I want to spotlight an article that supports my reasoning behind the importance of pushing the fashion world into a more sustainable/ethical business: https://www.peerledger.com/blogs/dirty-laundry-how-fast-fashion-is-destroying-the-planet-and-why-ethical-apparel-is-the-way-to-go

This article contains hyperlinks that also provide additional information about some of the topics that are discussed. If you don’t feel adventurous, I have conducted my own mini research that touches on some subjects from this article and beyond. 

Let’s talk about the fact that 80 billion clothes are being purchased (globally) within a year. Not to mention, fashion trends are fluid. One moment, we think the sweater knitted by grandma is an eye sore. Next, we realize how revolutionary and unique it is.

It would be interesting to discuss how large companies are able to produce so many products that may not even sell successfully and where these unwanted clothes go. I would assume that nothing good comes out of so many pieces being sold at that rate. For now, I will save that discussion for another blog;) There is another pressing issue that deserves as much attention as large companies trashing our planet.

Fast fashion risks the lives of workers who have no choice but to succumb to wretched work conditions. Large companies usually target low-income communities as a way to capitalize on workers’ skills and time. Measly paychecks do not align with the amount of work that these workers do for these companies– they are the creators of these product ideas. 

The “Dirty Laundry” article that reviews the Rana Plaza incident in 2013. Over 1,000 people were killed and 2,000 injured due to the warehouse’s structural instability. Fashion retail giants, such as Adidas, Zara and H&M utilized this specific warehouse for its production. 

Rana Plaza may not be a recent event, but when searching for other fast fashion scandals, I stumbled across another article. It provides a list of popular fashion brands in 2022– including the same companies involved in the Rana Plaza collapse– that people should not shop at due to ethical purposes. It touches on issues, such as sexual assault and abuse, that almost always gets brushed over the rug. These workers are silenced, hurt (physically and psychologically) and cannot even receive a decent paycheck.

**Here is a link to keep you woke: https://www.panaprium.com/blogs/i/fashion-brands-that-still-use-sweatshops

It is frustrating to see that these companies continue to use sweatshops solely to increase capital gain. It seems like some companies did not learn any kind of lesson from the devastating Rana Plaza incident. This begs the question– if companies choose not to care about workers’ safety (at bare minimum), what makes you think they will think any differently about the environment?