2/27/2024 0 Comments Nasa shirt sheinIt will take governments, universities and businesses working together to fulfil our collective responsibility to protect our planet and industry for future generations. Last week the European Environmental Agency announced a crackdown on fast fashion. We need to take away the licence to do harm. It’s a social, creative, economic and cultural set of activities that can contribute to the world, not just take from it. Fashion is something that we all take part in. We apply our creative skills in places where we can make the biggest difference, from refugee camps in Jordan, to communities in east London. The industry was designed to maximise profit at any cost, so radical action must be taken to rebuild it to include equity, racial and climate justice. Working with students at London College of Fashion, UAL, we set out to create propositions in fashion that can transform this model. Whether they are workers in Leicester being paid £3.50 an hour in sweatshop conditions, or farmers in India dying from dangerous chemicals in the production of cotton – collectively and individually, we are all paying. Fast fashion is far from cheap – someone, somewhere is paying the real price. This lack of regulation and incentives to grow infinitely are an absurdity on a finite planet. Governments continue to offer a licence to do harm, endorsing poorly regulated, exploitative practices that don’t count the costs incurred in pollution, emissions (fashion emits more than international aviation and shipping combined), soil degradation, biodiversity loss and human wellbeing. Ultra-fast fashion has little to do with democratisation and much more to do with profit for those at the top Secondhand, resale and rental are rapidly growing, but rather than replacing at least part of the dominant system, people are still tempted back to these brands, which perpetuate such a warped image of prosperity. Designers such as Bethany Williams embody fashion with integrity. There is a burgeoning (but not yet fully representative) array of fashion that does not subscribe to this model. There are much better ways of making a living and representing yourself than through clothes that are environmentally and socially destructive. This dominant model of fashion is untenable. The biggest customer base is people with substantial disposable incomes, which raises the question: where did our fashion sense go so wrong? ![]() ![]() It is not those on low incomes who drive this industry. We should be under no illusions: ultra-fast fashion has little to do with democratisation and much more to do with profit and wealth for those at the top.įrench activists protest the annual Black Friday shopping frenzy in Paris. Some herald it as inclusive, due to its price points, and others call it out for the impact of its practices on life and lives. The Shein valuation has sharply divided opinion and we would do well to consider why this is so. Its extraordinary rise in popularity comes despite a poor social and environmental record and controversial practices, from allegedly ripping off designs from small labels to producing swastika necklaces, not to mention the labour conditions found among its suppliers. In a week when we have also seen the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lay out the stark realities of the climate emergency – and with a growing number of people purporting to care deeply about the future of the planet – the success of Shein is somewhat of a paradox. ![]() Shein’s meteoric rise is taking fast fashion, an already resource-depleting model in environmental and social terms, to fresh depths, carving out a new category: ultra-fast fashion. Shein overtook Amazon as the most downloaded shopping app in the US last year, underlining how its use of digital marketing has helped it overtake rivals so adeptly. ![]() Most returns end up in landfill because it costs more to put them back in circulation. Shein ships to more than 150 countries – a sobering thought when you consider the emissions not just of deliveries but also returns. If an item does well, more batches are commissioned if not, the lines are immediately discontinued. It relies on third-party suppliers in China to produce small batches of clothes, about 50-100 per item. Predicated on the “test and repeat” model, made famous by Inditex and H&M, just 6% of Shein’s inventory remains in stock for more than 90 days. The Guangzhou-based business was founded in 2008 by Chris Xu and has 7,000 employees. Most returned items end up in landfill as its cheaper than putting them back in circulation.
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