/lowdown/7939/madeinamerica">spent 10% of its income on clothing</a>, buying 25 pieces of apparel – almost all of it made in the United States. Fifty years later, around the time of the Rana Plaza disaster, the average household was spending only about 3.5% of its income on clothing – but buying three times as many items, 98% of which were imported.</p>
<p>Over these decades, low-income countries in Asia and Latin America started producing more garments and textiles. Apparel production is labor-intensive, meaning these countries’ lower wages were a huge attraction to brands and retailers, who gradually started shifting their sourcing.</p>
<p>On a $30 shirt, for example, a typical retailer markup is close to 60%. The factory makes a profit of $1.15, and the worker <a href="https://theconversation.com/years-after-the-rana-plaza-tragedy-bangladeshs-garment-workers-are-still-bottom-of-the-pile-159224">makes barely 18 cents</a>. Were a similar shirt produced in the U.S., labor costs would <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2013/05/02/world/asia/bangladesh-us-tshirt/index.html">be closer to $10</a>.</p>
<p>As labor costs rose in China, Bangladesh became <a href="https://qz.com/389741/the-thing-that-makes-bangladeshs-garment-industry-such-a-huge-success-also-makes-it-deadly">a very appealing alternative</a>. Garment exports now account for 82% of <a href="https://bgmea.com.bd/page/Export_Performance">the country’s export total</a>, and the industry <a href="https://www.bsr.org/en/blog/what-if-all-garment-workers-in-bangladesh-were-financially-included">employs 4 million people</a>, about 58% of whom are women. </p>
<p>The growth of this sector has <a href="https://dspace.bracu.ac.bd/xmlui/handle/10361/482">reduced poverty</a> significantly and also <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.01.006">empowered women</a>. To meet the rapid growth of the apparel industry, however, many buildings were converted to factories as quickly as possible, often without requisite permits. </p>
<h2>Everyone and no one</h2>
<p>A common way that foreign companies source products from low-cost countries like Bangladesh is through intermediaries or agents. For example, when a brand places a large order with an authorized factory, the factory in turn may <a href="https://issuu.com/nyusterncenterforbusinessandhumanri/docs/nyu_bangladesh_ranaplaza_final_rele?e=31640827/64580941">subcontract part of the production to smaller factories</a>, often without informing the brand.</p>
<p>This highly competitive environment, with people at each step of the process looking for the lowest price and no guarantee of longer-term relationships, gives suppliers incentives to cut corners – particularly when under extreme pressure to deliver on time. This can translate into <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-bangladesh-worker-rights/bangladesh-urged-to-stop-worker-abuse-in-garment-industry-idUSKBN20W25O">exploitative labor practices</a> or unsafe conditions that violate local laws, but enforcement capacity is weak. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522277/original/file-20230421-14-ssu9z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A woman cries, her face hidden in her brightly colored headscarf." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522277/original/file-20230421-14-ssu9z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522277/original/file-20230421-14-ssu9z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522277/original/file-20230421-14-ssu9z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522277/original/file-20230421-14-ssu9z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522277/original/file-20230421-14-ssu9z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522277/original/file-20230421-14-ssu9z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522277/original/file-20230421-14-ssu9z8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Nilufer Begum, an injured garment worker who survived the Rana Plaza disaster, during a 2018 interview with AFP in her small tea stall.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/in-this-photograph-taken-on-april-17-2018-nilufer-begum-an-news-photo/949797208?adppopup=true">Munir Uz Zaman/AFP via Getty Images</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In their constant quest for lower prices, buyers may turn a blind eye to these practices. The supply chain’s opaqueness, especially when brands do not source directly, makes it difficult to investigate and remediate these practices. Since the 1990s, international <a href="https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7591/9781501727290-004/pdf">scrutiny of labor conditions</a> has grown, but reform efforts largely ignored building and fire safety, the prime reason for the Rana Plaza collapse. Because multiple buyers would often use the same factory, no single buyer felt obligated to invest in the supplier to ensure better conditions.</p>
<p>Garments traverse a complex global supply network by the time they reach stores thousands of miles away. Workers are caught in this web, exploited by factory management that is seldom held responsible by governments either <a href="https://www.npr.org/2013/05/09/182637164/bangladeshs-powerful-garment-sector-fends-off-regulation">unwilling or unable to enforce laws</a>. Western brands escape the scrutiny of their governments by outsourcing production to low-cost countries and absolve themselves of direct responsibility. And consumers, eager for a bargain, shop for the lowest price. </p>
<p>This complex system makes it hard to assign ethical responsibility, because everyone, and therefore no one, is guilty.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/201538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ravi Anupindi is affiliated with Fair Labor Association. </span></em></p>Ten years after the collapse at Rana Plaza in Bangladesh, the garment industry’s deadliest disaster, reforms are incomplete. The opaqueness of today’s complex supply chain is part of the problem.Ravi Anupindi, Professor of Technology and Operations, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2037742023-04-21T09:06:03Z2023-04-21T09:06:03ZRana Plaza: ten years after the Bangladesh factory collapse, we are no closer to fixing modern slavery<p>It’s ten years since the tragic collapse of the <a href="https://theconversation.com/rana-plaza-work-injury-compensation-still-missing-in-bangladeshs-labour-standards-107123">Rana Plaza building</a> near Dhaka, Bangladesh, which killed at least 1,132 garment workers and injured several thousand more. The collapse of the eight-storey building on April 24 2013, which housed five factories making clothes for western high street brands like <a href="https://help.accessorize.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360027314892-Rana-Plaza">Accessorize</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/16/primark-payout-victims-rana-plaza-bangladesh">Primark</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2013/may/15/walmart-opts-out-bangladesh-rana-plaza">Walmart</a>, was the worst of its kind in the world. </p>
<p>The owner, Mohammed Sohel Rana, <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/bangladesh-factory-collapse-engineer-arrested-as-death-toll-passes-500-8602036.html">had allegedly been</a> told by an engineer the day before that the building was not safe and should be evacuated. Ten years on, the <a href="https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/hc-grants-rana-plaza-owner-bail-murder-case-3290596">murder trial</a> against him and another 35 defendants has still not been concluded. </p>
<p>The tragedy shed a light on the appalling conditions that sometimes exist in the global retail supply chain. Wealthy countries have unveiled lots of initiatives in the ensuing years to make things better. Unfortunately, the situation has not improved. So where are we going wrong?</p>
<h2>The response to Rana</h2>
<p>Immediately after the tragedy, various global initiatives <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/oct/20/inspections-garment-factories-bangladesh-fashion-business-accord-alliance">were launched</a> to ensure the safety of garment workers in the country, such as the Accord on Fire and Building Safety and Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety. These focused on things like increasing building fire and safety audits and inspections, with <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/28/business/bangladesh-worker-safety-accord.html">some success</a> in factory safety for workers. </p>
<p>There have also been moves to curb exploitation and forced labour. <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_855019/lang--en/index.htm#:%7E:text=Modern%20slavery%2C%20as%20defined%20for,deception%2C%20or%20abuse%20of%20power">Forced labour</a>, which is often referred to as <a href="https://theconversation.com/fashion-production-is-modern-slavery-5-things-you-can-do-to-help-now-115889">modern slavery</a>, includes situations where workers are not in a position to give informed consent to their conditions, and where they will be penalised if they refuse. Without getting into the fine detail of exactly where this applies, it arguably includes Rana Plaza. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522047/original/file-20230420-14-w1lav6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rack of jeans in a shop window" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522047/original/file-20230420-14-w1lav6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522047/original/file-20230420-14-w1lav6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522047/original/file-20230420-14-w1lav6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522047/original/file-20230420-14-w1lav6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522047/original/file-20230420-14-w1lav6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522047/original/file-20230420-14-w1lav6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522047/original/file-20230420-14-w1lav6.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Retailers now have to disclose how they are tackling modern slavery in their supply chains.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/display-window-vintage-shop-brick-lane-1609399642">I Wei Wang</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Many wealthier jurisdictions including <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/30/contents/enacted">the UK</a>, <a href="https://respect.international/french-corporate-duty-of-vigilance-law-english-translation/#:%7E:text=In%202017%20the%20French%20Parliament,publish%20annual%2C%20public%20vigilance%20plans.">France</a>, <a href="https://www.csr-in-deutschland.de/EN/Business-Human-Rights/Supply-Chain-Act/supply-chain-act.html">Germany</a>, <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022PC0071">the EU</a> and <a href="https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/C2018A00153">Australia</a> have enacted legislation to tackle forced labour. This requires companies within those countries to produce things like annual modern slavery statements or due diligence reports to show they are managing their supply chains properly and ensuring workers are treated fairly. </p>
<p>Much of this legislation is disappointing. The UK Modern Slavery Act 2015 <a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s10551-021-04878-1.pdf">only applies</a> to companies with upwards of £36 million annual turnover. Companies have to disclose what steps they are taking to deal with slavery risks in their supply chains, but don’t have to specify which abuses have taken place. There is also no penalty for failing to make the necessary disclosures. </p>
<p>On the other hand, <a href="https://www.csr-in-deutschland.de/EN/Business-Human-Rights/Supply-Chain-Act/supply-chain-act.html">Germany has made it mandatory</a> for companies to enforce standards within their supply chains to make sure their suppliers are ethical employers and providing safe working conditions, as opposed to the UK approach of simply requiring a disclosure. Germany also imposes fines of up to €8 million (£7 million) or 2% of annual turnover, whichever is higher. It only applies to companies with turnover in excess of €400 million, however. There <a href="https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX%3A52022PC0071">are also proposals</a> for a mandatory due diligence directive across the EU, though it’s not yet clear whether this will go ahead. </p>
<h2>Our findings</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1045235420300162?via%3Dihub">Numerous</a> studies <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00014788.2017.1362330?journalCode=rabr20">have shown</a> that – despite all the social audits, ethical codes, corporate social responsibility disclosures and moral narratives global fashion retailers use – workers’ human rights have not improved. Indeed, the situation was aggravated by COVID 19. </p>
<p>When <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmodernslaverypec.org%2Flatest%2Fcovid-women-garment-bangladesh&data=05%7C01%7Cazizul.islam%40abdn.ac.uk%7C63d2249f77114b58b29508db1bcaf710%7C8c2b19ad5f9c49d490773ec3cfc52b3f%7C0%7C0%7C638134332717286053%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=UNJ9DqLyehWXzfKwc6%2BbFE22bMwVa0NUlw2qI%2BYMWqc%3D&reserved=0">some colleagues and I</a> interviewed Bangladeshi garment workers and people in trade unions and NGOs, we found that the pandemic had led to job losses and increased people’s financial burdens. This made it harder for women workers to support themselves and their families. </p>
<p><a href="https://aura.abdn.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/2164/19814/Impact_of_Global_Clothing_Retailers_Unfair_Practices_on_Bangladeshi_Suppliers_During_COVID_19_VOR.pdf;jsessionid=5CB5116D1658EEDD382FE1670279703D?sequence=1">In December 2021</a> we then surveyed 1,000 garment factories and found that more than half during the pandemic had endured retailers suddenly cancelling orders, delaying payments, reducing what they were willing to pay or refusing to pay for completed goods. Retailers on the list included (but were not limited to) Aldi, Asda, Asos, Bestseller, Costco, H&M, Kik, Lidl, New Look, Nike, Next, Pep&Co, Primark and Zara. </p>
<p>Yet no suppliers took customers to court for cancellations or refusing to pay for goods. Three-quarters of factories were still selling to brands at the same prices as in March 2020. Nearly one in five factories also struggled to pay the Bangladeshi minimum wage.</p>
<h2>The situation today</h2>
<p>Since the pandemic, suppliers <a href="https://eur03.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmodernslaverypec.org%2Flatest%2Fcost-of-living-vulnerable-modern-slavery&data=05%7C01%7Cazizul.islam%40abdn.ac.uk%7C63d2249f77114b58b29508db1bcaf710%7C8c2b19ad5f9c49d490773ec3cfc52b3f%7C0%7C0%7C638134332717286053%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=cDrMPp5cgtWV48O66R1AnfJSmRwxFzc5FYX1s%2Fq11ps%3D&reserved=0">continue to struggle</a> amid high inflation. <a href="https://www.just-style.com/news/bangladesh-unions-demand-wage-board-and-increase-for-garment-workers/">In Bangladesh</a>, unions are demanding that the legal minimum wage for garment workers be almost tripled, but so far with no success. Garment exports <a href="https://pciaw.org/ready-made-garment-bangladesh-increase/">have increased</a> more than 35% since the start of the pandemic yet wages and employee numbers have stayed the same. </p>
<p>The collapse of British online retailer Misguided in 2022 gave more insight into the unfairness of the supply chain when it was <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/jun/12/missguided-collapse-pakistani-garment-workers-left-destitute-and-starving">revealed that</a> clothing producers in Pakistan were shipping consignments and not getting paid until later. When Misguided went under, this meant not getting paid at all, leading to hundreds of workers being made redundant. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/09/global-modern-slavery-trafficking/">International Labour Organization-led</a> estimates suggest that the number of people in forced labour around the world rose from 24.9 million to 27.6 million between 2016 and 2021. Many workers in poor conditions in the retail supply chain would not be categorised as forced labour, but this rise is certainly not encouraging. Overall, these are various signs during and since the pandemic that suggest the modern slavery legislation is not having the desired effect. </p>
<p>So what can be done? Instead of more transparency regulations, we need <a href="https://www.transform-trade.org/fashion-watchdog">a watchdog</a> to investigate unfair practices around the world and punish companies that are found guilty. As well as investigating forced labour allegations, it would penalise companies for doing cut-price deals that prevent workers from receiving a living wage. It would also prevent companies from delaying payments for long periods or refusing to pay for completed goods. </p>
<p>A <a href="https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2022-07-13/debates/86436DD6-DABD-401C-B150-7F8B8533A05B/FashionSupplyChain(CodeAndAdjudicator)">bill was tabled</a> in the UK parliament to establish such an adjudicator last July. It has been <a href="https://www.transform-trade.org/fashion-watchdog">publicly supported</a> by more than 50 MPs and is expected to be put back before the House of Commons in the near future. For the longer term, to harmonise practices between different countries, it would also make sense to establish an international fashion watchdog. </p>
