SOCIAL, MORAL, ETHICAL & ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

REGARDING FASHION AND THE BUSINESS INDUSTRY.

By Melissa Birch.

GLOBAL IMPACT“The worldwide fashion industry generates over a trillion US dollars a year, but there are concerns about clothing companies taking responsibility for their impact on the environment, workforce, and suppliers. Once dominated by Europe and North America, there are huge fashion markets still being tapped, particularly in China. With stylists and fashion devisers seeking ways to exploit aspiring consumers, talent is getting squeezed out. Although uniformity of look may sell well, fashion, if anything, has always been about youth, subversion, and playful creativity.”

Fashion; The Ultimate book of Costume and StylePage 415- The Designer Decades.

WHAT IS ETHICAL FASHION?

Ethical fashion represents an approach to the design, sourcing and manufacture of clothing which maximises benefits to people and communities while minimising impact on the environment. The meaning of ethical goes beyond doing no harm, representing an approach which strives to take an active role in poverty reduction, sustainable livelihood creation, minimising and counteracting environmental concerns.

“If you describe something as ethical, you mean that it is morally right or morally acceptable.” Collins English Dictionary.

SUSTAINABILITY AND THE TRIPLE BOTTOM LINE

“In 1989, the Brundtland Commission articulated what has now become a widely accepted definition of sustainability: “[to meet] the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” It is believed that a business or initiative is not sustainable unless the triple bottom line is integrated at the core of business practices and policy, from board level to studio, shop, or factory floor.”

1. SOCIALIncreasing the capacity and wellbeing of the people and communities behind fashion. Any fashion business depends on the people behind it. In a broader context, poverty and exploitation of the human workforce behind fashion affects the stability of the industry itself.

2. ENVIRONMENTALMinimising the environmental impact of all business operations, throughout the supply chain. Creating and acting upon opportunities to reduce environmental issues beyond the immediate operations- such as awareness raising , investment in and support of environmental initiatives.

3. COMMERCIALWithout a robust financial business model, none of this can be achieved. Good intentions without an effective business structure can backfire. A sustainable approach includes quality products or services that meet market needs and demands and are fairly marketed

CLOTHING FACTORIES MORAL & ETHICAL ASPECTS

The clothing industry generates around £250 billion each year worldwide. It is tempting for companies to ignore the ethical practices with that much money at stake. These ethical practices can include sustainability, pay rates, and the employee safety that the industry should practice.

WORKERS WAGES

Being able to without needing to find an extra job comes from earning a liveable wage. Within the clothing industry, the wages vary widely. Some companies may pay minimum wage to staff where as others can pay competitive rates. Manufacturers who outsource jobs to foreign companies in China, India or other countries might try to get around paying liveable wages to workers. This is where companies have brought in fair trade, these fair trade companies assure that workers in foreign countries receive far and liveable wages for the work that they do.

EMPLOYEE SAFETY

To ensure that all employees are treated in an ethical and moral manner, the clothing industry must abide by appropriate safety measures. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has extensive guidelines and an analysis of the clothing industry with regards to machine operation, ergonomics, hazardous substances, noise, heat stress, exposure to cotton dust and dye safety.

FAIR LABOUR PRACTICES

“The International Labour Organization, which guides European clothing manufacturers, has guidelines companies can use to ensure appropriate fair labour practices. Examples of acceptable ethical practices include no exploitation of child labour or illegal immigrants, wages comparable to local standards and termination of trade relations in the event of ethics violations.”

CHILD LABOUR & SWEAT SHOPS

Child labour is forbidden by law in most countries. It is generally considered unacceptable for a child to work long hours or to perform tedious, dangerous, heavy or dirty tasks. The United Convention of the Rights of a Child stipulates that all work done by a child under the age of 15, and all hazardous work done by a child under the age of 18, is illegal.

CHILD LABOUR IN THE CLOTHING INDUSTRY

Children are being put to work at all stages of the garment process. Though mainly working within fields to source the cotton seeds, cotton harvesting and also yarn spinning mills. A lot of children are even being put to work within factories and subcontracted workshops.

