This article is an updated version of a prior article published Jan. 24, 2022.
It’s never been easier to buy cheap, trendy clothes. But there’s a dark side to the SHEIN hauls all over your #foryoupage. Fast fashion purchases come at the expense of people and the planet—an issue that sustainability activists are bringing to light.
Facing the facts
The fast fashion model consists of rapid, large-scale production meant to keep up with trend cycles, according to CNN. A 2019 report by the U.S. Senate Joint Economic Committee valued the global fashion industry at $2.5 trillion. PR Newswire explains that brands increase their profit margins by outsourcing manufacturing to countries with lax laws and cheap labor. They often pass these savings onto consumers, who can buy more clothes for less.
Molly Whitlock, ‘23, an accounting and environmental studies graduate, said, “People are so far removed from fast fashion. We don’t see people putting their blood into these clothes that we’re buying so cheaply.”
Whitlock cited the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh which killed over 1,000 people, according to the Associated Press. Factory owners previously dismissed garment workers’ concerns about the building’s safety and forced them to continue working. Because of this tragedy, leaders and activists criticized global fashion brands for failing to ensure safe working conditions within their supply chains.
As a result of public pressure, some companies signed safety accords and voiced commitment to transparent and ethical sourcing, according to The Guardian. However, such actions were limited in scope. The dangers of fast fashion aren’t exclusive to Bangladesh, and the industry continues to grow. Accountability measures should expand in tandem, stated a 2023 policy brief by The George Washington University Law School.
Public Eye noted a lack of accountability within SHEIN’s supply chain in a 2021 investigation, alleging some factories violated Chinese labor law. Employees lacked official contracts and averaged about 75 hours per week, with only one or two free days a month. Furthermore, they were paid by piece, without a minimum wage or overtime premiums. Many factories also failed to uphold basic safety standards; there were no emergency exits and windows, hallways and stairs were obstructed.
In 2021, Reuters reported that wage theft—an longstanding issue for garment workers—was exacerbated by layoffs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Factories supplying global fashion brands owed their workers about $40 million in severance pay. Many of these individuals couldn’t afford to feed their families, according to The Guardian.
Environmental ethics
Environmental and worker safety often go hand in hand. Esen Andiç-Mortan, associate professor of management, said fashion production can expose humans and ecosystems to toxic chemicals. The industry is also a major contributor to greenhouse gas pollution, with CNN estimating emissions to be 2.3 billion tons, or 4% of the global total, in 2018 alone.
Andiç-Mortan described other environmental issues within the supply chain including raw material exploitation, soil degradation and excessive water usage. Additionally, the poor quality of fast fashion pieces means they quickly pile up in landfills.
These companies do not effectively address environmental and societal concerns because their business model requires exploitation, according to Andiç-Mortan. She described fast fashion as “inherently unsustainable [and]built to encourage overproduction and overconsumption.”
Consumer culture
Despite its ethical issues, fast fashion remains popular for two main reasons: affordability and cultural capital.
Grace Nelles, ‘23, an environmental studies graduate and former intern for NCC’s office of sustainability, unpacked young consumers’ relationship to fast fashion. She said many face the challenge of pursuing education and early careers without much financial independence.
“When we need clothes, we’re in the position of shopping based on price instead of quality and ethical production. Most of what we can afford is based on the fast fashion model. They build clothes that fall apart to keep customers coming back,” Nelles said.
She also discussed the social pressure to be stylish, with quickly changing trends giving new clothing a short life cycle. Videos like SHEIN hauls often go viral on TikTok, encouraging overconsumption. However, many young people have gained awareness of the issue and are now advocating for sustainability.
Carly Drake, assistant professor of marketing, emphasized that brands must respond to consumer demands to make money. Advocating for sustainable and ethical production creates the potential for change. Still, she noted that consumer intention and action don’t always align.
“Done correctly, sustainable and ethical products can make fashion more expensive, inconvenient and time consuming for the everyday person,” Drake said. “So, consumers may not take up the very ‘green’ initiatives they asked for. It’s up to the entire fashion system to enable more sustainable and ethical consumption if we want to see positive results. Both consumers and brands need to make compromises for this to work.”
Activism in action
Elizabeth Joy Magalski, sustainability advocate and founder of Conscious Life and Style, described how activism is changing the fashion industry. For example, the #PayUp campaign led by Remake helped recover wages from orders cancelled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the California Garment Worker Protection Act of 2022 established minimum wage instead of payment per piece, according to the Labor Commissioner’s Office. A 2023 article by The Nation highlighted a push for similar legislation at the federal level. Notably, the European Union has already laid out a comprehensive plan for a more ethical and transparent fashion industry.
These efforts matter because a sustainable future for fashion must center people, not just the environment, according to Magalski.
“[Most] fashion products are made in the Global South or by women of color in the Global North and [most]risk is placed on the manufacturers in garment production countries, yet [they lack]a real say in how the industry operates. We see garment workers unpaid and underpaid, overworked and subject to unsafe conditions, while the CEOs of many of these fashion brands rank among the richest in the world,” Magalski said.
Magalski said the most powerful people in the fashion industry benefit from the way it operates currently. True change, then, comes from outside the industry, including grassroots movements, small slow fashion businesses and legislation.