<p>It is unavoidable that COVID and high inflation have adversely affected supply chain workers, and no one is denying that exploitation by suppliers is part of the problem. But an international watchdog that puts more pressure on retailers to treat their supply chains fairly is an essential part of the puzzle. Until a regime is in place with genuine teeth to ensure retailers toe the line, the modern slavery behind high-street fashions will only continue.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203774/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Professor Muhammad Azizul Islam receives funding from UKRI/AHRC, GCRF- Scottish Funding Council, University of Aberdeen, The UK Modern Slavery and Human Rights Policy and Evidence Centre. He is affiliated with the University of Aberdeen Business School. He is a visiting professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business, Universitas Indonesia. Professor Islam is a Civil Society Representative, Multi-Stakeholder Group (MSG), The UK Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI UK). He is also an advisory member of GRI’s (Global Reporting Initiative) standard-setting committee on human rights and labour disclosure standards. The article is partly based on work done in collaboration with Transform Trade, UK. </span></em></p>At least 1,132 workers died when the Rana building collapsed in Bangladesh, while several thousand more were injured.Muhammad Azizul Islam, Chair in Accountancy and Professor in Sustainability Accounting and Transparency, University of AberdeenLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2031222023-04-13T13:09:39Z2023-04-13T13:09:39ZFast Fashion: Why garment workers’ lives are still in danger 10 years after Rana Plaza — Podcast<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/519920/original/file-20230407-22-j62yrw.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">That cheap statement piece comes at a price: the industry has a 'murderous disregard for human life.'</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Clockwise: AP/Mahmud Hossain; AP/Ismail Ferdous; Unsplash/Markus Spiske; Unsplash/Clem Onojeghuo)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe height="200px" width="100%" frameborder="no" scrolling="no" seamless="" src="https://player.simplecast.com/ad814240-69ec-47f4-b6b5-05e21ad97582?dark=true"></iframe>
<p>Fast fashion is that ever-changing need to have the latest beautiful thing at a bargain price — that club-ready piece of clothing, that status symbol shoe or that must-have top you just found at the mall. </p>
<p>But that cheap statement piece comes at a price. <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/03/1035161">The fashion industry is the second most polluting industry in the world, after the oil and gas sector.</a> It’s also famously unfair to its workers, the majority of whom are women. Although there has been a lot of talk about female empowerment, the reality is that most women who toil on the factory floor remain in poverty for most of their lives. </p>
<p>Ten years ago this month, much attention turned to the global garment industry when a group of garment factories collapsed at Rana Plaza near Dhaka, Bangladesh. The accident, called a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/apr/24/bangladeshi-police-target-garment-workers-union-rana-plaza-five-years-on">“mass industrial homicide”</a> by unions in Bangladesh, killed 1,124 people and injured at least 2,500 more. </p>
<p>Most of the people who went to work that day were young women, almost all were supporting families with their wages and all were at the bottom of the global production chain.</p>
<p><a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com/episodes/fast-fashion-why-garment-workers-lives-are-still-in-danger-10-years-after-rana-plaza">This week on <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em></a>, we look back at the Rana Plaza disaster to explore how much — or how little — has changed for garment worker conditions since.</p>
<p>The industry has a “<a href="https://www.brown.edu/academics/race-ethnicity/events/fast-fashion-and-racial-capitalism-power-and-vulnerability-global-supply-chains-gender-and">murderous disregard for human life.</a>” That’s how this episode’s guest, Minh-Ha Pham, puts it. She is an associate professor in media studies at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and the author of <a href="https://www.dukeupress.edu/why-we-cant-have-nice-things"><em>Why We Can’t Have Nice Things.</em></a></p>
<p>Also joining us is Dina Siddiqi, a feminist anthropologist and an expert on labour in Bangladeshi garment factories. She is an associate professor at New York University.</p>
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<span class="caption">Social media campaigns like ‘I made your clothes’ can help to raise awareness but don’t necessarily address structural issues.</span>
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<h2>‘Murderous disregard for life’</h2>
<p>The collapsed buildings at Rana Plaza had shown signs of cracks the day before. While other tenants in the buildings — the banks and shops — sent their workers home, the garment factories’ managers insisted their people come to work to meet the relentless deadlines of clothing manufacturing. </p>
<p>Ten years ago, but also today, Siddiqi says garment workers are left with impossible choices: </p>
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<p>“They did not feel they had the right to say no because they were threatened with dismissal. They were owed wages already. Those are everyday conditions in the garment industry…their choice was: risk dismissal and possible starvation…or risk their lives.”</p>
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<p>Approximately five million people in Bangladesh work to produce clothing for hundreds of major international brands, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/1/11/fashion-brands-paid-less-than-production-cost-to-bangladesh-firms">including Zara, H&M and GAP</a>. It is the second largest global producer of clothing and has the lowest wages. </p>
<p>Garment factories also exist in the Global North. Last week the United States Department of Labor released a report on garment workers in Los Angeles that said <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-04/garment-industry-los-angeles-low-wages-violations-us-department-of-labor-report">some were getting paid as little as $1.58 an hour</a>. </p>
<h2>Corporate solutions fall short</h2>
<p>While many corporations have now signed the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/business/garment-worker-safety-accord.html">Bangladesh Accord</a> in an attempt to make things safer, Minh-Ha Pham says the accord has a narrow definition of worker safety. The focus is on structural integrity of buildings and corporate liability. But Pham says: </p>
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<p>“If you talk to workers, safety means having a workplace free of physical, sexual verbal assault. Safety is getting paid on time. Not having the freedom of association, not having child care, not having maternity leave…create unsafe conditions of labour. [These are things that] initiatives like the Bangladesh accord don’t even begin to imagine.”</p>
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<p>The focus on corporate-led solutions, such as the accord, allows clothing brands to appear socially responsible in spite of the reality on the ground. Pham says that without oversight and regulation, these types of initiatives “make brands that are signing on to these initiatives…look good. Consumers feel good about these brands. But there’s no follow through.”</p>
<h2>Western saviour complex</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/352893724_The_fashion_scandal_Social_media_identity_and_the_globalization_of_fashion_in_the_twenty-first_century">Social media campaigns</a> to hold brands accountable to their workers have proliferated in the last decade. </p>
<p>However well intended, Pham says these campaigns — primarily led by those in the Global North — don’t address the structural and systemic nature of exploitation inherent to the global garment industry. </p>
<p>She says the campaigns can actually take the attention away from the structural problems. “They make us feel like if we could just tweak this thing, then everything else will be okay. It actually legitimizes the system because (it says) the system is basically okay, but for A, B, and C things that we can fix.” </p>
<p>And Siddiqi says in the last 10 years, brands have actually paid Bangladeshi garment workers increasingly lower prices to make the exact same product. “So brands are squeezing Bangladesh at the same time that they’re telling Bangladesh factory owners that they must be better to their workers.”</p>
<p>Both Siddiqi and Pham also caution against the idea that this is solely a Bangladeshi problem. They say racist assumptions see the Global South as inherently corrupt and “backwards.” But these notions overshadow the <a href="https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-04-04/garment-industry-los-angeles-low-wages-violations-us-department-of-labor-report">exploitation of and resistance by</a> racialized and gendered workers in the West, in places like Los Angeles. </p>
<p>Pham says “it’s easy to think of, you know, oh gosh, those people over there…They don’t care about humanity. They don’t care about safety. [But] this happened in California.” </p>
<p>For example, in 2020, Pham says, garment workers were being “held up as heroes because factories shifted to making masks for a while when we were wearing cloth masks. But (workers) oftentimes (were) coming in without health insurance, without safety protocols, oftentimes without masks risking COVID, (working) in California, for piece rate wages.” </p>
<h2>Now what?</h2>
<p>Both scholars say those who want to help to alleviate pervasive exploitation in the global garment factory industry must make efforts to understand an intentionally opaque supply chain system. This includes learning about brand contracts, international trade and labour laws and immigration and border policies. It also involves the necessary but difficult task of explicitly naming capitalism as a structural problem. </p>
<p>Ultimately, Pham and Siddiqi say western advocates must support collective actions initiated by the workers themselves.</p>
<h2>From The Conversation</h2>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fashion-production-is-modern-slavery-5-things-you-can-do-to-help-now-115889">Fashion production is modern slavery: 5 things you can do to help now</a>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-what-businesses-and-consumers-can-do-to-tackle-modern-slavery-in-supply-chains-200694">Here's what businesses and consumers can do to tackle modern slavery in supply chains</a>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-the-fashion-industry-keeps-failing-to-fix-labour-exploitation-87356">Why the fashion industry keeps failing to fix labour exploitation</a>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/victorias-secret-does-it-again-cultural-appropriation-87987">Victoria's Secret does it again: Cultural appropriation</a>
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<h2>Read more</h2>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0147547915000101">“Starving for Justice”</a> by Dina Siddiqi</p>
<p><a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/153596/fix-fashion-industrys-racism">“How to Fix the Fashion Industry’s Racism”</a> by Minh-Ha Pham</p>
<p><a href="http://www.taslimaakhter.com/garment_workers_life_struggle/">Taslima Akhter: Documentary photographer and activist </a></p>
<p><a href="https://truthout.org/articles/turn-up-the-heat-on-fairness-american-garment-workers-deserve-better/">“Turn Up the Heat on Fairness: American Garment Workers Deserve Better”</a></p>
<p><a href="https://remake.world/stories/news/colonialism-in-fashion-brands-are-todays-colonial-masters/">“Brands are Today’s Colonial Masters”</a></p>
<h2>Listen and Follow</h2>
<p>You can listen to or follow <em>Don’t Call Me Resilient</em> on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/dont-call-me-resilient/id1549798876">Apple Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9qZFg0Ql9DOA">Google Podcasts</a>, <a href="https://open.spotify.com/show/37tK4zmjWvq2Sh6jLIpzp7">Spotify</a> or <a href="https://dont-call-me-resilient.simplecast.com">wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts</a>. <a href="mailto:DCMR@theconversation.com">We’d love to hear from you</a>, including any ideas for future episodes. Join The Conversation on <a href="https://twitter.com/ConversationCA">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/TheConversationCanada">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/theconversationdotcom/">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@theconversation">TikTok</a> and use #DontCallMeResilient.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203122/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
We look back to the 2013 Rana Plaza garment factory collapse in Bangladesh that killed 1,124 people and discuss how much — or how little — has changed for garment-worker conditions today.Vinita Srivastava, Host + Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientBoké Saisi, Associate Producer, Don't Call Me ResilientLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1983902023-01-31T19:12:34Z2023-01-31T19:12:34ZAustralia’s cotton farmers can help prevent exploitation in the global garment industry<p>Ten years ago, the garment industry’s worst industrial accident – the Rana Plaza collapse in Dhaka, Bangladesh – killed more than 1,100 workers and highlighted the travesty of conditions for millions of garment workers globally. </p>
<p>It spurred action to address exploitation, but for many workers little has changed. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/years-after-the-rana-plaza-tragedy-bangladeshs-garment-workers-are-still-bottom-of-the-pile-159224">Years after the Rana Plaza tragedy, Bangladesh's garment workers are still bottom of the pile</a>
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<p>Just in the past few months, Britain’s Tesco supermarket chain has been accused of profiting from the “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/dec/18/workers-in-thailand-who-made-ff-jeans-for-tesco-trapped-in-effective-forced-labour">effective forced labour</a>” of workers in Thailand (making Tesco-brand jeans), while the world’s biggest clothing retailer, China’s fast-fashion brand Shein, has been exposed for <a href="https://www.channel4.com/programmes/inside-the-shein-machine-untold">rampant human rights abuses</a>.</p>
<p>Such incidents are meant to have been eliminated, as big brands are supposed to leverage their power to effect change in global supply chains. Australia’s Modern Slavery Act, for example, requires companies with more than A$100 million in annual revenue to publicly report on their efforts to ensure their supply chains are free of labour exploitation. </p>
<p>The expectation has been that pressure from consumers and investors will be enough for retailers (who profit the most from driving down production costs) to drive change. Campaigners for better conditions say these requirements are all too often a “<a href="https://cleanclothes.org/file-repository/figleaf-for-fashion.pdf/view">fig leaf</a>”, because audits <a href="https://www.hrw.org/report/2022/11/15/obsessed-audit-tools-missing-goal/why-social-audits-cant-fix-labor-rights-abuses">can easily be fudged</a>.</p>
<p>Limited attention has been given to what suppliers can do to ensure their products aren’t associated with exploitation. </p>
<p>In this, Australia’s cotton industry could make a valuable contribution, as the world’s <a href="https://cottonaustralia.com.au/assets/general/Publications/Industry-overview-brochures/Cotton-Australia-Background-Brochure.pdf">fourth-largest exporter</a> (behind the United States, Brazil and India). Most of this cotton goes to <a href="https://austcottonshippers.com.au/crop-reports">low-wage countries in Asia</a> to be spun, knitted or woven into cloth, and then turned into garments.</p>
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<p>Producers don’t have anywhere near the same influence of buyers. Yet there is more they can do protect the workers overseas who transform their product into material goods. </p>
<h2>Extending producer responsibility</h2>
<p>We received funding from the <a href="https://www.crdc.com.au/">Cotton Research and Development Corporation</a> (which is funded by the Commonwealth government and cotton growers) to look at ways the Australian industry can ensure its cotton is not tainted by exploitation.</p>
<p>The idea of sellers taking responsibility for what end users do with a product is not entirely new. The principle of “extended producer responsibility” is credited to a <a href="https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/4433708/1002025.pdf">1990 report</a> by academic Thomas Lindquist. </p>
<p>Since then, producer responsibility (or “product stewardship”) obligations have become accepted as needed to reduce waste and environmental pollution. </p>
<p>In Europe, clothing retailers are being asked by regulators to address the waste caused by consumers <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-60913226">disposing of their clothing</a>. They will have to ensure their clothes are more durable and have less impact on the environment. Retailers will also need to provide consumers with information on how to reuse, repair and recycle clothing.</p>
<p>In Australia, the concept has also been applied to animal welfare, following a public furore <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-08-08/a-bloody-business---2011/2841918">in 2011</a> over animal cruelty in Indonesian abattoirs. </p>
