Fashion's still pulling a fast one
Today marks the end of iconic London Fashion Week, a celebration and showcase of some of the most exciting fashion designs to a global market. But behind all the glitz and glam the booming industry is riddled with human rights abuses and environmental catastrophes.
Turn on the TV and you’re likely to see an advert for Misguided, scroll through Instagram and you’ll see 10 adverts for Shein, Pretty Little Thing, H&M and more. The boom of social media influencers and the prominence of shows like Love Island mean that the fast fashion industry has enjoyed an significant boost in profits, with the industry expected to be worth over $200 billion dollars by 2030.
Despite this growth coinciding with the rise of eco-consciousness and awareness of the climate crisis we face, the pace of fast fashion shows no signs of slowing down. There are many reasons why the industry continues to boom in the face of a global crisis, from millions of pounds spent on advertising and marketing campaigns, to greenwashing and a lack of awareness over the harmful effects of the industry.
Another reason is the lack of action taken by Governments. Last year the Seahorse led campaign, Buy Better, undertook research (commissioned by Hubbub) that found the UK Government has failed to tackle the fast fashion industry:
Analysis from the University of Cambridge shows there have been 14 government strategies containing 689 policies to tackle obesity. In comparison, UK Governments have only published 19 policies to tackle the environmental damage and human rights abuses of the fast fashion industry.
The majority of the policies were proposed in a way that was unlikely to lead to implementation. For example, only five per cent of policies (one policy) contained any details of a cost and/or budget.
Only 32% of policies proposed actively seek to address the issue of fast fashion, rather than just increasing awareness. The policies were largely introduced in broad strategies aimed at tackling the waste issue rather than directly tackling fast fashion.
Of the policies that sought to directly tackle fast fashion, they were aimed at providing voluntary guidance and standards or attempts to enable producers to make change, but no stronger incentives, regulations or legislation have been proposed to date.
Last September, we supported a Parliamentarian photoshoot with Oxfam as part of Second Hand September which highlighted the interest amongst MPs and Peers in sustainable fashion. However, this interest has yet to translate over to the Government agenda.
The current UK administration has presented itself to be a climate leader and as COP26 President set out the actions it plans to take to meet its net zero targets. Disappointingly there is a lack of recognition of the role cleaning up the fashion industry has in reaching these targets (the IPCC estimated that the annual greenhouse gas emission of the industry is equivalent to 10% of the global carbon emission). The Environmental Audit Committee has already recommended that the Government introduce a producer responsibility mechanism and due diligence checks (which were rejected).
Attempts to reduce the impact of the fashion industry have so far been fairly skewed to individual action. Of course, there are actions we can all take, ‘Reduce, Reuse, Recycle’ for example is a great starting point (£140 million worth of wearable clothing is thrown away each year). But while there’s an important role for us all to play in reducing our own environmental impact, it’s not fair to place the onus wholly on consumers when the issue is as complex as fast fashion. For example, many people are able to buy second-hand but it can be time-consuming and often lacks a diversity of sizes and sustainable clothing brands are often too expensive for many people to afford.
This is why there must be a top-down approach from Government to ensure that corporations are taking the necessary steps to clean up their supply chains, both ethically and environmentally. The fashion industry (and it’s important to note that it’s not just fast fashion that presents a problem) isn’t going to disappear overnight, but the current model hasn’t been sustainable for a long time and Governments around the world play a key role in pushing for a transition to a greener industry.
At Seahorse Environmental we see the vital role played by Government, corporates and NGOs in tackling this issue. Impactful campaigns, truly sustainable business initiatives and Government policy will all play a role in achieving a more sustainable fashion industry and we are pleased to support this through our work.
If you are seeking to make a change through your organisation’s work and are interested in the support Seahorse can offer, please get in touch: arussell@seahorseenvironmental.co.uk