I'm not going to tell you where to shop, but here are some facts about the big fast fashion brands I have hanging around in my wardrobe to give you an idea of their ethics. Across the board, these big name brands struggle to give complete transparency, as found by Fashion Revolution Transparency Index, meaning that they are not communicating their supply chain nor their performance on social & environmental issues clearly. Sure, some brands came out better on this index than others, but that doesn't make a lack of clarity and honesty acceptable. It must also be remembered that the nature of fast fashion is that it is, well, fast. The clothes are made to be thrown away after minimal use - and it happens on a colossal scale. By nature these brands are not likely to be sustainable in the slightest. Click here to see my video addressing the cruelty in my wardrobe. For references on the topics talked about in this video, check out this brand breakdown...
URBAN OUTFITTERS
- Have been found to use sweatshop labour in LA
- Lack of transparency & VERY little corporate social responsibility.
- Consistently create controversial pieces of very poor taste
TOPSHOP
- Paid workers for Ivy Park range as little as 44p per hour
- Have been criticised for not paying living wage
H&M
- Use child labour - hiring children as young as 14 who are made to work more than 12 hours a day.
- More than half of their top suppliers in Bangladesh have yet to install basic fire-safety measures. These suppliers are graded as top-rated 'gold' and 'platinum' status.
- Uses organic cotton in many of their pieces, but this only makes up 13.7% of their total garment production.
- Have released a H&M Conscious range which uses recycled materials - however neglect to give specific details on the extent to which they are sustainable (such as amount of water saved).
ZARA
- Have an extremely fast turn around time of products
- Including replenish time of two weeks
- They have been found to use suppliers who operate with 'slave-like conditions'
ASOS
- Have been found to employ child refugees in factories.
- These children were found to be working over 12 hours a day.
- Have an Eco-Edit range and ASOS Marketplace selling second hand goods, but this makes up a very small proportion of their site.
PRIMARK
- Has hired child refugees in Indian as garment workers.
- Had garments being made in the factory that collapsed in Rana Plaza in 2013.
- Have made steps to avoid such disasters, such as signing Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Agreement following public pressure.
- Have sold pieces with labels saying 'SOS SOS SOS', 'DEGRADING SWEATSHOPS CONDITIONS' & 'FORCED TO WORK EXHAUSTING HOURS'.
- May source cotton from Uzbekistan.
Where are your favourite sustainable places to shop?
#CRUELTYFREECLUB.
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