IS DEMAND UP FOR BLAME?
Generation Z and environmentalists, as a whole, tend to blame textile brands, especially fast fashion labels, for the destruction they have posed on the environment and for their use of sweatshops, forced labor, and child labor.
Working as an environmental specialist at a luxury fashion brand, I went in with high hopes of changing their practices with regards to sustainably, but ended up leaving with a true understanding of how impossible this task was. For a textile brand, transitioning into more environmental practices from material, production, and quantity, not only is inconvenient, but it is also terribly expensive. You may think that these are not valid excuses when people are suffering and the earth is tearing apart due to these actions; the truth is much deeper than that. We have to transition from bashing brands to coming together because initially, the reason as to why these actions are happening is the high level of consumer demand. Why try to change a brand when the consumers justify the business decisions? Let’s speak to consumers about their purchasing needs, and help them understand that this world that is deteriorating is the world we live in. Consumers single-handedly supply the money for these brands to create textiles with all the harmful practices that come with it.
The textile industry comes with a multitude of bad practices that affect garment workers, the environment, and communities that live near their manufacturing mills and factories. Some outcomes from these actions include over-emitted greenhouse gasses, deforestation, contaminated drinking water sources and taking away resources that provide us with oxygen.
Trends
The textiles that are made and sold, typically in the fast fashion sector, are based on consumer demand: what styles have the most purchases, what trends are going on, etc. The garments that facilitate the most purchases are clear indicators to the designers of what types of garments they should continue making, whether by style or print. As long as there is the consumer demand, the consumer has the final word, and their word is spoken through purchases and the reactions to new market forces.
One trend can spark the occurrence of multiple different items based on just one garment. This trend overpopulated differing designs, and overproduced, all with the hope that consumers will respond by purchasing. Overconsumption is possible by textile brands providing more options at a cheaper price. There is this assumption made by executives in the fast fashion industry that if we create clothing that aligns with trends, consumers will buy. This assumption is based on the reaction, the demand for these items from always purchasing. Purchasing power is real!
We Must Feed Into Greenwashing
With sustainability being the word on the streets, fashion brands feel the need to participate in greenwashing to distract from their true practices. The knowledge behind greenwashing is unfortunate unless we reframe it. Let’s now define greenwashing as the opportunity for fashion brands to learn about the environmental needs of their consumers. Let's put these so-called “sustainable initiatives” to good use. If we demand more sustainable options, this will overall benefit mills and factories to afford sustainable materials as well as environmental certifications. It is extremely important to have environmental certifications to promote transparency and safer work environments. The fast-fashion labels that use environmentally certified materials could lessen the need for them to cover their mistakes. Who knows, maybe I’m speaking of nothing, but there is huge hope, as we as a society have done little to congratulate these actions.
A common practice of greenwashing within the textile industry is using environmentally friendly material: azo chemical-free, organic fiber, pre/post-consumer material, etc. For example, H&M has been making a clear effort to use recycled material. Yes, they are notorious for their terrible labor conditions and over-production, but let's take this opportunity to respond to their sustainable practices rather than responding to their terrible practices. Maybe being conscious of the types of garments we purchase from H&M on their end will say that we want more sustainable options than regular commercially made garments.
Greenwashing could help sustainability from a different angle. More job opportunities will open up when these sustainable manufacturers gain more money. Currently, we are demanding for commercial material. That money is going toward those mills and factories and away from sustainable manufacturers.
I say enough of the bashing of fast-fashion brands. No matter what the circumstances are, most of the population of consumers shop at these types of labels for their affordability, fueling them to keep running. The more we try to shut down these companies, the more unethical practices will be motioned to hide, not solving the issue, but just steering them away. If you want to live in a world where you can breathe oxygen, not have extremely hot weather, and fresh drinking water, purchase garments containing sustainable materials that end up demanding more sustainable practices.