<p>In response, the federal government introduced the <a href="https://www.agriculture.gov.au/biosecurity-trade/export/controlled-goods/live-animals/livestock/exporters/escas">Exporter Supply Chain Assurance System</a>. </p>
<p>Exporters now require their buyers to provide information about the supply chain including the port of arrival, transport, handling and slaughter of the livestock. </p>
<p>There is also a push to make coal and gas exporters <a href="https://theconversation.com/when-it-comes-to-climate-change-australias-mining-giants-are-an-accessory-to-the-crime-124077">responsible for the greenhouse gas emissions</a> released by the use of their products. </p>
<h2>Taking a book-end approach</h2>
<p>Our <a href="https://eprints.qut.edu.au/236692/18/Report_2.pdf">report</a> examines how to increase transparency and traceability in cotton supply chains. Among other approaches, it looks at extending the Australian cotton industry’s existing <a href="https://australiancotton.com.au/assets/downloads/Australian_Cotton_Minimum_Traceability_Requirements-1.pdf">certification scheme</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/blockchain-can-help-break-the-chains-of-modern-slavery-but-it-is-not-a-complete-solution-115358">Blockchain can help break the chains of modern slavery, but it is not a complete solution</a>
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<p>This scheme helps market Australian cotton on its sustainability credentials. Our idea is to extend the existing “chain of custody” checklist – which serves as proof of the cotton’s Australian origin - to include information about working conditions further along the chain in spinning, fabric and garment production.</p>
<p>This could potentially enable Australian growers to sell their cotton at a premium. Buyers already know Australian cotton isn’t tainted by child or forced labour, <a href="https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/reports/child-labor/list-of-goods">unlike cotton</a> from many other exporter nations. This assurance could then be extended to the final products made from Australian cotton too.</p>
<p>There is, of course, <a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-only-do-so-much-we-asked-fast-fashion-shoppers-how-ethical-concerns-shape-their-choices-172978">some debate</a> about the size of the market for ethical materials. But <a href="https://www.consumingmodernslavery.com/">research</a> and growing <a href="https://www.retailbiz.com.au/retail-profiles/kathmandu-building-ethical-apparel-empire/">commitments to ethical standards by major retailers</a> suggest it is growing. </p>
<p>A “book-end” approach that <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/00221856211066628">combines actions by producers and retailers</a> is, in our view, the best way to rid the global cotton supply chain of exploitation.</p>
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<p><em>The authors wish to acknowledge the other report contributors: Rowena Maguire and Justine Coneybeer (Queensland University of Technology), and Timo Rissanen and Karina Kallio (University of Technology Sydney).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/198390/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martijn Boersma receives funding from the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Alice Payne receives funding from the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC).</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Erin O'Brien receives funding from The Cotton Research and Development Corporation and the Australian Research Council. She currently serves on the board of the T.J. Ryan Foundation. </span></em></p>Producer responsibility is increasingly being used to deal with the environmental costs of production. It can also be used to deal with social issues.Martijn Boersma, Associate Professor, University of Notre Dame AustraliaAlice Payne, Professor in Fashion, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland University of TechnologyErin O'Brien, Associate Professor, Centre for Justice, Queensland University of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1963912023-01-20T00:15:22Z2023-01-20T00:15:22ZWhat do oranges, coffee grounds and seaweed have in common? They outshine cotton in sustainable fashion<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504806/original/file-20230117-26-3v8ku.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=15%2C46%2C5160%2C3399&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Ever considered the carbon footprint of manufacturing your favourite shirt? </p>
<p>The average cotton shirt <a href="https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200310-sustainable-fashion-how-to-buy-clothes-good-for-the-climate">produces</a> 2.1 kilograms of carbon dioxide – but a polyester shirt produces over twice as much (5.5 kilograms). It might come as no surprise that the fashion industry is responsible for <a href="https://www.climatecouncil.org.au/resources/fast-fashion-climate-change/#:%7E:text=The%20global%20fashion%20industry%20is,shipping%20and%20aviation%20industries%20combined!">around 5%</a> of global CO₂ emissions. </p>
<p>Some natural fibres can also take a heavy toll on the environment. Last week, for example, an <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-01-11/land-cleared-for-cotton-farming-northern-territory/101651092">ABC investigation</a> revealed hundreds of hectares of the Northern Territory’s pristine tropical savanna had been cleared to make way for cotton farms, sometimes without permit. </p>
<p>So, are there more sustainable textiles we should be producing and purchasing instead? </p>
<p>Research, including our <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/sustainable-fibres-for-fashion-and-textile-manufacturing/nayak/978-0-12-824052-6">own ongoing research</a>, points to certain “non-traditional fibres” as new green alternatives. These include fibres produced from wastes – think coffee waste and recycled plastic bottles – as well as seaweed, orange, lotus, corn and mushroom.</p>
<p>Brands such as <a href="https://www.patagonia.com/environmental-responsibility-materials/">Patagonia</a>, <a href="https://mudjeans.eu/pages/sustainability-our-impact">Mud Jeans</a>, <a href="https://ninetypercent.com/pages/sustainability">Ninety Percent</a>, <a href="https://plantfacedclothing.com/pages/our-story">Plant Faced Clothing</a> and <a href="https://afends.com/pages/sustainable-designs">Afends</a> are among the brands leading the way in incorporating sustainable fibres into their products. But the true turning point will likely come when more of the biggest names in fashion get involved, and it’s high time they invest.</p>
<h2>The problems with traditional fibres</h2>
<p>There are two types of traditional fibres: natural and synthetic. Natural fibres, such as cotton and flax, have certain advantages over synthetic fibres which are derived from oil and gas. </p>
<p>When sustainability is considered, natural fibres are preferred over the synthetic fibres due to, for instance, their ability to biodegrade and their availability in the environment. </p>
<p>However, some natural fibres (particularly cotton) need a lot of fresh water and chemicals that are toxic to the environment for harvesting. For example, it takes <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/un-helps-fashion-industry-shift-to-low-carbon">10,000 litres of water</a> on average to grow just 1 kilogram of cotton.</p>
<p>In comparison, <a href="https://www.techstyle.solutions/sustainability/material-guides/material-guide-synthetics">synthetic fibres consume</a> a significantly lower amount of water (about one hundredth), but a significantly <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128197837000016">higher amount of energy</a>.</p>
<p>Petrochemical fibres made from fossil fuels – such as polyester, nylon and acrylic – are the backbone of fast fashion. Yet another big problem with such products is that they don’t easily decompose. </p>
<p>As they slowly break down, petrochemical fibres release microplastics. These not only contaminate the environment, but also enter the food chain and pose health risks to animals and humans.</p>
<p>You may have also come across blended fabrics, which are produced with a combination of two or more types of fibres. But these pose challenges in sorting and recycling, as it’s not always possible or easy to recover different fibres when they’re combined.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504355/original/file-20230113-24-4n1g5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Clothes on racks and strewed on the flood" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504355/original/file-20230113-24-4n1g5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504355/original/file-20230113-24-4n1g5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504355/original/file-20230113-24-4n1g5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504355/original/file-20230113-24-4n1g5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504355/original/file-20230113-24-4n1g5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504355/original/file-20230113-24-4n1g5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504355/original/file-20230113-24-4n1g5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The fashion industry is responsible for around 5% of global emissions.</span>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cotton-on-one-of-australias-most-lucrative-farming-industries-is-in-the-firing-line-as-climate-change-worsens-191864">Cotton on: one of Australia's most lucrative farming industries is in the firing line as climate change worsens</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Non-traditional fibres: a potential game changer</h2>
<p>Amid the overconsumption of traditional fibres, several global fashion brands have started to adopt new fibres derived from seaweed, corn, and mushroom. This includes <a href="https://www.voguescandinavia.com/articles/the-new-sustainable-materials-to-know">Stella McCartney</a>, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/walterloeb/2022/06/10/is-there-a-future-of-for-leather-in-fashion/?sh=2b7fba347817">Balenciaga</a>, <a href="https://www.outsidebusinessjournal.com/brands/green-scene-using-corn-to-make-a-polyester-like-fiber/">Patagonia</a>, and <a href="https://textilevaluechain.in/news-insights/fashion-from-the-sea-algae-seaweed/">Algiknit</a>. </p>
<p>Other emerging natural fibres include lotus, pineapple and banana fibres. Lotus fibres are extracted from the plant stem, banana fibres are extracted from the petiole (the stalk that connects the leaf and stem), and pineapple fibres are extracted from pineapple leaves. </p>
<p>The process of extracting fibres from wastes such as <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6477616/">orange peels</a>, <a href="http://www.revistaindustriatextila.ro/images/2022/3/008%20AVCIOGLU%20KALEBEK%20NAZAN%20Industria%20Textila%203_2022.pdf">coffee grounds</a>, and even from the protein of waste milk, has also been <a href="https://www.commonobjective.co/article/innovation-in-cellulosic-fibres">well researched</a>, and clothes have been successfully manufactured from these materials. </p>
<p>All these examples of non-traditional fibres are free from many of the problems mentioned earlier, such as heavy resource consumption (particularly fresh water), use of toxic chemicals, and the use of large amounts of energy (for synthetic fibres). </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/patagonias-founder-has-given-his-company-away-to-fight-climate-change-and-advance-conservation-5-questions-answered-190827">Patagonia's founder has given his company away to fight climate change and advance conservation: 5 questions answered</a>
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<p>Further, these fibres are biodegradable at their end of life and don’t release microplastics when you wash them.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, there has been tremendous growth in the use of <a href="https://thenextcartel.com/discover/fashion-and-sustainability-the-macro-risks-of-recycled-synthetic-fabric-micro-fibers/">recycled synthetic fibres</a>, which reduces the use of virgin materials, energy and chemical consumption. Recycling plastics such as <a href="https://www.trvst.world/sustainable-living/fashion/turning-plastic-waste-into-clothes/">drink bottles</a> to make clothing is also becoming more common. Such innovations can help lower our dependency on raw materials and mitigate plastic pollution.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504351/original/file-20230112-16-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Plastic water bottle scrunched in a hand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504351/original/file-20230112-16-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/504351/original/file-20230112-16-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504351/original/file-20230112-16-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504351/original/file-20230112-16-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504351/original/file-20230112-16-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504351/original/file-20230112-16-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/504351/original/file-20230112-16-li24wl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recycling plastic bottles to create synthetic fibres is a great way to minimise waste.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What’s more, the selection of appropriate colour combinations during recycling and processing for fabrics can avoid the need for dyeing.</p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>Fashion companies can reduce the load on the environment through seriously investing in producing sustainable fibres and fabrics. Many are still in research stage or not receiving wider commercial applications. </p>
<p>Fashion manufacturers, large fashion brands and retailers need to invest in the research and development to scale-up production of these fibres. And machine manufacturers also need to develop technologies for large-scale harvesting and manufacturing raw materials, such as sustainable fibre and yarn.</p>
<p>At the same time, you, as a consumer, have an important role to play by demanding information about products and holding brands accountable.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/consumers-are-wise-to-woke-washing-but-truly-transformative-branding-can-still-make-a-difference-170190">Consumers are wise to ‘woke washing’ – but truly ‘transformative branding’ can still make a difference</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/196391/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rajkishore Nayak does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The fashion industry is responsible for around 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It’s high time global fashion brands invest in greener alternatives.Rajkishore Nayak, Associate Professor , RMIT University VietnamLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1947852022-11-23T16:57:07Z2022-11-23T16:57:07ZWhy Primark’s new click and collect service will not be a simple win for the fast fashion giant<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496570/original/file-20221121-15-z4vsqt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=378%2C135%2C5956%2C4161&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Shoppers visiting Primark.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/motion-blur-people-walking-shopping-primark-672453790">fokke baarssen / Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Primark fans in the UK struggled to get their first online fast fashion fix from the Irish retailer recently. Its <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63598525">website crashed</a> on the day it launched a “<a href="https://corporate.primark.com/newsroom/corporate-news/primark-goes-online-with-click-collect/n/d822044a-5107-4dae-95b1-b339ea6c971c">click and collect</a>” service to allow people to buy certain items online for collection in-store. </p>
<p>But, despite its initial popularity, Primark is only conducting a limited trial of this model. This is a smart move given the outlook for <a href="https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/expenditure/articles/whatactionsarepeopletakingbecauseoftherisingcostofliving/2022-08-05">reduced spending patterns</a> due to the cost of living crisis. </p>
<p>Similar moves have certainly had mixed results for other companies in recent years. The strategy worked for low-price US store Target, which claimed <a href="https://investors.target.com/news-releases/news-release-details/target-provides-update-holiday-sales#:%7E:text=Drive%20Up%20grew%20more%20than%20500%20percent">sales soared by more than 500%</a> when it offered click and collect during the 2020-21 holiday season. </p>
<p>On the other hand, low-cost supermarket <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/12915254/lidl-axes-plans-launch-online-shopping-delivery/">Lidl abandoned its attempt</a> at click and collect in the UK in 2020, although its competitor Aldi has so far <a href="https://www.aldipresscentre.co.uk/business-news/aldis-christmas-click-collect-slots-now-available/">stuck with its version</a>. Indeed, it’s almost expected of a modern retailer to sell both online and in physical stores, but Primark’s click and collect strategy is not a straightforward website offering. </p>
<p>As well as only being offered at 25 of its <a href="https://www.primark.com/en-gb/about-us">191 UK locations</a>, some of the 2,000 children’s items on offer via the service are not available in the stores themselves. This is a canny product area to trial, however, since parents of fast-growing kids navigating a cost of living crisis may well want cheap clothing for school and play.</p>
