Who should bear the blame for fast fashion? Part 2 with Maggie Zhou
Welcome back to The Green Dress Report! For this bonus edition we’ll hear again from Maggie Zhou as we dive into some of the more complicated issues in the fashion sustainability movement. I asked her about the role of influencers in sustainable fashion, false solutions she sees in the industry, the potential danger of a rise in popularity of thrifting and ultimately where responsibility lies for these issues. Thank you all for reading last week’s issue and for voting for more, and thanks again to Maggie for sharing all her wonderful insights!
Zhou’s responses have been edited and condensed for clarity.
What role do you think influencers have played in the rise of fast fashion, if any?
I would actually kind of pivot that question and just be like, what role has social media played? Because obviously social media is made up of people and influencers, but I do think it’s these apps that are predominantly to blame, right? These influencers are just playing the game. Hate the player, not the game! Wait, the other way around—hate the game, not the player! …. That’s the rhetoric I think we should be taking here, because social media encourages mass production of content but also mass consumption of clothing. These influencers are just doing what’s good for their livelihood, like they get financially compensated if they’re posting more, or working with fast fashion brands. But to get to your actual question, I do think influencers have encouraged this mindset of “new is better,” there are always microtrends to follow, etc. So they have just heaped on that pressure [onto consumers].
Can/should they be part of the solution?
It’s interesting, because I personally don’t think anyone should feel pressured to post about stuff, or speak out on issues that they don’t care about. I think that is disingenuous, and you see that quite a bit: there’ll be big celebrities or big influencers who are working with fast fashion brands, and I think the backlash that they get sometimes isn’t the most helpful; it’s kind of shutting down a conversation … and just criticizing them. I think people should be gently educated if they want to be, and not ridiculed for their choices. I would love to see more influencers speak out on fast fashion, I do think so many have a platform where they can educate or inform their followers, but it’s not a necessity. I just don’t see that happening, I don’t see all the “Love Island” influencers suddenly switching gears, you know? Yeah, maybe I’m a cynic, I think I am.
Where do you think responsibility lies between consumers, companies, the media, and governments? Where should the push come first (or most)?
“Ooh, good question. Honestly, all of them is what I would love to say. And again, as someone who doesn’t have expertise on the matter, I’m not best to talk about it I think. I want to say “regulations from governments!” but … I don’t know how that would be implemented, because local government laws all vary, and policy varies in different regions …. But I would love to see more rules and regulations around that. Secondly, I think companies and the media have a big role to play as well, in not greenwashing or educating their audiences properly; ideally that's what I would love to see. And in that kind of pyramid, if we’re ordering the themes that you have brought up, [the] consumer is the least responsible person, like come on, we are just following what companies, the media and governments have kind of suggested to us. So I don’t like victim-blaming, essentially.
What are your thoughts on the rise of thrifting making it less accessible to those who need it most?
I wonder sometimes if this is a non-issue; I really want to see the numbers back this up, because in Australia, about 10 to 20% of clothes that are donated to op shops are actually sold. So 80% of clothing isn’t being sold anyway. I understand that it really sucks that clothing prices have been marked up at op shops, again if we’ve got the evidence to back that up. It is really unfortunate, and that it is something that I think needs to be looked at, because yes, you’re right: a lot of the time low-income earners do rely on op shops. So being priced out of the market is something that is a real issue. I just don’t want to conflate it with people kind of condemning secondhand clothing or stopping op shopping altogether. It’s a tough cookie, that one.
(If you’re interested to learn more about this issue, check out this piece from The Wall Street Journal, which explains that there are still plenty of affordable garments at thrift stores, even if some rarer pieces are being marked up.)
What are some "false solutions" you have seen in the fashion industry?
That’s an interesting term, because I haven’t heard of that specifically for fashion, so I might be getting this wrong. But I think the focus on “eco-collections” that are touted by fast fashion and ultra fast fashion brands … honestly mean nothing. So a lot of the time these collections are made from, let’s say, recycled polyester, which is recycled plastic, or they might be using linen or something. A lot of the time these collections are materials-based, yet they have nothing to do with workers’ rights or the payment of living wages, nor do they have an actual effect in terms of the output of a business. For instance, Boohoo’s collections, … I’m not going to get this specifically right, but you know, their collection of a few hundred, let’s say, eco-collection garments doesn’t outweigh the impact of the thousands and thousands of stock that they have on their website anyway.
What brands are doing it right in your opinion?
I think we’re talking a little bit more about circular fashion in these conversations now, which makes me happy, because sustainability isn’t a one-off kind of process, right? We kind of talk about it as consumers as, “Oh, what are we buying next? How can we make our purchase sustainable?” But the reality is, it doesn’t stop there, it’s [asking] how are the materials sourced, how are we caring for these garments when they’re in our homes, what happens at the end of its life?
📚 Recent reads:
A super interesting piece from The New York Times about the tension between sustainability and antitrust rules in the fashion industry
A new report from Good On You analyzing 4000 brands’ progress on climate change goals
I hope you enjoyed this bonus edition of The Green Dress Report! As always, make sure to leave a comment with your thoughts, and subscribe for more.