Who Made My Clothes? Fashion Revolution Week 2021
“Who made my clothes?”
It seems like it should be a simple question with a simple answer. Unfortunately, within the modern fashion industry the answer to this question is a complicated and often very opaque one.
Fashion Revolution Week is an opportunity to come together as a global community to create a better fashion industry; the campaign works to amplify unheard voices throughout the fashion supply chain and work to create a fashion industry that’s safe, transparent, ethical, and sustainable.
This year, the eighth year of the movement, Fashion Revolution week takes place April 19-25, and I want you to be a part of it even- if that only includes becoming more aware of the journey your clothes have been on before landing in your closet; a great place to begin is to watch The True Cost documentary that I’ve linked below, as well as my previous blog post: “But It Was A Great Deal…” The True Cost of Fast Fashion.
Centered around the date of April 24, this week commemorates the anniversary of the 2013 Rana Plaza collapse.
The Rana Plaza was a large building in Savar, Bangladesh that housed a number of garment factories that manufactured clothing for some of the biggest global fast-fashion brands. Before the collapse, workers had alerted supervisors of structural issues around the building and of significant cracks that were visible throughout the structure; workers expressed their fear to enter the building and continue their work. The ground floor of the building housed retail shops and banks, and these shut down their operations during this time, but “the demand of an insatiable fashion industry forced garment workers to keep working”.
The workers’ concerns were ignored. More than 1,100 people died in the collapse, and another 2,500 were injured- the victims were mostly young women. This event was the fourth largest industrial disaster in history. The brands who manufactured clothes in this building were identified by the clothing labels found within the rubble of the collapse; many fast-fashion and mid-priced brands were perplexed as to why this was, revealing their ignorance regarding the relationships they had with those suppliers:
“This is because the vast majority of today’s fashion brands and retailers do not own their manufacturing facilities. Fashion supply chains are highly globalised, complex and opaque. Business relationships are often very murky and subcontracting is common. This lack of transparency costs lives.”
Our clothes have travelled a complex journey before they find their way into our closets. They’ve passed through the hands and lives of textile farmers (ex. Cotton farmers), spinners, weavers, dyers, sewers, packagers, and many more. All of that process has a cost, all of those people must be compensated.
The true cost of fashion is not as cheap as we’re led to believe.
Fashion Revolution Week is a movement to raise awareness of the true cost of fashion and to motivate change in how we interact with the fashion industry as consumers.
Changes have been happening since 2013 as Fashion Revolution has been working to combat the issues of fast fashion; business and retailers, and consumers most importantly, have been demanding more transparency and information regarding where, how, and by whom their clothes are made. Legislation has been passed in many countries requiring business reports and accountability regarding the methods and resources used by businesses all along the supply chain.
While many people have become privy to these problems, and are taking steps to eradicate them, there are still so many who have no idea the true cost that their clothing creates before they buy it and take it home; they have no idea that their dollars are supporting an industry established upon environmental and human exploitation. No one should die in the name of fashion, and that’s why we need a fashion revolution.
The driving force behind accidents like the Rana Plaza collapse is the fashion industry, fast fashion specifically (and within the last few years “ultra-fast fashion”).
But what exactly is fast fashion?
Fast fashion is an industry built upon the artificial demand for new clothes that revolves around the 52+ season-per-year model, manipulating people to feel out of trend in pieces after mere days of owning them; it is the constant production of new styles, combined with endless sales and discounts that fuel a compulsive consumer culture rooted in discontentment. On average, Americans consume more than 65 garments per person each year. We are buying more clothes than ever before, but much of those items sit unworn in our closets, and we are too quick and casual when it comes to discarding them.
How clothes are produced these days is a relatively new process.
While mass-produced clothing has been a thing since the mid-1800s, the process was very slow and often produced locally on a small scale.
It was during the 1950s that consumer culture, and the blossoms of fast-fashion, really began to grow. Through the 60s, though clothing was being mass-produced and becoming more affordable to buy (rather than making everything yourself) it was still manufactured locally, with only two seasons produced each year. As the world, and America, became increasingly obsessed with stuff, the demand for cheaper costs and more options/variety forced businesses to do the same, demanding then that manufacturers and suppliers (increasingly in developing countries) work to shorter and faster deadlines.
This has continued to be the norm, and these days there are now “ultra-fast fashion” brands that are taking advantage of people’s online shopping habits and getting products from concept-to-sale online within weeks. These clothes are dirt cheap and poorly made, and someone somewhere sacrificed to make them. Social media fuels fashion’s overconsumption and our throw-away culture.
