1
E
THICS IN THE
F
ASHION
I
NDUSTRY
E
SSAY
A
SSIGNMENT
Abby Snyder
Liberty University
FACS 302
Professor Molisee
25 July 2022
2
E
THICS IN THE
F
ASHION
I
NDUSTRY
E
SSAY
A
SSIGNMENT
“Fashion is part of the daily air, and it changes all the time, with all the events. You can
even see the approaching of a revolution in clothes. You can see and feel everything in clothes”
(Diana Vreeland). The concept of fashion is most likely one that is at the forefront of every
single person’s mind at least once a day. It is integrated into every part of daily life, no matter
where one might live on the planet. There are ties to one’s culture, one’s past, one’s future, one’s
feelings and emotions, as well as one’s status in life. In an industry of over $3 trillion, there are
thousands of different pieces and moving parts within the behemoth that, together, create a whole
(fashinnovation.nyc). Sustainable fashion is one of these parts of the industry that has started to
become front and center under the spotlight.
According to Ana Alves at The Vou, sustainable fashion is defined by most experts as “an
all-inclusive term describing products, processes, activities, and actors (policymakers, brands,
consumers) aiming to achieve a carbon-neutral fashion industry, built on equality, social justice,
animal welfare, and ecological integrity.” Alves goes on to reiterate what the Journal of Fashion
Marketing and Management claims that sustainable fashion is comprised of “local sourcing and
production, transparency across the supply chain, traceability of work processes and raw
materials, environmentally friendly raw materials, safe working conditions, and fair wages.” The
differentiation that sustainable fashion has is that it is a product made of more reliable and better-
quality elements. Alves points out that there are five main reasons why sustainable fashion is
superior, and those reasons are: creates less waste, ensures fair wages and proper working
conditions, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, saves water, and saves animal lives. The first
point of why sustainable fashion is superior is because it reduces waste which is very significant
in the fashion industry. “The Environmental Protection Agency estimates 85% of all textiles
3
wind up in landfills every year. To give you an idea of the environmental impact, look at this:
that’s the equivalent of one fully loaded garbage truck dumping clothes into the landfill every
second” (brightly.eco). The second reason is that it creates fair wages and proper working
conditions. This is because most fashion companies have production plants outside of the United
States of America and in countries such as China or India, where the living wages are meager,
and the conditions and the working hours of the workplace are horrific. In extreme cases, there is
even child labor involved. Another reason is because of the reduction in greenhouse gases as the
fashion industry “has a hefty carbon footprint, accounting for 10% of global carbon emissions”
(brightly.eco). The following reason is that it saves water because of the sustainable materials
that are used instead of the standard materials, which can use an extreme amount of water in the
process of creation as well as the after-effects of the finishing of the product as the industry is
“responsible for nearly 20% of wastewater from growing water-thirsty cotton in water-scarce
areas” (brightly.eco). Lastly, the process of sustainable fashion saves animal lives because most
sustainable fashion companies use leather and fur alternatives instead of actual leather and fur,
which would ensure animal death and exploitation. Altogether, sustainable fashion is an
alternative to fast fashion that is better for the environment as well as for the consumer.
In contrast, fast fashion is a term that encompasses the complete opposite of sustainable
fashion. According to Audrey Stanton from The Good Trade, fast fashion is defined as “a design,
manufacturing, and marketing method focused on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing…
leverages trend replication and low-quality materials (like synthetic fabrics) in order to bring
inexpensive styles to the end consumer.” Fast fashion is a process where the company is willing
to sacrifice quality for quantity because they have researched and concluded
4
that their bottom line grows when they are quickly producing low-quality products instead of
creating a slower quality product. “Many people debate what came first: the desire for fresh
looks at an alarming rate or the industry’s top players convincing us that we’re behind trends as
soon as we see them being worn. It is hard to say, but there is no doubt that we thirst for the ‘next
best thing’ every day of our consumer-driven lives” (Stanton). The quality of each product is not
the only negative part of fast fashion. Another negative is the moral lines that are crossed due to
the working conditions of the factory plants as well as the kind of product that is put on the shelf
of each store. The environmental impact of fast fashion is significant because of the toxic
chemicals that are released from the products into the world when thrown into landfills, in
addition to the substances that are released during production that affect the natural wildlife
around the factories. For consumers, these toxic chemicals can be hazardous to put onto our skin
as “chemicals such as benzothiazole---linked to serval types of cancer and respiratory illnesses---
have been found in apparel on the market” (Stanton). Then, there is the issue of the underpaid,
underfed, and abused workers who create the clothes for these companies in third-world
countries where there is no worker protection. “Many of us are familiar with the news about
Nike sweatshops, but they’re just one of the many fast fashion brands violating human rights for
the sake of fashion” (Stanton).
Both sustainable and fast fashion are similar in that they are paths in which fashion
companies choose to take in their production routes. As a Christian, I do not agree with the way
in which companies such as Nike make their products, being a fast fashion company, because I
believe it is unethical. When God created humankind, He gave us the job of taking care of the
planet for Him, as it says in Genesis 1:26-30:
5
Then God said, ‘Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule
over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild
animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.’ So God created mankind
in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created
them. God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the
earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every
living creature that moves on the ground.’ Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing
plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will
be yours for food. And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the
creatures that move along the ground---everything that has the breath of life in it---I give
every green plant for food.’ And it was so.
As humans, we are responsible for the earth and its wellbeing. With sustainable fashion, the
companies are trying as hard as they can to take care of the earth in the way in which they create
their product. This is not the case with fast fashion because all that matters to those companies is
the bottom line. The other main issue sustainable fashion tries to fix is the abuse workers in other
countries suffer when working at the factory plants of these gigantic companies. In John 13:34-
35, Jesus Christ talks about helping others when He says: “A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all
people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
As a Christian, I am not immune to the temptations of the world and being in an industry
that has moved away from a Christian foundation, those temptations are going to be even more
significant. In Desiring God’s 2015 book, Killjoys, the seven deadly sins are played around with
6
and on full display; these are the sins of pride, envy, anger, slothfulness, greed, gluttony, and lust.
Within the fashion industry, the sin of pride, greed, and lust are highly present in the lives of
those who work in the industry. Those at the top feel pride as they look down at everyone who
struggles to make it. The greed for not only money but for the spotlight and power over others
and influence over other people are also present. Lust for what others have is another sin that
people struggle with, especially within the fashion industry, where everyone wants what the
other person has: their car, shirt, or house. These temptations I will experience when working in
fashion are no different than the temptations I have every day. I plan on handling them the same
way I have always handled them: through prayer and my connection with Jesus Christ. I will fail
sometimes, but I have always found a way to keep moving because not only do I have Christ
behind me, I have a few very close friends and family members who always have and always
will have my back.
All in all, the fashion industry, being the fourth largest industry in the world, has both
positive and negative elements within itself. Because of its magnitude, it is crucial for fashion
companies to understand the impact the creation of their products makes on the earth and all
living creatures that inhabit it. Thankfully, there has been a demand from consumers for
companies to produce their products in an eco-friendlier way which has blazed a path for the on-
the-rise sector of fashion: sustainable fashion. In contrast to fast fashion, sustainable fashion
keeps humans, animals, and the environment in mind when creating products, so everyone stays
protected and safe. Sustainable fashion also aligns with Christian views of taking care of the
environment that God gifted us as humans, as well as the command from Christ to help each
other and love each other, which is what sustainable fashion does. “As consumers, we have so
much power to change the world by just being careful in what we buy” (Emma Watson).
7
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