<p>Primark’s click and collect service does not allow customers to relax at home while their shopping is delivered to their doors. But it does mean shoppers can make sure certain desired items are available when they travel to the store. “Stock check” features typically cannot guarantee this because inventory is often wrong.</p>
<p>A click and collect model offers several other advantages to sellers: </p>
<ul>
<li>It saves both the business and its customers from paying for postage on returns, with <a href="https://www.ecrloss.com/research/buy-online-return-in-store">our research showing</a> that, although such services create additional costs due to returns, having customers return items to a shop is more cost effective for the retailer.</li>
<li>Less packaging is needed because items do not have to survive one or more trips through the post – a company might claim that this is environmentally friendly but it also reduces the costs involved.</li>
<li>Customers might pick up additional items when collecting or returning click and collect items.</li>
<li>When customers click, collect and return to the shop, research shows there are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0969698922002387">less opportunities for customer fraud</a> compared to other online sales models.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Hidden click and collect risks</h2>
<p>But click and collect is not problem free. A major headache for retailers offering this kind of service is making sure stock is available to meet demand in the specific shops for which click and collect is available. </p>
<p>This avoids racking up transport costs or disappointing too many customers. In the US, <a href="https://www.sailthru.com/marketing-blog/target-curbside-pickup-experience/#:%7E:text=Target%20managed%20expectations">Target manages online customer expectations</a> with emails and texts that aim to avoid disappointment and suggest alternatives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/fashion-retailer-primark-is-refusing-to-sell-online-heres-why-it-is-right-to-do-so-153511">Fashion retailer Primark is refusing to sell online – here's why it is right to do so</a>
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<p>A click and collect retailer also risks hidden costs and damages relating to returns. When people “click but don’t collect”, shops are left with items on backroom shelves. This requires administrative and logistical effort to arrange refunds and return products to warehouses or other stores where they may have more chance of being sold. </p>
<p>People might also “click lots and only keep one item (or none)”. This can happen when shoppers order several sizes or colours to try on and return the rest before leaving the shop. Again, this could saddle the retailer with extra costs and little associated income. And these days, the rising cost of living could create choosier shoppers. </p>
<p>Given the many risks involved with this kind of scheme, starting with a limited service is sensible. Primark can then gauge if returns – a major cost area relating to click and collect – could wipe out any additional profits it might make with this new venture. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-hidden-costs-of-online-shopping-for-customers-and-retailers-109694">The hidden costs of online shopping – for customers and retailers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Managing returns</h2>
<p>While having customers return items to its shops will be more cost effective for the business than postal returns, this pilot will help Primark work out if it can keep the overall rate of returns and its costs down. It will also be able to weigh up the benefits of additional impulse buys while click and collect customers are in the shop, versus the cost of staff time taken up with order disputes and returns. </p>
<p>But offering an online-only product range means items returned to store will not necessarily be resold from there. Instead, returns could be sent back to the warehouse for processing. And this is where the real test for Primark’s new online model lies: can it afford the cost of returns? </p>
<p>If the company expands this service to all of its stores and offers other routes to returning goods, it is likely to find itself in the same situation as some mid-range shops recently. The scale of returns affected bottom-line profits for some businesses and created the need for separate returns distribution centres or to <a href="https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/how-to-avoid-paying-zaras-new-1.95-returns-charge-aW4qW6I5oBPc">charge for postal returns</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Smiling woman with blonde hair lifts two large Primark paper bags from a counter of a Primark shop." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496571/original/file-20221121-14-dysy43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/496571/original/file-20221121-14-dysy43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496571/original/file-20221121-14-dysy43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496571/original/file-20221121-14-dysy43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496571/original/file-20221121-14-dysy43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496571/original/file-20221121-14-dysy43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/496571/original/file-20221121-14-dysy43.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Primark is letting shoppers order some items online for collection in certain UK shops.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/enschede-netherlands-aug-19-2014-people-234495628">Robert Hoetink / Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Of course, there are also environmental implications when any fast fashion empire attempts to boost sales. Many mixed-fibre textiles sold by such retailers are difficult to recycle. While good quality textiles often get re-gifted, resold or donated, cheaper items may simply end up in <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2021/11/8/chiles-desert-dumping-ground-for-fast-fashion-leftovers">landfill in developing countries</a>.</p>
<p>Primark has also argued that this move is about <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-63587132">“believing” in the high street</a>. But this is not a completely altruistic move. It is a strategy to get shoppers into stores to buy more, without <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-63598525">taking on the costs</a> of major IT upgrades for customer and inventory management.</p>
<p>Managing such operational risks while navigating the ongoing kickback against <a href="https://www.wearthlondon.com/blog/what-is-fast-fashion-and-why-is-it-bad/">fast fashion</a> – albeit countered by egalitarian claims for <a href="https://www.economist.com/taxonomy/term/76969?page=113&page%5Cu003d78=">making clothes affordable for all</a> – makes click and collect a much more complex proposition than it might appear to be on the surface.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/194785/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisa Jack is an academic advisor to the ECR Retail Loss Group (<a href="http://www.ecrloss.com">www.ecrloss.com</a>). Primark is a member of ECR but did not pay or contribute towards the underlying research for this article.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Regina Frei receives funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council (grant reference ES/V015605/1). </span></em></p>By offering a limited click and collect service, the retailer can gauge the benefits versus the costs and hassle of managing product returns.Lisa Jack, Professor of Accounting, University of PortsmouthRegina Frei, Associate Professor in Operations and Supply Chain Management, University of SouthamptonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1880902022-08-04T11:25:23Z2022-08-04T11:25:23ZFast fashion: why your online returns may end up in landfill – and what can be done about it<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477391/original/file-20220803-15-iv9k2x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Customer orders multiple items, many of which may be returned.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/online-store-selling-clothes-on-website-1790323487?showDrawerOnLoad=true">Maridav/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Fashion has a notorious environmental footprint, accounting for up to <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-fashion-industry-environmental-impact/">10%</a> of global carbon dioxide output. This is exacerbated by a fast fashion business model which encourages the frequent purchase of low-priced and non-durable items. </p>
<p>Around <a href="https://fashionunited.uk/news/retail/return-rates-are-on-the-rise/2022020661142">30%</a> of online purchases are subsequently returned, much of which goes to landfill. In 2020, an estimated <a href="https://www.optoro.com/2021/02/03/returns-report-powering-resilient-retail-in-2020/">2.6 million tonnes</a> of returns were disposed of this way in the US alone. The problem has become so notorious that the online retailer Boohoo recently followed a number of high street brands in starting to <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62140633">charge for returns</a> in order to discourage them.</p>
<p>But what are the reasons for high returns and why are many returned items not being re-sold?</p>
<p>The pandemic fundamentally changed the way we shop, with the temporary closure of physical stores representing a boon for online retailers. However, online retail’s surging market share has origins in long-standing fast fashion marketing practices. The premium placed on newness, low prices, and both free delivery and returns, all encourage customers to purchase multiple options with the knowledge they can return items freely (known as <a href="https://www.voguebusiness.com/consumers/bracketing-fashions-hidden-returns-problem#:%7E:text=The%20process%2C%20known%20as%20bracketing%2C%20is%20weighing%20heavy%20on%20retailers.&text=To%20receive%20the%20Vogue%20Business,and%20send%20back%20the%20rest.">“bracketing”).</a></p>
<p>Buy-now-pay-later schemes, such as <a href="https://www.klarna.com/uk/business/">Klarna</a>, that allow customers to order without upfront payment have accelerated online consumption. Research indicates that by offering such “payment solutions”, retailers will typically see a <a href="https://www.klarna.com/assets/sites/2/2020/01/15150545/Shopify2.0_US_final_2.pdf">68% increase</a> in average order value. </p>
<p><a href="https://securecdn.pymnts.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/Buy-Now-Pay-Later-February-2020-Tracker.pdf">Industry research suggests</a> that cart abandonment rates decrease by nearly 40% after the introduction of payment solutions. Discount events such as “Black Friday” also drive sales, with fashion accounting for around <a href="https://www.pwc.co.uk/industries/retail-consumer/insights/festive-predictions.html">one-third</a> of all Black Friday spend.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CWvWZFkDUkI/?utm_source=ig_embed\u0026ig_rid=2216e844-26df-4ff2-805b-b8b60fa1f976","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Fast fashion is synonymous with returns</h2>
<p>Despite the appeal of low prices and discounts, cheaply manufactured fast fashion items can typically exhibit quality and fit issues, so are synonymous with returns. Impulsive spending, driven by discounts, also often leads to <a href="https://wwd.com/business-news/business-features/finder-deals-buyers-remorse-1234652035/">regret</a>, again increasing the incidence of return. The <a href="https://www.statista.com/forecasts/997848/returns-of-online-purchases-by-category-in-the-uk">32% return rate</a> for clothing orders therefore dwarfs that of other e-commerce sectors, comparing to just 7% in consumer electronics.</p>
<p>For retailers, processing returns is also fraught with uncertainty and complexity. Which items will be returned, and in what state, is unknown. Often, once used, little can be done to make them desirable for re-purchase.</p>
<p>This is particularly true in the case of “<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/shortcuts/2019/sep/18/is-wardrobing-ever-acceptable-shoppers">wardrobing</a>”, where a purchased item is worn once before being returned. Retailers not only encounter financial loss through reprocessing, they risk a spoiled <a href="https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/fashion-news/pretty-little-thing-leggings-arrived-22675252">reputation</a> if worn or damaged items are recirculated. </p>
<p>ASOS previously announced that they would clamp down on “wardrobing” by closing the accounts of fraudulent returners. However, the threat of a bad review often leaves the retailer with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/money/2022/jul/16/buy-now-try-later-online-clothing-sales-boom-raises-qualms-over-returns">little option</a> but to refund.</p>
<p>Many retailers instead sell these returns on to liquidators, who turn the obsolete goods into fast cash. A cursory look on eBay reveals dozens of pallets of “Amazon customer returns” available to the highest bidder.</p>
<h2>The challenges facing retailers</h2>
<p>Both the cost of processing returns, and their increased volume, represent a challenge for retailers. The substantial reprocessing costs involved in product returns means that for fast fashion items, they often exceed the potential resale revenue. The remuneration of comparatively high-cost domestic workers within labour-intensive returns reprocessing is widely considered responsible for this. </p>
<p>Getting rid of returns therefore often constitutes the most cost-effective decision. An ITV <a href="https://www.itv.com/news/2021-06-21/amazon-destroying-millions-of-items-of-unsold-stock-in-one-of-its-uk-warehouses-every-year-itv-news-investigation-finds">investigation</a> into Amazon’s Dunfermline warehouse claimed the online retailer disposed of tens of thousands of returned consumer goods each week. Amazon said none of its items went to landfill but were instead donated, recycled or incinerated for energy recovery.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Site machinery sat on top of a pile of waste at a landfill." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477432/original/file-20220803-13-iznlyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/477432/original/file-20220803-13-iznlyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477432/original/file-20220803-13-iznlyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477432/original/file-20220803-13-iznlyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477432/original/file-20220803-13-iznlyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477432/original/file-20220803-13-iznlyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/477432/original/file-20220803-13-iznlyp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The fashion industry produces over 92 million tonnes of textile waste per year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/pollution-concept-garbage-pile-trash-dump-597557036">vchal/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The fashion industry collectively produces <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9.pdf">over 92 million tonnes</a> of textile waste per year. In the US alone, clothing returns <a href="https://eco-age.com/resources/tackling-the-unsustainable-rate-of-returns/">create more</a> annual carbon dioxide emissions than 3 million cars. </p>
<p>Carbon dioxide is initially emitted through the collection of returns, before increasing as returns are either incinerated or deposited in landfill. Due to the prevalence of synthetic fibres in fast fashion, returns can take <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7796070/">up to 100 years</a> to fully decompose, emitting carbon dioxide and methane in the process, as well as leaching harmful substances into the surrounding soil.</p>
<h2>How are retailers tackling the returns issue?</h2>
<p>While the environmental implications of product returns are clear, fashion retailers also have a financial incentive to tackle the issue of costly returns management.</p>
<p>Due to the complexities surrounding reprocessing, fashion retailers are increasingly outsourcing the responsibility to specialist firms, such as ReBound Returns, which work with retailers to make the returns process more sustainable. </p>
<p>ReBound encourage retailers to donate returned consumer goods to charity through their ReBound Regift facility. This has so far facilitated charitable donations worth <a href="https://www.reboundreturns.com/service/regift?hsCtaTracking=8e729b68-7056-4ddd-a698-e1772cd6f777%7Cf011996e-1bad-46d8-8148-e886d482f03a">£190 million</a>. ASOS <a href="https://www.asos.com/responsible-fashion/packaging-and-delivery/6-ways-our-returns-are-more-responsible/">states</a> that 97% of their returns are now resold, and no items are sent to landfill.</p>
<p>As Boohoo’s recent move shows, several online retailers have attempted to pass the cost of returns onto customers. While the reasoning for this is primarily financial, the impact of similar policies in improving customers’ environmental consciousness is well-known. Since 2015, plastic bag usage has <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/10p-bag-charge-turns-the-tide-on-plastic-waste">dropped 97%</a> in England’s main supermarkets, following the introduction of a small charge.</p>