It is clothing so cheap people don’t care about literally tossing them in the garbage, only encouraging our already pitiful throw-away culture. It is disregarding quality over quantity, and contributing to the degradation of human rights and natural resources. Fast fashion is the textile waste a company produces by making mass amounts of clothes but only selling a fraction of those clothes. It is exploitive labor practices involving children, abusive working conditions, and pitiful wages. It is pollution involved in the transportation of clothing around the world, and contamination of water, as well as hazards for workers and their community members due to the use of dangerous chemical dyes and additives.
Why should we care?
The two primary consequences within the fashion industry are those of human rights and environmentalism/sustainability- areas that are intricately interconnected.
Social Impacts of Fast Fashion
With 97% of items being made overseas, we are increasingly disconnected from the people who make our clothing, and from an awareness of how our clothing is made.
Human exploitation is at the heart of fast fashion, as women and children are trapped in a system of work that threatens their livelihood and wellbeing, being paid mere dollars per day, and not receiving the rights and benefits that they deserve:
“Human rights abuses include cross-cutting issues such as forced and child labour, excessively long working hours, repression of trade union organising, extremely low pay, lack of job security, gender and race-based discrimination and violence, unsafe and dangerous working conditions, and little to no access to justice for those whose basic rights are violated at work.”
The people involved in the making of our clothes, from start to finish, are essentially slaves. They are victims of the greed of the fashion industry, and of those who fund it- consumers: you and me.
Environmental Impacts of Fast Fashion
Fast fashion is the second highest contributor to carbon build-up in the atmosphere (following closely behind oil) and ecosystem degradation.
“We cannot continue to extract dwindling resources from an already stressed natural world, pollute our land and our oceans… dump our waste on the shoulders of countries we have culturally depleted…”
85% of clothing ends up in landfills. The average American now generates 82 pounds of textile waste each year, with the average garment only being worn 3x before being trashed. And because of the overwhelming amount of clothing that may be donated, intended by individuals to be bought by someone else, a large portion of items taken to thrift stores or clothing drop-boxes end up being bundled and shipped overseas. There it often still ends up in landfills, and is burned as a source of heat for cooking food, sanitizing water, or just keeping warm. We often imagine people in poor countries being without proper clothes because they can’t afford them; but in reality, they have so many clothes available to them due to this form of dumping that it can often lead to the failing of their own local business and crafts because there is no demand for handmade local pieces or fashions:
“Many artisanal and heritage craft industries around the world have been eroded due in large part to mass manufacturing and because second-hand clothes have flooded local markets. We risk losing ancient and unique techniques that have been passed down through generations if we don’t do more to support them.”
This influx of second-hand clothing to developing countries is also damaging local textile production and tailoring businesses.
“As a society we buy more clothes, wear them less and dispose of them more quickly than ever before. The majority of the clothes we discard either end up in landfill or incineration. Less than 1% of textiles and clothes are genuinely recycled into new textiles and clothes” (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017). The technology is simply not yet available to recycle textiles in a truly circular way and at scale.
Damaged clothing and discarded rolls of branded and/or recognizable fabrics are regularly slashed, landfilled and incinerated to protect intellectual property and prevent unwanted stock from being sold at knockdown prices. In 2018, Burberry came under immense public scrutiny for reporting that it had burnt £28.6 million worth of unsold clothing, bags and perfume that year. This practice is something most big brands do; it’s an open but well-hidden secret. Investigative reporters have tried and failed to find evidence of what really happens to damaged and unsold clothes.
The natural consequences of this system involve pollution of all sorts.
Water use and water pollution are two key problems in the global fashion industry.
Huge quantities of water are used in the fashion industry to grow crops like cotton, to dye and process fabrics, and to wash clothes before they’re sold. It is estimated that 20% of all freshwater pollution comes from textile treatment and dyeing:
“This happens when suppliers fail to remove hazardous contaminants found in textile dyes and finishing chemicals before releasing the water they use back into the environment. This threatens local communities’ access to safe drinking water and harms plants, animals and soil. Meanwhile, some of the toxic chemicals used in clothing, including lead (dyes), NPE (industrial washing), phthalates (printing), PFC compounds (water-repellent coating) and formaldehyde (wrinkle- resistance treatment), can potentially cause serious health problems, including cancer.”
Then too, each time we wash clothes made of synthetic materials, micro-plastics are washed into water systems (being too small to be filtered out, if your city’s system even has the tools to do that) and land in rivers, lakes, and oceans, working their way back up the food chain where we often then consume them through the seafood we choose to eat.
Biodiversity and soil health are also facing great harm: “The intensive mega-industrial agricultural processes that are used to produce raw materials and textiles contribute to soil erosion. Meanwhile, the pesticides used in conventional cotton cultivation threaten crucial insect populations responsible for pollinating crops and supporting ecosystems and food security around the world.”
