The global fashion retail market is stated to be around $300 billion dollars and projected to reach $360 billion by 2025. This big increase has created an even bigger demand, as people want fast, quality and more importantly cheap items. This new demand is what many people are calling Fast Fashion.

However, with fast fashion and the ability to get clothes for dirt cheap prices, comes a range of serious negative costs. The costs caused by fast fashion might not clear to end consumers.  Some companies purposely hide or don’t even bother about stating where they get their materials from.

Slavery didn’t end, it only evolved

A few days ago, I watched a documentary by Kip Anderson called Seaspiracy which highlighted the problems overfishing of our oceans causes. One of the problems mentioned was the real danger of disrupting our biodiversity of marine life. But something which stuck out was learning about the working conditions of fishermen. In certain areas, these fishermen are worked in slave-like conditions.

The accounts by some survivors are horrific. From being at sea years on end to even killed for trying to leave by being shot or thrown overboard. This is the hidden reality of our seafood.

Just as frightening as the fishing industry is the fast fashion industry, which has its own dark secret. Cotton is the key component for clothing and it’s heavily reliant on China. More specifically the Xinjiang region in China, home to the Uyghurs. Over 85% of Chinas cotton comes from this region and even more shocking is around 20% of the worlds cotton.

So why is this a problem you might ask? 

Well mainly because in the Xinjiang region of China, there is a genocide happening now. Over two million Uyghurs are being held in concentration camps. The accounts from those who have managed to escape have described organ harvesting, mass sterilization and of course forced labour. The forced labour part is what ties in with fast fashion.

A deep web

In a report by the ASPI (Australian Strategic Policy Institute), they listed over 80 major brands that have been involved directly or indirectly with forced labour from the Xinjiang region.

To name but a few in the report are H&M, BMW, Hugo Boss, Adidas and Nike.

There are serious ongoing tensions between the Chinese government and companies that speak up against the forced labour. For example, H&M tweeted last year and it was resurfaced on the Chinese microblogging app Weibo. In the tweet, H&M expressed concerns about using cotton from the Xinjiang region.

The Chinese government in retaliation for such responses has been to ban or just outright vanish companies.

The big boot

In China, the H&M online store has been removed from the internet and even from taxi-hailing apps. The location has been digitally removed so users are unable to drive there even though the physical location remains intact. This response has lead companies like Zara and others to quickly remove their website statements and delete any tweets so they aren’t next on the hit list.

China has taken these kinds of actions before. In fact, in 2019 they deleted former Arsenal footballer Mesut Ozil from a computer game. They also applied pressure to Nike about Lebron James tweets in support of the Hong Kong democracy protests.

While some companies have faced the boot for speaking out, others have taken a totally opposite stance. Some companies have openly admitted they will continue using cotton from these regions despite growing global concerns. The phrase “Profits over people” is the perfect response for such a position because the financial risks are just too high.

Who should we go after?

Should we go for the consumers who buy cheap clothing? Or perhaps go for the companies involved in this form of fast fashion? Even trickier is if we should go directly against the CCP (Chinese Communist Party).

Countries like the US, UK and Australia have all condemned China but specifically, the UK. They have backed the support of their MP’s who have sanctions placed on them by the Chinese government.

 

What role do consumers play?

Are we part of the problem with our fast food fashion addiction? Perhaps. After all, if we want to change the world we first need to change ourselves. Famously said by Micheal Jackson in the song “The Man in the Mirror”.

Some food for thought perhaps is the need for us to be mindful about the clothing we buy. Maybe second-guess if we really need to buy new clothes in the first place, as we can re-wear clothes by simply washing them. Slightly pivoting the question from what role do we play to what role can we play, it certainly wouldn’t hurt if consumers started demanding more from companies. In terms of accountability and more importantly traceability of the fabrics we spend our hard-earned cash on.

Moving away from China (though this is difficult due to the power they hold) countries closer to home have been involved in their own human rights abuses and poor working conditions. Boohoo the UK online fashion retailer, have been accused of paying their workers around £3/hour in a sweatshop scandal in Leicester city in the UK. On a larger scale, Amazon has been continually accused of appalling working conditions, from the recent pee in bottle allegations to even forcing pregnant women to risk miscarriages or lose their job.

Then again Amazon has made a killing from Covid related lockdown restrictions, with people championing for “more of the same, please”. I doubt many would agree with the lockdown notion if they worked for Amazon in those conditions, instead of being at the receiving end of a parcel. But that’s for another day perhaps.

 

The possible solutions

One possible solution to fast fashion is showing a bit more TLC (tender loving care) to our local businesses. Not only does this help support them financially but this removes large companies from the fast-fashion equation.

I find it way too easy for people to say the phrase:

“well if you don’t like x company, don’t buy from them”

This would be perfectly reasonable if these companies didn’t have such a chokehold of their sector. It’s becoming ever more difficult for innovation to arise, with larger companies pretty much kneecapping any start-up before they even reach stardom. This affects us as consumers who are forced into fewer options because of this type of capitalism. It ranges from phones, clothing, food to even pharmaceutical and many more.

Another point around fast fashion is how much one has in their pocket. Saying we should support local businesses is fair game but then again it all comes down to what we can afford most times. For example, would a low-income family rather go to a local tailor or buy a dress for literally £5 plus free online delivery? The answer… whichever is cheaper.

Alternative clothing materials provide an answer to fast fashion. With soya fabrics, hemp and even recycled polyester all being viable options. Finally, blockchain technology can track, trace and verify cotton sources that immediately address any grey areas for both consumers and companies. Since fast fashion is so connected and the problems vary. Despite there being so many, there isn’t really one simple solution to solve it but only a combination that can tackle specific parts.