Fast Fashion?
What is fast fashion? Fast fashion is buying trendy clothes from large brands that often switch their inventory frequently, which is not sustainable. The problem with fast fashion is a lot of theses clothes are made quickly and cheaply and therefore do not last a long time. This idea of buying clothes and only wearing them for a short time is making a huge impact on the environment, as it is creating an excessive amount of waste. The public became aware of the dangers of fast fashion when the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed in 2013. This business was a supplier for a large number of big brands and wound up killing thousands (1,134 died, 2,500 were injured) when it fell apart, this building was not following code. The issue of fast fashion is extremely important. Not only is fast fashion harming the environment, but it is also showing poor conditions to the workers.
This shirt I have from American Eagle is made in China, which does surprise me since American Eagle is a large brand. American Eagle committed to making a change in 2017 but has not seemed to come far. The company overall is rated as not good and struggles with fair wage and supply chain, which is as to the destruction of the planet.While this information doesn’t surprise me, I feel like it knowing their lack of effort will skew me away from purchasing their clothes.
Champion shorts I have were made in Cambodia. The company as a whole seems to be making a big effort in moving toward a sustainable effort by 2020. Not only do they have set goals, but they are also tracking the emissions and are aware of their impact. I think this is a start, however not perfect.
My first reaction to the Adidas is the rating it received, which was good. I was not expecting such a high standard. The shirt I got in was made in Turkey. This was the most recent update of the brand and also gets positive media from it being environmentally friendly, however it lacks in the pay wedge, making little improvement from previous years.
This shirt traveled from Jordan to where it lays in my closet now. The brand is seemed to be struggling both with payment of employees and its policies concerning water. However, the company seems to be taking steps to fix and combat these issues in the upcoming years.
Nike seems to be making a strong effort to helping move towards a more sustainable future. It has commitments to reduce greenhouse gases by 2025. Nike is a huge international brand and the shorts I have seem to have been made in Thailand. It seems to be making a positive change by making sure to use renewable resources in its clothes.
I was surprised by all the background knowledge I was able to learn from the website, good on you, about these popular brands. I think the biggest thing I was able to take away from looking closely at the labels and the company’s background was what effort they are putting into this worldwide problem. I am now a better consumer and will make sure to be more aware when I purchase clothes.
Media covers sustainable fashion in multiple ways. Sustainable Fashion is covered in a lot of different versions of media. Both informally and formally. Informally Twitter and other social media play a large role in promoting sustainable fashion. While this venue isn’t the best at displaying in-depth information, it attracts a lot of views. I think websites are more formal and are given a lot of information and background information about sustainable, which is informative. I think overall the media is doing good but can be doing a better job at making sure information is being read and retained by viewers. I think companies are starting to recognize the impact of sustainable fashion and are more aware of their actions.
Brands often face a big difficulty between choosing to have an ethical or profitable brand. While the goal would be to have every brand be 100% ethical, being ethical usually means a lower profit. Having an ethical brand requires paying employees equal and fair wage and upholding factory conditions. This is a lot easier said than done because companies still have to sell products for a competitive price. Ethical means doing things the correct and moral way, the downside is lower profit. Being ethical is harder for companies and requires a level of commitment to the environment and the earth.
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