Fast fashion and csr - argumentative essay PDF

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An argumentative essay about fast fashion and CSR....

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FAST FASHION AND CSR - ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY The term ‘fast fashion’ has in recent years become an extensive global problem. Fast fashion items are on average kept for 35 days and worn 5 times.1 Companies selling fast fashion have outsourced their production to developing countries, where production takes place under inhumane conditions and with no further thought for the impact on the environment. This has contributed to the garment industry being the second most polluting industry in the world today.2 So why are the consumers still consuming fast fashion, when the problems the industry creates are such critical and so evident?

The garment industry is a killer for the environment. Every year 70 million trees are logged, garment workers are underpaid, they work under conditions harmful for their health and wellbeing, wastewater with poisonous chemicals is flushed into lakes making them unhabitable for the wildlife, and in 2021 child labor is still utilized in garment production. These are just some of the challenges the industry faces with fast fashion companies being the biggest sinner, as the lifespan of fast fashion items on average is 35 days.3 They contribute to the enormous amounts of waste created every year e.g., the average American produces 82ibs of waste every year.4 This has been caused by the throw-away culture consumers have acquired. As stated in the text “brands and social activism: what do you stand up for?”: 70% of Americans believe companies have an obligation to take action to improve issues that may not be relevant to their everyday business. 65% of Americans say when a company takes a stand on a social or environmental issue, they will do research to see if it is being authentic of Americans say when a company takes a stand on a social or environmental issue, they will do research to see if it is being authentic - 76% of millennials will do the research.5 These facts underline the consumers’ real demand for socially responsible clothing. This demand is generated from the media, who recent years have shed a light on the underlying problems of how fast fashion is produced and consumed, making the consumers aware of the awful conditions their favorite pair of ‘Shein’ jeans have been produced under and the impact it has on the environment. However according to research from two New York college professors, even though millennial consumers are demanding clothes 1 Video: The problem with fast fashion 2 Text: Millennials demand socially responsible clothing, but won't buy it 3 Video: The problem with fast fashion 4 Ibid 5 Text: brands and social activism: what do you stand up for?

manufactured ethically and sustainably, “price” and “ease of purchase” rank much higher than any claims of sustainability when influencing a millennial shopper to purchase new items for their wardrobe”6. This is the reason fast fashion still thrives today. Fast fashion is a trend that needs to end! 80 million pieces of fast fashion clothes are being produced every year under inhumane conditions, only to be worn 5 times. Consumers are buying more but wearing less, treating their clothes with very little care, washing them very few times because it is cheaper to buy new.7 We are overconsuming, and we are producing too many clothes compared to what we can get rid of again. Therefore, the clothes either become waste, that pollutes our earth when decomposing – the majority of clothes originating from the fast fashion industry is made of polyester, polyester is made of plastic fibers, and it takes over 100 years for the earth to decompose it. We also downcycle our unloved clothes, making them into a new item where the value of the clothes is significantly reduced. We downcycle or throw away our discarded clothes because we have very little technology that can turn discarded clothes into a fiber that can be recycled for clothes production. It is a critical problem that we overproduce so many clothes we have no sustainable way of getting rid of again.

The instant gratification the consumers feel when having bought a new item should never overrule the lives of the people that have produced it. The fashion industry needs a revolution. The Western world cannot keep ignoring the problems we created when we chose to outsource our production to countries where labor is cheaper, where no one questions the working conditions. We created this complex problem, and it is our responsibility to ensure that our clothes are made in dignity and not misery. Due to the demand of the consumers, more and more big companies have started incorporating CSR into the core of their business model. The consumers are almost forcing the companies to do this, as studies show that “consumers are keener than ever to support companies who demonstrate great CSR policies at the heart of their business model”.8 If a company does not prioritize CSR the consumers will move onto other brands that do, this is a big change in consumer behavior. To oblige this major companies such as H&M, M&S, Patagonia have invested in making CSR a part of their core business model. Industry leader H&M is aiming to increase awareness of sustainability in the 6 Text: Millennials demand socially responsible clothing, but won't buy it 7 Video: Who made my clothes? 8 Text: Corporate social responsibility offers fashion brands a great opportunity

fashion industry.9 “Their aim is to educate their customers and raise the profile of recycling and environmental issues, driving their CSR policies through every single part of their business model. This is evident in all areas including design, manufacturing, and advertising”.10 By H&M, M&S, and Patagonia embracing their CSR, they are strengthening their ethos, brand image, and company profits while meeting the consumers’ demands and considering the environment. Another brand that has acted into making their production more sustainable is Adidas. In 2016 they released a brand-new shoe in collaboration with Parley that is made from ocean plastic. This shoe contributes to fighting plastic pollution in our oceans – another critical, complex global problem. The shoe brand Allbirds has released a shoe made from eucalyptus tree fiber, inspiring other shoe brands to utilize nature’s resources in shoe production. These brands are role models and are critical when rethinking sustainable clothes production.11 The problems in the fast fashion industry are endless and extremely complex. There is absolutely no way to make fast fashion sustainable. Fast fashion gives the consumer material satisfaction, at the expense of human compassion. But the fast fashion consumers only really view their material satisfaction, trying to turn their head to the underlying, evident problems within the industry. Therefore, fast fashion is still a trend. Though consumers demand CSR, they purchase based on price, brand name, and uniqueness. They want the shifting trends, low prices, but produced, sold, and recycled in a sustainable way, which unfortunately is just not possible. Fast fashion and CSR are two contrasts that will never collide. It is one or the other – I suppose the other.

9 Ibid 10 Ibid 11 Text: Adidas has sold 1 million pairs of sneakers made from ocean trash — and reveals a new normal in footwear...