<p>Despite calls for greater sustainability within the fashion industry, fast fashion continues to flourish. Should marketing practices that encourage waste and fuel emissions persist, the fashion industry will retain its unwanted reputation as a significant contributor to climate change. Retailers must reconsider the unintended effects of the leniency afforded by their returns policies, balancing the need for customer retention with environmental consciousness.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188090/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patsy Perry does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Fashion has a notorious environmental footprint, and long-standing fast fashion marketing practices are exaggerating this further.Patsy Perry, Reader in Fashion Marketing, Manchester Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1852422022-06-21T13:32:09Z2022-06-21T13:32:09ZLove Island and eBay: how the reality show could model a radically sustainable future for its young viewers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469796/original/file-20220620-24-vt8on1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6687%2C4194&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Love Island has faced past criticism for not promoting sustainable lifestyles.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/ebay-becomes-love-islands-first-ever-pre-loved-fashion-partner">recently announced</a> partnership between ITV reality show Love Island and secondhand e-commerce giant eBay sends a strong positive signal about prioritising sustainability over fast fashion. </p>
<p>After receiving a strong backlash against Love Island’s promotion of fast fashion brands such as <a href="https://www.isawitfirst.com/">I Saw It First</a> and <a href="https://www.missguided.co.uk/">Missguided</a>, the show’s executive producer, Mike Spencer, has announced it’ll be working with eBay in 2022 to clothe participants in its current series with “preloved” garments.</p>
<p>Love Island boasts huge audience ratings among young people. Some <a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/entertainment/articles-reports/2019/07/29/what-kind-person-watches-love-island">43%</a> of Love Island viewers are under 30, and 16-34 year-olds made up <a href="https://www.itvmedia.co.uk/making-an-impact/love-island-launch-peaks-with-30-million-viewers-tv-overnights">one-third of viewers</a> of the series premiere on June 6. So the show has the power to influence young people’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">shopping habits</a>, largely through the official Love Island app where viewers can “shop the show” to find beauty and fashion items promoted by contestants. Producers hope that by linking viewers to eBay – where they’ll find a curated selection of “<a href="https://www.ebay.co.uk/b/Love-Island-Official-Looks/bn_7118520194">Islander-inspired</a>” outfits – they’ll be encouraged to buy secondhand instead.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A close up image of the Love Island app icon alongside other apps on a smartphone" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469783/original/file-20220620-18-694crv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">App partnerships allow viewers to buy styles similar to those seen on screen.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/stone-staffordshire-united-kingdom-july-2-1440369578">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>This is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">small step</a> in the right direction towards making sustainable lifestyles more accessible and fun. But more needs to be done in order to shift the pervasive association between popular culture and consumerism.</p>
<h2>Attracting sustainable consumers</h2>
<p>Love Island and its <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/molly-mae-hague-pretty-little-thing-love-island-b1909069.html">influential contestants</a>, including PrettyLittleThing creative director <a href="https://graziadaily.co.uk/celebrity/news/molly-mae-pretty-little-thing-fashion-week/">Molly-Mae Hague</a>, are known to <a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">drive fashion trends</a>. In previous years, online fashion sales have grown by <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-entertainment-climate-fashion-idUSL8N2Y13F7">more than one-tenth</a> during the eight-week summer period when the show airs. Early insights suggest this year will be no different, with eBay searches for dresses similar to those seen on contestants up by as much as <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/fashion-beauty/womens-clothing/love-island-2022-ebay-partnership-contestants-b2098165.html">200%</a>. </p>
<p>Sustainability advocates, including former Love Island contestant, model and fashion influencer <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-entertainment-climate-fashion-idUSL8N2Y13F7">Brett Staniland</a>, have argued that the show endorses a throwaway attitude to fashion. For many, this was epitomised by the show’s promotion of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2019/jun/22/one-pound-bikini-missguided-fast-fashion-leaves-high-street-behind">Missguided’s £1 bikini</a>, priced low enough to be considered disposable. In contrast, the show’s decision to partner with eBay should attract a new audience for the reuse culture message compared to the people sustainability messaging usually targets.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/love-island-ditches-fast-fashion-how-reality-celebrities-influence-young-shoppers-habits-183771">Love Island ditches fast fashion: how reality celebrities influence young shoppers' habits</a>
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<p><a href="https://www.unep.org/explore-topics/resource-efficiency/what-we-do/sustainable-consumption-and-production-policies">Sustainable consumption</a> involves recognising the environmental impact of our lifestyles and resolving to consume less. Moving away from disposability and towards reuse across all sectors of society – not just fashion – relies on cooperation between governments, businesses and citizens. </p>
<p>But motivating people to take environmental concerns into account when it comes to shopping is <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Sustainable-Consumption-Key-Issues/Middlemiss/p/book/9781138645660">challenging</a>, not least because we are bombarded with images that equate success or “<a href="https://sustainableearth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42055-020-00033-2">the good life</a>” with high levels of material consumption. Advertisers work hard to convince us that we need the latest car, gadget or fashion item to live a fulfilling life. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Rows of workers use sewing machines inside a factory hall" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469791/original/file-20220620-14-kbbew1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The fast fashion industry has been criticised for exploiting workers and damaging the environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/iloasiapacific/10987405545">Flickr/ILO Asia-Pacific</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p>Another challenge is to make sustainable lifestyles appealing to the mainstream, rather than just to <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0731121419836966?casa_token=ULG0ULUFgrUAAAAA%3AZ9iPdI05nccjXL4jNpsh9tQBVAjOVWV0QxBUWp6Kd599wcI4dzX-p5gUio4d-eXZI5zRBIS5Mjzb">affluent middle-class consumers</a>, who are already <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781315165509-9/participates-community-based-sustainable-consumption-projects-matter-constructively-critical-approach-manisha-anantharaman-emily-huddart-kennedy-lucie-middlemiss-sarah-bradbury">most receptive</a> to sustainable consumption campaigns.</p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/5-ways-to-shift-consumers-towards-sustainable-behaviour-120883">5 ways to shift consumers towards sustainable behaviour</a>
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<p>Living sustainably is often taken to mean giving up the things that we like (including cars, meat or holidays) and allowing our individual freedoms to be curtailed for the <a href="https://donellameadows.org/archives/a-synopsis-limits-to-growth-the-30-year-update/">common good</a>. And <a href="https://www.umasspress.com/9781558495043/the-anxieties-of-affluence/">critiques</a> of consumerism have linked good citizenship with restrained spending and denial of material pleasures. </p>
<p>Collaborations like that between Love Island and eBay – along with other popular campaigns such as <a href="https://wearme30times.com/">wearme30times</a>, which encourages us to only buy items of clothing if we’ll wear them at least 30 times – can play a big role in shifting these ideas. Importantly, they’re often successful because they work <em>with</em> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921344913001353">consumer culture</a> in recognising that we buy clothes to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2489287">communicate our identities</a>, display our social status and <a href="https://www.wiley.com/en-gb/A+Theory+of+Shopping-p-9780745667911">maintain social relationships</a> (as well as for fun). </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Two people look at a pink sweater in a store" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/469801/original/file-20220620-22-hcrp12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Sustainability is often targeted at more affluent people.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/young-female-customer-shopping-clothing-store-2053746332">Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>They also tap into our existing anxieties about fast fashion by introducing other options. Philosopher Kate Soper’s concept of “<a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1469540507077681?casa_token=3z_x321RxEAAAAAA:Y7DCzuBixwaDLKATY8-sMXjVlxEUzIgD6MrOdNKYonaHrPrYjkkvRrHhnpRjvcNRpOTZzAU2Rc64">alternative hedonism</a>” recognises how, when faced with the negative effects of consumption, it can be deeply satisfying to reduce your impact to benefit the world around you. That sense of satisfaction helps challenge enduring <a href="http://ecite.utas.edu.au/65295">social stigma</a> surrounding secondhand clothes, as well as promote sustainability among those unable to afford high-end eco-friendly fashion. </p>
<h2>Taking it further</h2>
<p>But the impact of this partnership should not be overestimated. Those who watch the show – but perhaps not the news – would be forgiven for missing it altogether, given there’s not yet been any mention of secondhand clothing on Love Island itself. In fact, what’s more likely to stand out is the appeal of a luxurious foreign holiday and the multiple beauty and fashion items pictured in dressing room scenes.</p>
<p>And <a href="https://theconversation.com/reducing-peak-demand-lowering-prices-but-what-about-emissions-11564">reducing consumption</a> is definitely not the message underpinning the show’s economy: with big brands advertising during breaks, in-app purchasing enabled across multiple social media platforms and contestants likely to become <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/17d9dd5c-90c3-11e8-bb8f-a6a2f7bca546">brand influencers</a> once the show ends. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/our-addiction-to-stuff-how-walmart-enables-us-to-destroy-the-planet-129066">Our addiction to stuff: How Walmart enables us to destroy the planet</a>
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<p>But if it was to <a href="https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/interventions-in-practice-reframing-policy-approaches-to-consumer-behaviour(f41b5679-f201-47df-ba48-12254e497074).html">lead by example</a>, Love Island could ditch conspicuous consumption altogether. Since many unsustainable behaviours are <a href="https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/interventions-in-practice-reframing-policy-approaches-to-consumer-behaviour(f41b5679-f201-47df-ba48-12254e497074).html">driven</a> by convenience, comfort and social norms, the show could promote <a href="https://www.ribabooks.com/whats-mine-is-yours-how-collaborative-consumption-is-changing-the-way-we-live_9780007395910">collaborative consumption</a> instead. </p>
<p>That could mean group cooking, which cuts <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/food-waste-9780857852342/">food waste</a> and appliance <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/aof/7691">energy consumption</a>, or a “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xq7ub4z7YLQ&ab_channel=MyGreenCloset">fashion library</a>” encouraging increased use of each clothing item. There’d certainly be entertainment value in watching contestants swap clothes or harvest local produce: or even slog through the British mud in a glamping-style scenario. Love Island already shows the good and the bad of dating – it’s time for it to get real about sustainability too.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/185242/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Katy Wheeler does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sustainable fashion collaborations show that living an eco-friendly life can be fun - here’s how popular shows can help dismantle consumerism altogether.Katy Wheeler, Senior Lecturer in Sociology, University of EssexLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1837712022-05-31T12:05:13Z2022-05-31T12:05:13ZLove Island ditches fast fashion: how reality celebrities influence young shoppers’ habits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/466255/original/file-20220531-14-8p3053.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=129%2C72%2C9492%2C5409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The cast of Love Island will be dressed in secondhand clothing as they look for love in the villa.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/galleries/love-island-ep1-week-23-2022-sat-04-jun-fri-10-jun-1">ITV Plc</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>This year, contestants on the TV show Love Island will be scantily clad in secondhand rather than new clothing – a pivot away from fast fashion that could influence more eco-conscious shopping habits in fans. The beloved reality show will return to televisions next week, and with it, an array of colourful bikinis and skintight outfits that viewers will seek out in order to dress like their favourite Islanders. </p>
<p>For the past <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2022/may/20/love-island-partners-with-ebay-to-dress-contestants-in-secondhand-outfits">three years</a> Love Island has partnered with online fast fashion brand <a href="https://www.isawitfirst.com/">I Saw it First</a>, which sponsored the show and provided clothes for contestants. This year, Love Island will be sponsored by eBay, and contestants will be dressed in secondhand outfits on screen. </p>
<p>Sustainability advocates will welcome the change, having criticised the show for encouraging fast fashion consumption. In June 2019, the online fashion retailer Missguided advertised a £1 bikini during a commercial break for Love Island. Former Love Island contestants were used as models to promote the bikini, cementing the link between fast fashion and reality <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17569370.2020.1794321">television</a>. </p>
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<img alt="Quarter life, a series by The Conversation" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/451343/original/file-20220310-13-1bj6csd.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><strong><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/topics/quarter-life-117947?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">This article is part of Quarter Life</a></strong>, a series about issues affecting those of us in our twenties and thirties. From the challenges of beginning a career and taking care of our mental health, to the excitement of starting a family, adopting a pet or just making friends as an adult. The articles in this series explore the questions and bring answers as we navigate this turbulent period of life.</em></p>
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/cluttercore-gen-zs-revolt-against-millennial-minimalism-is-grounded-in-victorian-excess-182706?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=UK+YP2022&utm_content=InArticleTop">Cluttercore: Gen Z’s revolt against millennial minimalism is grounded in Victorian excess</a></em></p>
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<p>Excessively low price points encourage a throwaway culture by implying that clothing has no value. Missguided said the <a href="https://www.missguided.co.uk/media-statement/one-pound-bikini-statement">£1 bikini was</a> a promotional item “sourced to the same high standards as all of our other products”, and that the company absorbed the production cost as a gift to customers.</p>
<p>Of course, partnering with eBay won’t discourage consumption overall. <a href="https://www.itv.com/presscentre/press-releases/ebay-becomes-love-islands-first-ever-pre-loved-fashion-partner">Viewers</a> will be able to explore eBay’s “preloved fashion” via the official Love Island app, where they can purchase similar outfits to what they can see on screen. The sponsorship may well encourage consumers to purchase secondhand clothing while the show is airing over eight weeks. </p>
<h2>Influencing shopping habits</h2>
