Previously, I have written about the environmental consequences of consumer culture in fast fashion. In that article, I talked about the connection between flex culture and consumer culture, while highlighting the link through the fast fashion industry. If you would like to read that article, you can do so here. I will reference the aforementioned article throughout this essay, as there is information there that is connected to this specific article.
In talking about flex culture and consumer culture, I have noted that they are interconnected. To further elaborate, flex culture has led to consumer culture being based on mass consumption as affluence is associated with material wealth. With flex culture altering the social norm to be in a state of constantly wanting more, the consumer’s relationship with products has gone toxic. Our need to have more things has made consumption levels steadily increase, consequently leading to the increase of production and output from corporations. Since one of the core aspects of the fast fashion business model is to be cost-effective, the continuously increasing levels of output in the apparel industry have led to some dire social consequences.
Fast fashion is cost-efficient and can therefore be consumed by the masses. This is not necessarily true for other parts of the fashion industry, such as the high fashion industry, the demographic of which is much smaller and more niche. All in all, the demographic of the fast fashion industry is much bigger than others. Additionally, fast fashion goes through fashion cycles much faster as it prioritizes pushing out the trendiest items quickly. In doing so, the fast fashion industry is producing more because more people are buying products, and one has to constantly switch their fashion lines to always be up to date. To keep up with their demand, fast fashion corporations need to ensure their supply chains can handle the volume in which they are operating; this often means having multiple factories, manufacturers, and so on to sustain.
Within these factories, the garment workers are working in toxic environments where abuse is a common occurrence. For example, these factories are often not structurally sound and are a safety hazard to work in. According to research done by the International Labour Rights Forum, there have been at least 1800 garment workers in Bangladesh that have lost their lives in building collapses and factory fires. Not only are the buildings shabbily made, but the layout of these factories is often terribly planned, making it risky to be working in those conditions. Two clothing factories in Pakistan caught on fire in September 2012, and it resulted in more than 300 workers being killed due to a lack of safety protocols within the factory. The windows were covered by metal bars, which made it difficult for the workers to flee. The fire exits were also locked, leading to many workers being trapped inside and suffocating to death.
Adding to this article, there is also gender based violence prevalent in these factories. The fast fashion corporation H&M’s garment supply chain line systematically leaves female workers more vulnerable in the workforce. It does this by providing them short term contracts, unsafe work conditions, abusing them if production targets are not met, requiring excessive working hours, underpaying them, and so on. This is especially concerning if you take into account that it is primarily young women who are working in these clothing factories. There is also a hierarchical power structure that exists within these factories, because the management and higher-positioned roles are typically male-dominated, while the lower-positioned jobs are female dominated. Child labour and forced labour being used in the fashion industry is something to be known as well. A 2018 U.S. Department of Labour Report has stated that countries such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and China have been found to use child labour and forced labour in the fashion industry.
As mentioned in the previous article, there are environmental consequences that are centralized in developing countries where the manufacturing factories are typically located. The environmental degradation caused by the fashion industry, such as polluting local water sources with fabric dyes, exacerbates the already existing social inequalities between the developed and developing world. A research paper highlights the global environmental injustice of the fast fashion industry, and notes that people who live near these manufacturing sites (typically in lower-income countries) are more likely to face health problems associated with the environmental harm caused by textile waste. Aside from that, fashion journalist and activist Aja Barber makes an important connection on how colonialism and capitalism are intertwined with our consumer culture, and how the spending habits of the West has had a direct impact on developing nations. Furthermore, a lot of contracts between fast fashion corporations and the manufacturing companies are often non-binding, leading to these companies having the power to refuse to pay for orders that have already been fulfilled. Ultimately, this leads to economic hardships on the workers and countries, as the issues of unemployment and unpaid wages come into play.
While the fast fashion industry is not the only side of the apparel and fashion industry to be guilty of horrendously mistreating its employees, the scale at which they do so is at another level. The bottom line is that immediate action has to be done to ensure the safety of workers in the fashion industry, as well as to minimize the social inequalities present between the developed and developing world. This exploitation of vulnerable people in the fast fashion industry is a human rights issue that needs to be immediately addressed and solved. It is inhumane and unethical to put people in such working conditions and the work culture the workers have to endure is toxic and unhealthy. Personally, I think that the fast fashion business model l and supply chain operations need to change to ensure that employees can work a living wage in a good working environment while also being able to make a profit. Looking at the consumer’s role in all this, I think that mass media needs to stop promoting flex culture and feeding into the dangerous rabbit hole of material wealth being a necessity in life. While I am not confident on the exact way to do so, I do hope that raising awareness and talking about these issues leads people to rethink their consumer choices.