Aside from all of that, we must acknowledge that fossil fuels are required to light buildings and run textile machinery, to make polyester (which is derived from petroleum), to transport clothes and fly industry professionals around the world… All of these activities produce significant greenhouse gas emissions. If you’re concerned about the environment, and think that doing your part is as simple as switching to an electric car, I respectfully ask that you would then too consider the sustainability of your shopping habits and their effect on our ecosystems.
Transparency is the primary way that these issues, social and environmental, can be ultimately resolved.
Transparency is key, along the entire supply chain. When people are given access to the details of how their clothes are made, from start to finish, change is easier to demand; sometimes people simply won’t care enough to change until they see the damage their lifestyles and habits are contributing to.
“Currently, most supply chain disclosure by major brands and retailers covers their first tier manufacturers, where they tend to have direct business relationships with the suppliers that are involved in the final stages of production such as cutting, sewing, assembling and packing for shipment. When you start to look further down the supply chain where fabrics are knitted or woven, textiles are treated and laundered, yarns are spun and dyed, fibres are sorted and processed and raw materials are grown and picked – what the industry commonly refers to as tiers two, three, four and five – there remains a widespread lack of transparency.”
It’s time for us as consumers to ask brands and businesses “Who made my clothes? What’s in my clothes? Who made my fabric?”
There has been great progress in the fashion industry since the Rana Plaza collapse eight years ago. Unfortunately there is still significant work to be done. People are still dying in factory fires and accidents; women and children are still used and abused; our environments are still being destroyed and polluted with toxic substances involved in production processes. Forests are being cut down, animals abused, and landfills overflowing with the excess of disused clothing that our societies discard so casually. While wages have increased in some countries where clothing is manufactured, the majority of people along the supply chain still struggle to afford the most basic necessities. Workers attempts to gather and fight for their rights are often ignored or punished by employers and governments.
The Fashion Revolution movement believes there are three crucial issues that need to be urgently addressed: first, we need even more people to be aware of fashion’s social and environmental impacts; second, we need more and better information about these impacts; and third, we need to find more ways to bridge the gap between what consumers say they care about and how they spend their money. “
What Can You Do?
Rewear and Reuse What You Already Own: the most sustainable piece of clothing is the one you already own- the same goes for every area of your life. So do your best to breathe new life into your current wardrobe and work hard to keep the clothes you already own out of landfills. Whether you originally purchased from a fast-fashion retailer or not, the damage has already been done, but now you can minimize the future damage your clothes will potentially create.
Buy Second-Hand: After focusing on what you already own the next best place to purchase “new” clothes is through buying second-hand. We already know that we have a huge waste issue when it comes to our clothes, which is why purchasing second-hand clothing (yes even if it was originally made in an unsustainable way) is the next best way that you can fight fast-fashion. By keeping second-hand clothes out of landfills you are doing a big part to reduce textile waste and reduce the incentive that fast-fashion retailers have to continue pumping out new styles.
Support Sustainable Clothing Brands: Slow-fashion brands may be more expensive than the cheapest fast-fashion brands out there, but you are becoming much more intentional with your clothing purchases and opting for quality made clothes that you will own for many years to come. And be proud of the fact that your purchases are helping to support real families around the world, rather than lining the pockets of monopolistic businesses. If you can’t shop second-hand first, look to support brands that are producer-focused and hold to rigorous fair-trade standards. Below are some photos from brands that I have personally tried, and trust their credentials.
As awareness continues to grow, alternative forms of clothing consumption are gaining traction. Secondhand and resale shopping, as well as clothing swaps, are becoming more of a norm- which is great!!
In the long-term, you can slow down your participation in clothing “seasons”, and when you are shopping for clothing, ask yourself if you are likely to wear an item at least thirty times; strive to wear clothing that are free from harmful synthetic dyes and made of natural fibers.
Watch The True Cost documentary that I’ve linked near to top of this post- that film is what really solidified my resolve to step away from fast fashion and share about the alternatives with my friends and family; the information provided is eye-opening and comprehensive so you’ll get a good overview of all the issues involved with the modern fashion industry.
Finally, you can join the Fashion Revolution: Be the change you want to see in your wardrobe. Fashion Revolution (fashionrevolution.org) represents millions of consumers who want change their shopping habits and also commemorates Rana Plaza by putting pressure on the brands to increase transparency and empowers consumers to be inquisitive about #whomadetheirclothes.
There are also free courses you can join that can further educate you on the fashion industry’s impact on people and planet, what the Sustainable Development Goals are, and the link between them ( one such course you can find here).
#whomademyclothes? #whatsinmyclothes? #sustainablefashion #ethicalfashion
A wonderful report Katie! Thanks for helping me learn more about the textile industry and how it functions.