Fast Fashion On The Fashion Industry

The True Cost is a documentary that was filmed with the hope of educating consumers regarding the global impact that ‘fast fashion’ has on our society. Director Andrew Morgan provides the link between our clothes and the people who make them; careful to bridge the gap between the factory workers and how our high demand for fashion can affect their life. In fact, we seldom consider consumptionism (to consume, use or spend with little regard) and globalized production (when goods are made in another country for low wages) while shopping, but we should. Projects such as this documentary, shed light on the untold stories behind what appears to be a glamorous and trillion dollar business. Unfortunately, those who are impacted the most are the workers

The claim presented in the article is how ads often set unrealistic beauty standards, and how the author encourages them to “break free” from these standards by giving two examples on how ads should be compelled.

J.Crew as an iconic brand targeting young working professional by focusing on preppy and classy look failed in identifying brand focus. Also, their business model is performing poorly in the fast-fashion industry compare to traditional competitors, with its high prices, diverging quality, and undesirable brand image. Hence, the brand perception by customers has changed and many of them prefer to purchase the discounted products rather than full-priced items.

How fast fashion is affecting the environment is a very serious topic since this type of consumerism in the United States is heavy on supply and demand, and because of that shoppers want it all and want it now which is basically fast fashions motto. The way to make these pieces of clothing heavily rely on cheap materials that can be made quickly, so that is polyester and cotton being made in big factories that emit out toxins into our earth. Cotton being one of the most used fabrics takes a lot to be made into a single garment. Uzbekistan which is the 6th biggest producer of cotton had faced many conflicts during production since cotton uses so much water to be made it has dried up the 4th largest lake the Aral Sea because of how much we need to produce cotton fashion. (Prospectjournalucsd) Buying these cheap garments that become unwearable after 5 times (Forbes) of wearing it usually gets thrown out after and producing more waste that gets put into our waterways since theses garments shed easy and through washing them can “find their way into oceans and on the shores everywhere.” (Sweeny) So with the help of shoppers, being able to cut down on the purchase of fast fashion can help aid in keeping the ecosystem in order.

It is impossible to beat a cheap price. In today’s world, finding a sought after item at a dirt cheap price is one the main motivation American’s get in the car and battle the craziness in the mall. And as the basic American human beings that we are, it is never possible for us to be complacent with the amount of stuff we currently have. Eventually, we will come across a friend that has the next must have item that will cause us to run to our local mall and purchase a similar item at the lowest price possible. With all that said, it is no wonder why the industry of fast fashion has taken off over the past decade. Felipe Caro and Victor Martínez-de-Albéniz, researchers for UCLA’s school of supply chain coordination, define fast fashion as “a business model that combines four elements: (i) fashionable clothes mostly for consumers under 40; (ii) affordable prices in the mid-to-low range; (iii) quick response; and (iv) frequent assortment changes”. Retailers like H&M, Forever 21, Target, and Wal-Mart have been able to take this business model and make a fortune. But while all these quick trends and cheap prices are great for the consumer, its cost on the foreign worker and the environment does not go uncovered. In the book Overdressed by Elizabeth Cline, she presents many arguments supporting the claim that fast fashion is unethical based on

Clothing is important because it’s a way to reflect our preferences, personality, culture, individuality, and uniqueness. People often use clothing to enhance their appearance and to impress other people but the reality is that clothing is a basic human need for the body and the mind, as it sometimes can influence our performance or boost our confidence. However, it is also important to know where and how our clothes are made, sold, and distributed to our favorite clothing stores. According to the article “Why America Stopped Making its Own Clothes”, in 1960, about 95 percent of the clothes sold were made in the United States. An average American person bought less than 25 garments each year, and an average American household spent around $497 in

In the society of the year 2000, people “hold the period of youth sacred to education” (pg. 43). This bears some similarity to our own society, which has laws in place that require children to attend school and prohibit child labor. There are also laws in effect that protect workers’ health and safety. Moreover, similarly to Bellamy’s socialist vision, effective parents and teachers of today try to identify and build on children’s aptitudes, and people are (usually) able to choose their occupations.

