For my first blog post, I decided to talk about some of the ethical issues that come down in the fashion industry; an industry I am deeply interested in and hope to one day make a career out of. Today, I will specifically focus on fast fashion, a growing sector in fashion that has taken over the “trendy” clothing styles that many women value today and want to own in their closets. While fast fashion can easily be accessible, cheap, and popular; its ethical cost beats its value and decreases how worthwhile it is for someone to consume it.
Today I will be focusing on one specific company, Fashion Nova, which is one of the highest-selling fast fashion companies in the world whose reputation for its ethics is at risk. This is all from underpaid workers, poor working conditions, and the company’s officials not seeing any problem in their system. More specifically, a Forbes article stated how Fashion Nova’s American factories “they use owe over $3.8 million in wages to workers, with those same workers making an average of $2.77 an hour” (Meagher). In the U.S today, we are told we could live this “American Dream” and make more money through better and bigger opportunities than anywhere else in the world. This is pretty ironic considering the unfair, low wages that are happening throughout this country. Having Fashion Nova’s clothing label say “Made in America” creates more of a false sense of hope. It makes most of the fast fashion consumers believe their clothing items were made in fair and ethical labor practice that we believe is practiced daily in the U.S. We need to start opening our eyes and not just “believe” that everything made on this planet is made ethically even though we are told so.
The saddest part about this situation for me is how this ethical practice is happening in my current hometown; Los Angeles. After reading more articles and news about this occurring issue, I discovered this city of angels is one of the biggest industries where undocument immigrants come to work through these unethical conditions. The same Forbes article states “the Department of Labor (DOL) investigated garment factories in Los Angeles and found that 85 percent of them have wage violations…The fact that many of these workers are undocumented may make it easier, subconsciously, to let it slide when it's happening on our soil” (Meagher). Even when the Department of Labor investigates and has proof of this unethical behavior, this practice is continued. This is when we should ask ourselves how we can make a difference when the U.S department of labor isn't even able to fix this known issue in their workspace. This can even lead our society to become less determined in taking a stand when they know public officials won’t either.
Another thing I found interesting in this situation when learning more about this was Fashion Nova’s brand manager's response, Ms. Meierhans, to the DOL when getting interviewed. In a NY Times article, Ms. Meierhans explained how it “is not responsible for how these vendors handle their payrolls”. This is an example of how Fashion Nova’s team doesn’t even feel any sort of misdoing and responsibility which creates an even bigger issue in this situation. If the brand’s manager doesn’t even see a problem in its company, how can we expect Fashion Nova to change by itself for the better?
The truth is, our country doesn’t care enough about this issue to fix it. This type of behavior and the working condition continues to be practiced while our country seems to be ignoring it. As every day goes by, these unethical practices continue to be practiced and consumers continue to buy their products daily. This is a perfect example, in my opinion, of how money and lifestyle are prioritized over human rights and safety.
Sources
Kitroeff, Natalie. “Fashion Nova's Secret: Underpaid Workers in Los Angeles Factories. The New York Times, The New York Times, 16 Dec. 2019, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/fashion-nova-underpaid-workers.html.
Meagher, Syama. “The Not-so-Hidden Ethical Cost of Fast Fashion: Sneaky Sweatshops in Our Own Backyard.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 10 Dec. 2021, https://www.forbes.com/sites/syamameagher/2020/02/05/the-not-so-hidden-ethical-cost-of-fast-fashion-sneaky-sweatshops-in-our-own-backyard/.
It is truly sickening to hear about the hidden truths behind the mechanics of such clothing pieces. These fast fashion brands like Fashion Nova are known to be unethical, same goes for Zara and Princess Polly, but consumers keep on consuming these brands even when such news is leaked/published. It really makes one question the morals and values behind humankind as a whole.