<p>The show will still create influencers, who may form lucrative partnerships with fast fashion brands once they leave the villa. Last year’s winner, Millie Court, has since signed a deal with ASOS and launched her own <a href="https://www.asos.com/women/fashion-feed/2021_12_13-mon/love-island-millies-style-edit/">range</a>. Perhaps the most commercially successful contestant is Molly Mae Hague, who <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/fashion/a28780359/love-islands-molly-mae-signs-major-prettylittlething-contract/">landed</a> a six-figure clothing deal with Pretty Little Thing in 2019, before being named their creative director in <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/mollymae-hague-prettylittlething-maura-higgins-instagram-europe-b1909215.html">2021</a>.</p>
<p>Young consumers follow Love Island contestants and other reality celebrities on social media, and this affects their fashion purchasing choices. These celebrities often remain in the public eye after appearing on television, promoting fashion brands through their platforms. Shoppers look to reality stars for fashion inspiration, and many report being <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17569370.2020.1794321?scroll=top&needAccess=true">swayed by digital influencers</a> to make purchase decisions.</p>
<p>Love Island is especially <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50005148">influential</a> in the UK. In 2018, 80,000 hopefuls applied to appear on the show, while just 19,400 people applied to the University of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2018/jul/13/what-does-love-island-have-in-common-with-a-surrealist-dystopia-quite-a-lot-actually">Oxford</a> that same year. Appearing on Love Island for eight weeks is likely to earn you more money over the course of your life than three years at <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/17d9dd5c-90c3-11e8-bb8f-a6a2f7bca546">Oxbridge</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="The Love Island logo, a tropical beach with floating white text reading love island and a sparkly gold, floating heart" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465750/original/file-20220527-17-83iq0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465750/original/file-20220527-17-83iq0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465750/original/file-20220527-17-83iq0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465750/original/file-20220527-17-83iq0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465750/original/file-20220527-17-83iq0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465750/original/file-20220527-17-83iq0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465750/original/file-20220527-17-83iq0t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Even a short stint in the Love Island villa can lead to lucrative deals with fashion brands.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.itv.com/presscentre/itvpictures/galleries/love-island-ep1-week-23-2022-sat-04-jun-fri-10-jun">ITV Plc</a></span>
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<p>It is not uncommon for contestants to leave the show with over a million followers on social media. This is appealing to brands, who then pay these contestants to advertise their products. All of this has contributed to changing values among younger generations, who admire the instant <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17569370.2020.1794321">success</a> achieved by reality stars.</p>
<p>Reality celebrities and other influencers use social media to encourage followers to purchase the clothing they advertise at the click of a button. The instant gratification of purchasing clothes, without the need to visit the local high street, adds to the desirability – and disposable nature – of fast fashion.</p>
<h2>Fast fashion and the planet</h2>
<p>The detrimental environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry are <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s43017-020-0039-9.epdf">well documented</a>. In the UK, people buy more clothes per person than in any other country in <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/1952.pdf">Europe.</a> The fashion industry in the UK grows at a faster rate than the rest of the <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/4/1646">economy</a>, and an estimated £140 million worth of clothing is sent to landfill each <a href="https://wrap.org.uk/taking-action/textiles">year</a>. Many fast fashion garments are not made from single fibre materials, and therefore cannot be <a href="https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201719/cmselect/cmenvaud/1952/1952.pdf">recycled</a>. Fashion is destroying the planet, and yet we keep buying clothes. </p>
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<img alt="Cluttered rack of colourful fast fashion clothing" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465752/original/file-20220527-23-l7qt0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=78%2C123%2C7391%2C4860&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/465752/original/file-20220527-23-l7qt0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465752/original/file-20220527-23-l7qt0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465752/original/file-20220527-23-l7qt0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465752/original/file-20220527-23-l7qt0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465752/original/file-20220527-23-l7qt0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/465752/original/file-20220527-23-l7qt0v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Fast fashion’s impact on the environment is well documented.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/crowded-clearance-section-clothing-store-various-1646863171">Sundry Photography / Shutterstock</a></span>
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<p>Fast fashion is affordable, meaning that it is not always high quality, and often doesn’t contain durability or longevity. It is also <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/sustainable-fashion-blog/2014/oct/01/cotton-production-linked-to-images-of-the-dried-up-aral-sea-basin">resource intensive</a>, and when disposed of in landfill, takes an extremely long time to biodegrade.</p>
<p>However, it is possible to love fashion and still be environmentally aware. Changes in consumer values, vintage inspirations used by current fashion designers, and increased sustainability awareness have fuelled a growing popularity of the secondhand <a href="https://pure.hud.ac.uk/en/publications/the-rise-of-vintage-fashion-and-the-vintage-consumer">clothing market</a>.</p>
<p>Love Island’s decision to ditch fast fashion sponsors in favour of secondhand options is a step in the right direction. It will be interesting to see if this year’s contestants go on to partner with fast fashion brands or more sustainable and secondhand options upon leaving the show -– this may be the real test of success of the partnership with eBay.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183771/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rose Marroncelli does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The beloved reality show is partnering with eBay to promote secondhand outfits instead of fast fashion.Rose Marroncelli, PhD Researcher, Nottingham Trent UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1813662022-04-14T12:55:39Z2022-04-14T12:55:39ZSlow fashion: saving the planet with style<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/458167/original/file-20220414-26-owrk71.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3997&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/seamstress-sewing-linen-fabric-on-machine-2112387704">Caterina Trimarchi/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Each time you drag a new item of clothing into a virtual shopping basket, you may be supporting an industry responsible for 10% of global CO₂ emissions – not to mention widespread social harm. Fast fashion, the industry trend which whisks the latest catwalk designs into stores by way of polluting factories and sweat shops, is incompatible with the changes needed across all sectors to avert environmental breakdown. So what can you do about it?</p>
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<img alt="Imagine weekly climate newsletter" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/434988/original/file-20211201-21-13avx6y.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><strong><em>Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?</em></strong>
<br><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeTop">Get a weekly roundup in your inbox instead.</a> Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. <a href="https://theconversation.com/uk/newsletters/imagine-57?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=Imagine&utm_content=DontHaveTimeBottom">Join the 10,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p>Before we get into that, though, Just Stop Oil protesters have blocked fuel terminals across the UK in an effort to force the government to heed expert advice and halt new oil and gas extraction. You can read more on the changing nature of climate activism in a recent issue of Imagine <a href="https://theconversationuk.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/r/E8DC78F6BD06F1DB2540EF23F30FEDED/A87692A23C075C631C65CA3F48968C2E?alternativeLink=False">here</a>.</p>
<p>To really understand <a href="https://theconversation.com/following-a-t-shirt-from-cotton-field-to-landfill-shows-the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion-127363">how fast fashion hurts the planet</a>, it helps to follow the course a single garment takes. Mark Sumner, a lecturer in sustainability at the University of Leeds, charted the journey of a t-shirt from the field to your wardrobe. He reported that “it takes one-and-a-half Olympic swimming pools of water to grow one tonne of cotton”, and this is often in regions plagued by drought where farmers may only have “10 to 20 litres of water a day for washing, cleaning and cooking”.</p>
<p>“But the negative impacts only begin with growing the fibres,” Sumner says. Spinning and knitting the cotton into fabric generates 394 million tonnes of CO₂ per year, he estimates. Adding colour to that fabric uses yet more fresh water, which is often washed into waterways untreated afterwards – harmful chemicals and tiny fibres included.</p>
<p>“In Cambodia, for example, where clothing comprises 88% of industrial manufacturing, the fashion industry is responsible for 60% of water pollution,” Sumner says.</p>
<p>The dyed fabric is washed, dried and prepared for garment making. The whole energy-intensive process costs about 2.6kg of CO₂ per t-shirt – “the equivalent of driving 14km in a standard passenger car,” according to Sumner.</p>
<p>As you’ve probably guessed, the environmental calamity doesn’t end there.</p>
<p>“Over the past 15 years, clothing production has doubled while the length of time we actually wear these clothes has fallen by nearly 40%,” say Samantha Sharpe, Monique Retamal and Taylor Brydges, researchers at University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures in Australia. Their recommendation for people concerned about the fashion industry’s ballooning climate impact is simple:</p>
<p>“It would mean each of us <a href="https://theconversation.com/to-make-our-wardrobes-sustainable-we-must-cut-how-many-new-clothes-we-buy-by-75-179569">cutting how many new clothes we buy</a> by as much as 75%, buying clothes designed to last, and recycling clothes at the end of their lifetime.”</p>
<p>And for clothing manufacturers and retailers:</p>
<p>“It would mean tackling low incomes for the people who make the clothes, as well as support measures for workers who could lose jobs during a transition to a more sustainable industry,” they say.</p>
<h2>Fashion fasts can phase out fast fashion</h2>
<p>Urgent action is needed to head off what the team call “ultra-fast fashion”, which is responsible for “releasing unprecedented volumes of new clothes into the market”. It’s also leaning on some of the most exploited workers worldwide, in countries such as Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam where garment manufacturing presents an extreme risk of modern slavery. </p>
<p>Sharpe, Retamal and Brydges propose a movement towards “slow fashion” as the remedy, buying secondhand or renting clothes, prioritising clothing quality and classic styles over fleeting trends and reviving long-lost skills like mending and sewing.</p>
<p>Amber Martin-Woodhead, an assistant professor of human geography at Coventry University, has another recommendation for people eager to embrace slow fashion: shrink your wardrobe. During March, she took part in The Great Fashion Fast, launched by UK charity Tearfund.</p>
<p>“To take part, you choose ten main items of clothing (with some exceptions such as sportswear, underwear and uniforms) and <a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-fashion-expert-why-im-cutting-my-wardrobe-down-to-ten-items-this-month-177936">wear only these ten items</a> for the whole month,” Martin-Woodhead says.</p>
<p>“I’ve previously taken part in UK campaign group Labour Behind the Label’s Six Items Challenge, where you only wear six items over six weeks. As the research suggests, I found it really helped me realise just how few clothes I need.”</p>
<p>If you’d like to do something similar, you might find Martin-Woodhead’s tips useful. These include picking “a few matching colours so that everything goes together”, “pick[ing] different items that can make lots of different outfits” and choosing “versatile items that can be layered and worn in different ways”, like a jumper that can also be worn as a cardigan.</p>
<p>Your reward for doing all this may be more than a sense of satisfaction. According to new research by Louise and Martin Grimmer, experts in marketing at the University of Tasmania, shopping secondhand <a href="https://theconversation.com/do-you-shop-for-second-hand-clothes-youre-likely-to-be-more-stylish-180028">may mean you’re more stylish</a>:</p>
<p>“In our study, we found the higher people rate on style-consciousness” – essentially, how passionate they were about expressing themselves through their clothes and developing a personal style – “the more likely they are to shop second hand. In fact, style-consciousness was a bigger predictor of second-hand shopping than being frugal or ecologically-conscious.”</p>
<p>Dressing well and looking good needn’t cost the Earth, it seems.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/181366/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Rather than follow fleeting trends, find your own sense of eco-friendly style.Jack Marley, Environment + Energy Editor, UK editionLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1795692022-04-12T20:01:44Z2022-04-12T20:01:44ZTo make our wardrobes sustainable, we must cut how many new clothes we buy by 75%<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457063/original/file-20220408-26832-fnto70.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=9%2C0%2C2107%2C1409&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Getty</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If things don’t change fast, the fashion industry <a href="https://www.stockholmresilience.org/download/18.66e0efc517643c2b8103605/1617805679501/Sustainable%20Textiles%20Synthesis%20Report.pdf">could</a> use a quarter of the world’s remaining global carbon budget to keep warming under 2°C by 2050, and use 35% more land to produce fibres by 2030. </p>
<p>While this seems incredible, it’s not. Over the past 15 years, clothing production <a href="https://archive.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/explore/fashion-and-the-circular-economy">has doubled</a> while the length of time we actually wear these clothes has fallen by nearly 40%. In the EU, falling prices have seen people buying <a href="https://www.eea.europa.eu/publications/textiles-in-europes-circular-economy">more clothing</a> than ever before while spending less money in the process.</p>
<p>This is not sustainable. Something has to give. In our <a href="https://eeb.org/library/wellbeing-wardrobe-a-wellbeing-economy-for-the-fashion-and-textile-sector-summary">recent report</a>, we propose the idea of a wellbeing wardrobe, a new way forward for fashion in which we favour human and environmental wellbeing over ever-growing consumption of throwaway fast-fashion. </p>
<p>What would that look like? It would mean each of us cutting how many new clothes we buy by as much as <a href="https://katefletcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Earth-Logic-plan-FINAL.pdf">75%</a>, buying clothes designed to last, and recycling clothes at the end of their lifetime. </p>
<p>For the sector, it would mean tackling low incomes for the people who make the clothes, as well as support measures for workers who could lose jobs during a transition to a more sustainable industry. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457067/original/file-20220408-12027-ul3wn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Garment workers in Bangladesh, 2021" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457067/original/file-20220408-12027-ul3wn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/457067/original/file-20220408-12027-ul3wn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457067/original/file-20220408-12027-ul3wn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457067/original/file-20220408-12027-ul3wn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457067/original/file-20220408-12027-ul3wn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457067/original/file-20220408-12027-ul3wn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/457067/original/file-20220408-12027-ul3wn4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Fast fashion comes at a cost.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<h2>Sustainability efforts by industry are simply not enough</h2>