In this article, Barenblat outlines some of the key reasons as to why fast fashion is detrimental for women and the environment. The author supports her claim by suggesting fast fashion is expensive for the planet, encourages young women in poverty to work in sweatshops, and leads to million tons of landfill each year. This information in the article is useful because it provides relevant statistics on the damages caused by the clothing industry.

Peter Singer provides evidence which helps us analyze the effects of poverty that exist in the fashion world. As exposed in the documentary The True Cost, the nature of free enterprise and the new world of business in a globalized economy has created a sense of hopelessness for millions of people. The cost of becoming an instrument of labor as visualized in the movie has force us to reevaluate what is important to our own humanity? Our introspective thoughts infused by a compelling oratory given by Shima Akhter one of forty million garment workers forces us to ask ourselves what can we do alleviate poverty in the world? The “Fast Fashion” industry has generated trillions of dollars for those few individual at the top of big business while the common garment workers are being destroyed by absolute poverty.

Activists say that global clothing brands like Tommy Hilfiger and the Gap and those sold by Walmart need to take responsibility for the working conditions in Bangladeshi factories that produce their clothes."

Cheap clothing is something that almost everyone has in their wardrobe right now. Stores like Forever 21, H&M, and Uniqlo are all examples of companies that use extremely cheap labor in return of cheap, low quality clothing. Considering, capitalism being a large attribute to the low wages given to workers in sweatshops, people simply do not care to think “Since this item is such a low price, how much did it even cost to make this?” For a pair of $17.99 jeans sold at Kmart, the labor in the United States would cost $2.08, but in Nicaragua it would cost $0.14. Big companies tend to not care how their workers are treated or how much they make at the end of the day. The lowest price they can end up getting for an item, the more money the company makes. “A manufacturer will tell me he has 2,000 twelve piece bonuses he needs swen. I tell him I need at least $10 per blouse to do a decent job on a garment that complicated. So then he tells me to get lost-he offers me $2. If I don't take that, he tells me he can have it sent to Taiwan or South America somewhere, and have it done for 50 cents. So we haggle-sometimes I might bring him up to $4 per blouse.” (Ross 134) In the end, cheap labor equals low wages making it hard to pay for the expenses of

started “outsourcing more, consuming more, using more resources, and paying less” (The True Cost). This equates to subtracting massive numbers and only adding single digits in an effort to make zero. It simply does not work. Instead, unskilled workers and innocent citizens of developing countries must compensate for the atrocious subtracting of the “fast fashion” industry. Their compensation ranges from uncontrollable seizures to infertility, and from difficulty breathing to watching their children grow up with significant mental and physical disabilities. This is the True

Nike, Victoria’s Secret, GAP, Levis, Nordstrom, Calvin Klein. Other than their status as large fashion retailers, they all have one thing in common: the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation condemns their use of overseas sweatshops. Goods manufactured in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and many other Asian and African countries are often made in less-than-ideal conditions for low wages. While opponents of overseas labor champion stricter trading laws, this form of supply-and-demand economics remains a vital part of the global economy, as it enables prices to remain low in developed countries and employs many individuals in distant, poorer areas.

Introduction Have you ever imagined working in a place where employees are subjected to dangerous working conditions, including unfair salaries and arbitrary punishments, such as physical and mental abuse? Since the hourly rate of sweatshop workers is less than their everyday expenses, these workers never have a chance to improve their quality of life. Ken Silverstein’s 2010 magazine article “Shopping for Sweat: The human cost of a two-dollar T-Shirt” outlines the harsh working conditions for many garment workers living in Cambodia. The topics discussed are slavery, ethical sourcing, public relations, productivity, poverty, and competitiveness.

Fast fashion is merely more than a one hit wonder. The fast fashion industry has grown and has ultimately proven itself to be profitable industry in the clothing market. The retailer most distinguished for a fast fashion approach is Zara (Hayes & Jones, 2006). Zara is a child company of the parent company Inditex. Zara stores have established the stride for merchants around the globe in creating and shipping fashionable clothing (“Case 3-4. Continued Growth for Zara and Inditex”, 2013). Their marketing approach has helped them become extremely successful in terms of providing the customer with. International marketing strategies and its efficiency assists in the expansion of Zara. Cultural understanding is virtuously