<p>Fashion is accelerating. Fast fashion is being replaced by <a href="https://amp.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/dec/21/how-shein-beat-amazon-at-its-own-game-and-reinvented-fast-fashion">ultra-fast fashion</a>, releasing unprecedented volumes of new clothes into the market. </p>
<p>Since the start of the year, fast fashion giants H&M and Zara have launched <a href="https://www.businessoffashion.com/articles/retail/why-shein-might-be-worth-100-billion-in-four-charts">around 11,000 new styles</a> combined. </p>
<p>Over the same time, ultra-fast fashion brand Shein has released a staggering 314,877 styles. Shein is currently the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-05/shein-is-the-new-darling-of-china-s-fast-fashion-industry-but-at/100964524">most popular shopping app in Australia</a>. As you’d expect, this acceleration is producing a tremendous amount of waste. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-only-do-so-much-we-asked-fast-fashion-shoppers-how-ethical-concerns-shape-their-choices-172978">'I can only do so much': we asked fast-fashion shoppers how ethical concerns shape their choices</a>
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<p>In response, the fashion industry has devised a raft of plans to tackle the issue. The problem is many sustainability initiatives still place economic opportunity and growth before environmental concerns. </p>
<p>Efforts such as switching to more sustainable fibres and textiles and offering ethically-conscious options are commendable. Unfortunately, they do very little to actually confront the sector’s rapidly increasing consumption of resources and waste generation. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Pile of clothes in landfill" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456532/original/file-20220406-11-bicez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456532/original/file-20220406-11-bicez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456532/original/file-20220406-11-bicez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456532/original/file-20220406-11-bicez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=385&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456532/original/file-20220406-11-bicez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456532/original/file-20220406-11-bicez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456532/original/file-20220406-11-bicez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=483&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Textile waste fills landfill in Bangladesh.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Swapan Photography/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On top of this, <a href="https://cleanclothes.org/news">labour rights abuses</a> of workers in the supply chain are rife. </p>
<p>Over the past five years, the industry’s issues of child labour, discrimination and forced labour have worsened globally. Major garment manufacturing countries including Myanmar, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Vietnam are considered an <a href="https://www.maplecroft.com/insights/analysis/worldwide-decline-in-labour-rights-strikes-at-heart-of-global-supply-chains/">“extreme risk”</a> for modern slavery. </p>
<p>Here’s what we can do to tackle the situation. </p>
<h2>1. Limit resource use and consumption</h2>
<p>We need to have serious conversations between industry, consumers and governments about limiting resource use in the fashion industry. As a society, we need to talk about how much clothing <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214629620304564?via%3Dihub">is enough</a> to live well. </p>
<p>On an individual level, it means buying fewer new clothes, as well as reconsidering where we get our clothes from. Buying secondhand clothes or using rental services are ways of changing your wardrobe with lower impact. </p>
<h2>2. Expand the slow fashion movement</h2>
<p>The growing <a href="https://slowfashion.global/">slow fashion movement</a> focuses on the quality of garments over quantity, and favours classic styles over fleeting trends.</p>
<p>We must give renewed attention to repairing and caring for clothes we already own to extend their lifespan, such as by reviving sewing, mending and other long-lost skills. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Person browses second hand clothes at market" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456535/original/file-20220406-18-wk6xgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/456535/original/file-20220406-18-wk6xgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456535/original/file-20220406-18-wk6xgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456535/original/file-20220406-18-wk6xgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456535/original/file-20220406-18-wk6xgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456535/original/file-20220406-18-wk6xgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/456535/original/file-20220406-18-wk6xgu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Shopping for secondhand clothes at vintage market.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Antonello Marangi/Shutterstock,</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>3. New systems of exchange</h2>
<p>The wellbeing wardrobe would mean shifting away from existing fashion business models and embracing new systems of exchange, such as collaborative consumption models, co-operatives, not-for-profit social enterprises and <a href="https://www.bcorporation.net/en-us/certification">B-corps</a>. </p>
<p>What are these? Collaborative consumption models involve sharing or renting clothing, while social enterprises and B-corps are businesses with purposes beyond making a profit, such as ensuring living wages for workers and minimising or eliminating environmental impacts. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/following-a-t-shirt-from-cotton-field-to-landfill-shows-the-true-cost-of-fast-fashion-127363">Following a t-shirt from cotton field to landfill shows the true cost of fast fashion</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>There are also methods that don’t rely on money, such as swapping or borrowing clothes with friends and altering or redesigning clothes in repair cafes and sewing circles. </p>
<h2>4. Diversity in clothing cultures</h2>
<p>Finally, as consumers we must nurture a diversity of clothing cultures, including incorporating the knowledge of <a href="https://www.russh.com/creator-of-australian-indigenous-fashion-yatu-widders-hunt-on-telling-stories-and-the-future-of-fashion/">Indigenous fashion design</a>, which has respect for the environment at its core. </p>
<p>Communities of exchange should be encouraged to recognise the cultural value of clothing, and to rebuild emotional connections with garments and support long-term use and care. </p>
<h2>What now?</h2>
<p>Shifting fashion from a perpetual growth model to a sustainable approach will not be easy. Moving to a post-growth fashion industry would require policymakers and the industry to bring in a wide range of reforms, and re-imagine roles and responsibilities in society. </p>
<p>You might think this is too hard. But the status quo of constant growth cannot last. </p>
<p>It’s better we act to shape the future of fashion and work towards a wardrobe good for people and planet – rather than let a tidal wave of wasted clothing soak up resources, energy and our very limited carbon budget.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/179569/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Sharpe receives funding from various government and non-government organisations. This research was funded by the European Environment Bureau. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monique Retamal receives research funding from various government and non-government organisations. This research was funded by the European Environmental Bureau.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Taylor Brydges receives research funding from various government and non-government organisations. This research was funded by the European Environmental Bureau.</span></em></p>The environmental footprint of the fashion industry is rising rapidly. Drastic changes are needed to make the sector more sustainable and equitable.Samantha Sharpe, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyMonique Retamal, Research Director, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology SydneyTaylor Brydges, Research Principal, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1800282022-04-11T05:27:46Z2022-04-11T05:27:46ZDo you shop for second-hand clothes? You’re likely to be more stylish<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455136/original/file-20220330-25-s0dlit.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C5715%2C3790&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Pexels</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Not only is second-hand shopping good for the planet and your wallet, <a href="https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1eme%7E3SU%7EVoF7C">our new research</a> finds the more style-conscious you are, the more likely you are to shop for second-hand clothes and accessories.</p>
<p>In the 2020-21 financial year, <a href="https://reluv.com.au/sustainability-report-fashion-resale-in-australia/">72% of Australians</a> purchased at least one item of second-hand clothes – but we wanted to know more about people who were shopping second hand.</p>
<p>It is <a href="https://debtbusters.com.au/buying-second-hand/">often assumed</a> those who shop for second-hand clothes do so to save money or reduce their impact on the environment.</p>
<p>In our study, we found the higher people rate on style-consciousness, the more likely they are to shop second hand. In fact, style-consciousness was a bigger predictor of second-hand shopping than being frugal or ecologically-conscious. </p>
<p>Style-conscious shoppers are very different from fashion-conscious shoppers. Fashion is all about the “new”: fashion is a novelty and constantly evolving. </p>
<p>Style, on the other hand, is about expressing long-term individual identity.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/secondhand-clothing-sales-are-booming-and-may-help-solve-the-sustainability-crisis-in-the-fashion-industry-148403">Secondhand clothing sales are booming – and may help solve the sustainability crisis in the fashion industry</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The problem with fashion</h2>
<p>Fashion shoppers are used to a continuous supply of new trends and “fast fashion” products. Fast fashion works quickly to replicate an ever moving stream of fashion trends, generating large volumes of low-quality apparel. </p>
<p>The impact of fast fashion on the environment is significant and well-documented. Globally, the fast fashion industry creates <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/csr.2166">92 million tonnes of waste</a> per year and uses 79 trillion litres of water. Less than 15% of clothes are recycled or reused. </p>
<p>Poorly made and low-quality fast fashion items are a significant problem for charity stores, who are <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-01-14/charities-not-accepting-donations-as-bins-overflow/10713158">forced to send</a> fast fashion items they can’t sell to landfill. </p>
<p>But, going against this fast fashion trend, <a href="https://www.thredup.com/resale/#resale-industry">growing numbers</a> of people are shopping for second-hand clothing and accessories. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-only-do-so-much-we-asked-fast-fashion-shoppers-how-ethical-concerns-shape-their-choices-172978">'I can only do so much': we asked fast-fashion shoppers how ethical concerns shape their choices</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>A growing market</h2>
<p>It’s difficult to determine the size of the second-hand market because many sales take place in informal settings such as pre-loved markets and online platforms like Facebook Marketplace. </p>
<p>However, sales data from online platforms shows an explosion in growth. James Reinhart, CEO of online second-hand fashion retailer Thredup, has predicted the global second-hand market <a href="https://www.thredup.com/resale/#size-and-impact">will double</a> in the next five years to US$77 billion (A$102 billion). </p>
<p>He also predicts the second-hand market will be double the size of fast fashion <a href="https://www.thredup.com/resale/#transforming-closets">by 2030</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.thechainsaw.com/online-secondhand-platforms-booming-australia-2020-11">Younger shoppers</a> are driving growth in popularity of second-hand shopping, especially via online platforms.</p>
<p>Our research suggests much of this growth is due to shoppers considering themselves to be style-conscious. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/CA2WAdSgca6","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>What makes a second-hand shopper?</h2>
<p>We surveyed 515 Australian female-identifying consumers looking at their “orientation” (the preference to behave in a certain way) when it comes to shopping. Each participant was measured for their orientation towards frugality, how ecologically conscious they are, their level of materialism, how prone they are towards nostalgia, their fashion-consciousness and their style-consciousness. </p>
<p>While we found there are frugal and ecologically-conscious second-hand shoppers, our research revealed overwhelmingly that style-consciousness is the greatest predictor of second-hand fashion shopping. </p>
<p>People who scored highly on the style-consciousness scale were more likely to shop for second-hand clothes than any of the other orientations. </p>
<p>A style-conscious person expresses themselves through their clothes. These shoppers want clothes that complement their personal style and values. They look for authentic and original pieces and avoid mainstream trends and fast fashion. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca0fWXCpN8y","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<p>Style-conscious shoppers buy high-quality, durable clothing and accessories. While fashion-conscious shoppers are constantly buying new clothes to keep up with current trends, style-conscious shoppers buy clothes that are timeless, well-crafted and allow them to express their individual identity over the long-term.</p>
<p>Traditional thrift shops run by charities are responding to consumer demand, <a href="https://www.timeout.com/los-angeles/shopping/rare-by-goodwill">reinventing their stores</a> with carefully selected, high-quality clothes, improved merchandising and store design, online sales and improved <a href="https://www.cmo.com.au/article/688451/how-salvos-embraced-ecommerce/">digital and social media marketing</a>.</p>
<p>The number of independently owned, highly-curated “pre-loved” stores and online sales platforms is also <a href="https://reluv.com.au/sustainability-report-fashion-resale-in-australia/?utm_source=home&utm_medium=cnva_link&utm_campaign=fashion_report_21">increasing</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02650487.2021.2000125">Social media influencers</a> have driven much of this growth. Their accounts embrace second-hand fashion, the <a href="https://planetark.org/about/objectives/sustainable-resource-use">circular economy</a> (which highlights reuse, repair, repurpose and recycle) and promote the notion of <a href="https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/secondhandfirst/">#secondhandfirst</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="InstagramEmbed" data-react-props="{"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/B064OkRHEy2","accessToken":"127105130696839|b4b75090c9688d81dfd245afe6052f20"}"></div></p>
<h2>Helping the planet…with style</h2>
<p>We hope with increasing numbers of second-hand stores, markets and online platforms selling a range of quality, pre-loved clothes at different price points for different budgets – coupled with the <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/consumer-affairs/second-hand-clothing-to-overtake-fast-fashion-20191004-p52xt4.html">growing acceptance</a> of second-hand shopping – shoppers will consider buying second-hand more often. </p>
<p>For those who already embrace “not needing new”, not only are you helping the planet – our research shows you are also likely to be doing it with style.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180028/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Louise Grimmer occasionally sells clothes and accessories via depop.com.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>This research was conducted with Honours student Freya Evans.</span></em></p>It’s not just about being eco-conscious and frugal: second-hand clothes shoppers are also more stylish.Louise Grimmer, Associate Head Research Performance and Senior Lecturer in Retail Marketing, University of TasmaniaMartin Grimmer, Associate Provost and Professor of Marketing, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1779362022-03-01T12:30:51Z2022-03-01T12:30:51ZSustainable fashion expert: why I’m cutting my wardrobe down to ten items this month<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449006/original/file-20220228-19-18f9qs4.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=38%2C66%2C1705%2C1306&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Amber Martin-Woodhead</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The rise of fast fashion has led to <a href="https://cleanclothes.org/fashions-problems/waste-and-pollution">huge increases</a> in the amount of clothes made, bought and thrown away. Between 80 and 100 billion items of clothing are made globally <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.co.uk/environment/2019/06/the-huge-toll-fast-fashion-the-planet-and-why-the-answer-could-be-circular">each year</a>. Greenhouse gas emissions from textile production <a href="https://emf.thirdlight.com/link/kccf8o3ldtmd-y7i1fx/@/preview/1?o">are greater</a> than those from international flights and the shipping industry combined, making the fashion industry a significant contributor to climate change.</p>
<p>Yet a <a href="https://comresglobal.com/polls/tearfund-great-fashion-fast-poll/">survey</a> of UK adults found that 57% of respondents owned new clothes they’d never worn. Meanwhile, <a href="https://comresglobal.com/polls/tearfund-great-fashion-fast-poll/">less than one in four</a> UK adults cite concerns about the environment as the main reason they would buy fewer clothes.</p>
<p>In a bid to raise funds and highlight the link between the fashion industry and the climate crisis, UK charity Tearfund is launching <a href="https://www.tearfund.org/campaigns/join-the-great-fashion-fast">The Great Fashion Fast</a> this March. To take part you choose ten main items of clothing (with some exceptions such as sportswear, underwear and uniforms) and wear only these ten items for the whole month.</p>
<p>I’m going to be taking part because research has shown that fashion fasts and challenges, where you stop shopping for clothes or only wear a set number of items over a certain period – or both – can have a variety of benefits.</p>
<p>For example, these initiatives can help people develop their personal style and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0887302X15579990">enhance their creativity</a> with fashion. They can also be associated with improvements in self-confidence and stop people feeling pressure to constantly <a href="http://gfc-conference.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/KIDD-ET-AL_The-Fashion-Detox-Challenge-An-experiment-in-reduced-clothing-consumption.pdf">buy new clothes</a>. Studies have shown these challenges can help participants realise that they might not need <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15487733.2021.1891673">as many clothes</a> as they once thought they did, move away from previous <a href="http://gfc-conference.eu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/KIDD-ET-AL_The-Fashion-Detox-Challenge-An-experiment-in-reduced-clothing-consumption.pdf">impulse shopping habits</a>, and encourage more considered fashion purchases in the future.</p>
<p>I’ve previously taken part in UK campaign group Labour Behind the Label’s <a href="https://labourbehindthelabel.org/get-involved/fundraise-for-us/the-six-items-challenge/">Six Items Challenge</a>, where you only wear six items over six weeks. As the research suggests, I found it really helped me realise just how few clothes I need. It made picking an outfit each morning incredibly simple, while creating lots of different outfits from only a few items of clothing showed me how versatile just a few pieces can be.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/read-this-before-you-go-sales-shopping-the-environmental-costs-of-fast-fashion-88373">Read this before you go sales shopping: the environmental costs of fast fashion</a>
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<h2>Tips for choosing the best items</h2>
<p>Along the way, I also picked up some practical tips, which are good to keep in mind if you fancy taking part in a fashion challenge yourself.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>When choosing your items, it’s best to try to pick a few matching colours so that everything goes together. For this year’s Great Fashion Fast I’ve picked neutrals – black, grey and white, plus pink (you can see my choices in the photo at the top of the article).</p></li>
<li><p>Try to pick different items that can make lots of different outfits. I’ve chosen one coat, two pairs of jeans, one skirt, three tops and three cardigans. The Great Fashion Fast website offers some <a href="https://www.tearfund.org/campaigns/join-the-great-fashion-fast/the-great-fashion-fast-guide">helpful examples</a> of what sorts of items to pick.</p></li>
<li><p>Versatile items that can be layered and worn in different ways are helpful. For example, I’ve got a jumper that can also be worn as a cardigan.</p></li>
<li><p>Think about the weather. It’s quite chilly in the UK in March, so I’ve picked a few cardigans that I can layer up if needed.</p></li>
<li><p>When doing a fashion fast, it can be helpful to handwash the odd item in the sink so you don’t run out of clothes. </p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman looks at clothes on a rack." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449013/original/file-20220228-13-2sbfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/449013/original/file-20220228-13-2sbfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449013/original/file-20220228-13-2sbfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449013/original/file-20220228-13-2sbfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449013/original/file-20220228-13-2sbfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449013/original/file-20220228-13-2sbfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/449013/original/file-20220228-13-2sbfm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The fast fashion industry takes a heavy toll on the environment.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/woman-choosing-dress-during-shopping-garments-266841506">Dmitry Kalinovsky/Shutterstock</a></span>
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</figure>
<h2>Everyone can make their wardrobe more sustainable</h2>
<p>While a fashion fast is great for raising funds and starting conversations about sustainable fashion, if it’s not your cup of tea, there are still plenty of things you can do to support it.</p>
<ul>
<li><p>First, try to keep your clothes for as long as possible by washing them carefully and repairing them. For example, bobbles on knitwear can be removed with a razor or fabric shaver, and a small sewing kit can be all you need to <a href="https://youtu.be/MmcEF2GR584">sew back on buttons</a> and sew up any <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkrc-V8sRlk">holes or tears</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>Try to buy second-hand clothes where possible (I prefer the term “pre-loved”). Charity shops, vintage stores, and websites like Facebook marketplace, eBay, Vinted and HardlyEverWornIt are great places to start. Swapping clothes with friends and family can be a good option too.</p></li>
<li><p>Have you thought about <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/extras/indybest/fashion-beauty/womens-clothing/best-fashion-rental-service-womens-wardrobe-online-subscription-dress-designer-a9586991.html">renting clothes</a>? There are now lots of companies that offer fashion rental based on a subscription service or pay per hire. Renting clothes can be a more sustainable approach for people who like to wear lots of different outfits.</p></li>
<li><p>If you do need to buy something new, try to adopt a “quality over quantity” approach so you reduce the overall amount of clothes you own and keep them for longer. Buying higher-quality clothes can be tricky if you’re on a tight budget, so renting or trying to buy good quality secondhand items can be a good way around this.</p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/four-clothing-businesses-that-could-lead-us-away-from-the-horrors-of-fast-fashion-165578">Four clothing businesses that could lead us away from the horrors of fast fashion</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/177936/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amber Martin-Woodhead has received funding from the Royal Geographical Society for research on minimalism. </span></em></p>‘Fashion fasts’ are a great way of challenging fast fashion by helping us question how many clothes we really need and reducing fashion consumption.Amber Martin-Woodhead, Assistant Professor in Human Geography, Coventry UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1732352021-12-14T19:11:20Z2021-12-14T19:11:20ZHow we can use the law to make the fashion industry fairer to women and the earth<p>In March 1911, in a <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-social-inquiry/article/abs/triangle-shirtwaist-factory-fire-of-1911-social-change-industrial-accidents-and-the-evolution-of-commonsense-causality/576CA665F1EC2DB1C246F9DA22AAD2BC">garment factory in Manhattan</a>, over 100 people, mostly Jewish and Italian women migrants, some as young as 14, were trapped inside and died as the factory burnt to the floor. Management had locked the doors. </p>
<p>In the following years, women workers mobilised. Their protests catalysed major law reforms in the US which are still enjoyed today – social security, unemployment insurance, the abolition of child labour, minimum wages and the right to unionise.</p>
<p>Yet the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire is alarmingly reminiscent of the 2013 collapse of the <a href="https://www.ilo.org/global/topics/geip/WCMS_614394/lang--en/index.htm">Rana Plaza</a> in the Savar Upazila district of Dhaka, Bangladesh, which saw the death of 1,134 people, mostly young women, and over 2,500 injured. </p>
<p>Rana Plaza was home to factories manufacturing garments for <a href="https://archive.cleanclothes.org/safety/ranaplaza/who-needs-to-pay-up">renowned global brands</a>, but the spotlight on this tragedy is now dimming. Years on, accountability for the resulting safety accords remains insufficient and many factories continue to <a href="https://www.stern.nyu.edu/experience-stern/faculty-research/five-years-after-rana-plaza-way-forward">escape scrutiny</a>. </p>
<p>Consumers are increasingly looking for sustainable and ethical fashion. We believe these goals are inseparable from an industry which embraces gender justice. But gender justice cannot be achieved by consumer demand and boycotts alone. Instead, we need <a href="https://www.genderlawindex.org/">gender-responsive law reform</a>.</p>
<p>Our <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-and-human-rights-journal/article/abs/fast-fashion-for-2030-using-the-pattern-of-the-sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-to-cut-a-more-genderjust-fashion-sector/326A2604C7FB89EAAC2B931B98F4C6A0">new research</a> sets out six ways to cut a more gender-just and sustainable fashion sector.</p>
<h2>1. Accountability</h2>
<p>The fashion sector’s gendered hierarchy is ingrained. Workers on the floor are largely female, while floor managers, security and factory owners are largely male. </p>
<p>Female workers are vulnerable to harassment, violence and exploitation. There is an absence of adequate complaint mechanisms and women often risk retaliation. </p>
<p>Accountability is needed not only in the countries producing garments, but also in countries where the garments are sold, and through all stages of the supply chain. </p>
<p>Modern Slavery Acts, including <a href="https://legislation.nsw.gov.au/view/html/inforce/current/act-2018-030">Australia’s 2018 law</a>, establish reporting obligations for businesses, requiring them to
report on the due diligence they have conducted with respect to potential risks of exploitation in their supply chains.</p>
<p>But accountability has to go beyond the current <a href="https://law.adelaide.edu.au/ua/media/1410/ALR_40%283%29_11_Vijeyarasa_Web.pdf">“naming and shaming” provisions</a>.</p>
<p>Penalties should be imposed and used to fund victim compensation, not just for workplace injuries but also for workers who suffer gender-based harms.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/senates-vote-to-ban-slave-made-imports-shows-the-weakness-of-australias-modern-slavery-act-166647">Senate's vote to ban slave-made imports shows the weakness of Australia's Modern Slavery Act</a>
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<h2>2. A living wage</h2>
<p>Minimum wages rarely equate to a <a href="https://www.globallivingwage.org/about/what-is-a-living-wage/">living wage</a>, one that affords a decent standard of living for the worker and her family. </p>
<p>The United Nations’ <a href="https://sdgs.un.org/goals">Sustainable Development Goals</a> call for full and productive employment and decent work for all. </p>
<p>In factories, this would mean acknowledging a living wage is needed for workers to be able to afford food, water, housing, education, health care, transportation, clothing and other essential needs. This needs to be coupled with an appreciation of how workers are impacted when rental prices outpace annual increases in the minimum wage.</p>
<p>Sustainable economic growth also requires financing the social security of workers including maternity leave, unemployment and disability insurance.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/it-would-cost-you-20-cents-more-per-t-shirt-to-pay-an-indian-worker-a-living-wage-88309">It would cost you 20 cents more per T-shirt to pay an Indian worker a living wage</a>
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<h2>3. Community</h2>
<p>Workers are often migrants who leave their children behind in the care of families.</p>
<p>Many garment-producing countries lack sufficient gender-responsive public services needed by women workers: decent public housing, street lighting and healthcare in close proximity to factories. </p>
<p>The Sustainable Development Goals ask for the recognition of the unequal share of unpaid care work borne by women. This impacts women workers’ lives outside the factory floor. Without this recognition, gendered labour will continue to sustain the global economy. </p>
<p>Women also face <a href="https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C190">gender-based violence</a> on and off the factory floor. Legislation is needed to protect workers from such violence in all the spaces in which they move, including the commute to and from work.</p>
<h2>4. Taxation</h2>
<p>Potential tax revenue is lost by governments in garment-producing countries through regulatory loopholes. </p>
<p>Rather than directly owning production factories, some companies claim to buy their products from “independent suppliers”. This arms-length principle eradicates the need for major retail brands to pay corporate tax in these countries. </p>
<p>This lost revenue has a disproportionate impact on women, including undermining the provision of gender-responsive public services. Comprehensive social protection schemes remain underfunded. </p>
<p>Reforms to eradicate these tax loopholes may see a notable increase in government revenue for garment-supply countries to fund these much needed services.</p>
<h2>5. Representation and voice</h2>
<p>Women make up the majority of garment workers, but their influence over corporate and government decision-making remains marginal. </p>
<p>Trade unions have improved representation, but frequently their approach to gender equality is piecemeal. Many women fashion workers remain un-unionised. As a result, fundamental concerns of women workers are often given inadequate attention. </p>
<p>The implementation of <a href="https://indicators.report/targets/8-8/">labour standards from the International Labour Organization</a> could see more spaces carved out for women worker’s interests to be voiced and heard.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shocking-bangladesh-reality-for-workers-highlights-key-role-for-labour-unions-15522">Shocking Bangladesh reality for workers highlights key role for labour unions</a>
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<h2>6. Responsible consumption</h2>
<p>Consumer choice is often presented as the key to transforming the fashion industry. Consumers need persuading to make human rights-based decisions, in the same way they are persuaded by brand, quality and price. </p>
<p>Consumers may look for clothing labelled as “ethical fashion”, “organic” or “eco”, but shoppers are also wary of “<a href="https://jcsr.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40991-019-0044-9">greenwashing</a>”.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/i-can-only-do-so-much-we-asked-fast-fashion-shoppers-how-ethical-concerns-shape-their-choices-172978">'I can only do so much': we asked fast-fashion shoppers how ethical concerns shape their choices</a>
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<p>While <a href="http://www.makethelabelcount.org/">imperfect</a>, the European Union’s proposal to make transparent the <a href="https://www.ecotextile.com/2021070828060/materials-production-news/consultation-opens-on-european-pef-proposals.html">environmental footprint of clothing</a> should enable stronger transparency on the environmental impact of fashion labels. </p>
<p>This transparency must also extend to human rights issues looking at how the clothing is produced.</p>
<p>Clearly law and fashion have much to gain from each other. But there has to be a more robust and effective solution than shifting accountability from corporations to the individual. A simple boycott may not be the best choice: instead contact your local MP and encourage them to care about and demand gender-responsive law reform.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/173235/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Our new research sets out six ways to cut a more gender-just and sustainable fashion sector.Mark Liu, Visiting Scholar: School of Architecture and School of Engineering, University of Technology SydneyRamona Vijeyarasa, Senior Lecturer and Juris Doctor Program Head, University of Technology Sydney and Women's Leadership Institute Australia Research Fellow, University of Technology SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.