Within the garment factories the tasks that the children are performing include dyeing, sewing buttons, cutting and trimming threads, folding, moving and packing the garments. Within the smaller workshops children are performing more intricate tasks such as embroidering, sequinning and making pleats. There are several industries that are particularly responsible for child labour in the textile and garment industry, these include:•India•Uzbekistan•China•Bangladesh•Egypt•Thailand•Pakistan

ETHICAL ISSUES

The fashion industry has connections with other major industries which include manufacturing, advertising, production of raw materials, transportation and retailing. The profits that stand to be made within the fashion industry are vast, and thus creating a temptation to engage in unethical behaviour. Fashion executives have an ethical responsibly to change a situation when a manufacturer, model, or consumer is ever being treated unfairly or being exploited.

BODY IMAGEHigh fashion models on the runway or in magazines are all seen to be very, and in some cases abnormally, thin. To have a typical model stereotype the female should be over 5’8 and a size 0. This focus on extreme thinness in women has been blamed for eating disorders, and poor body image among those whose don’t conform to the idealised image. Though it is not only females who have been known for eating disorders, but males also.

FURFashion that use real animal fur support the fur industry, which is infamous for its inhumane treatment of animals. Fur is acquired either by trapping wild animals and skinning them or by raising animals domestically for their fur. This is all an unethical act of harm for the animals.

ADVERTISINGAdvertising is a form of seducing people into buying things they do not need, according to critics. Advertising and fashion are very closely related and they both encourage people to consume as much as possible. New fashions are widely advertised as better than whatever came before them.

FORGERIESMore commonly known as ‘knock-offs’. The cheaper designer products such as bags that are sold at much cheaper prices and available to a wider audience. Also known as ‘fakes.’

INEQUALITYWithin today’s society, equality is never promised. Status is a huge part of it and even clothing comes is categories, from haute couture, designer pieces/labels and then the high street. Which is cheaper and available to a wider audience. A large part of the appeal of expensive, fashionable clothing is that it’s exclusive. The vast majority of people can’t afford to buy it, so it grants a level of status and glamour to those who can.

THE MODEL IMAGE

Model’s seem to be suffering the brunt of the fashion industry’s obsession with being a size 0. Though not as common nowadays, still as many as 40% of models may currently be suffering from some kind of eating disorder. It is said that although anorexia is the most famous eating disorder among fashion models, it is probably bulimia that is the most common. From an early age we are bombarded with images and messages that reinforce the idea that to be happy and successful we must be thin. The message that to be ‘fat’ makes a person undesirable is everywhere, from newspapers to magazines, TV to radio and the most common of all, social media and the internet. It is not only fashion models who feel this pressure but everyday people including a mass amount of teenagers and even girls from ages as young as 8 years old.

EATING DISORDERS

An eating disorder is a psychological condition in which a persons eating habits consume their thoughts and dictate how they carry out everyday life , when it becomes an obsession, it is possible the person has an eating disorder. Unhealthy eating habits include:•Eating too little•Repeatedly over eating in a short period•Trying desperately to get rid of the food consumed – this could include purging (making yourself sick), overuse of laxatives or diet pills, exercising too much, or fasting.

THE FASHION WORLD

Some would argue that the fashion industry doesn’t cause eating disorders, they are more complex than that. The fashion industry does however have a powerful influence that can be highly toxic to some vulnerable people. The images that magazines and the industry shows do not cause the eating disorder, but it can make it harder for people to recover. Poor body image and low self esteem are key factors in the development of eating disorders and that social and cultural pressures are strong in this area. Body image is not trivial; it is a fundamental part of our sense of self and our identity.

“The causes of eating disorders are complex, multi-factorial and not yet fully understood, but include a mix of genetic, biological and cultural factors. Eating disorders are a serious mental illness which can have a devastating effect. They are treatable conditions and the sooner someone gets the treatment they need, the more likely they are to make a full recovery.” - Beat (beating eating disorders)

VOGUE’S HEALTH INITITIVE

The 19 editors of Vogue magazines around the world have recently launched ‘The Health Initiative’, a pact to “reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the wellbeing of their readers.“

"As one of the fashion industry's most powerful voices, Vogue has a unique opportunity to engage with relevant issues where we feel we can make a difference," editor Alexandra Shulman explains in her editor's letter, adding that the Initiative will "build on the successful work that the Council of Fashion Designers of America with the support of American Vogue in the US and the British Fashion Council in the UK have already begun to encourage a healthier approach to body image within the industry".

The British Fashion Council’s Model Health Inquiry was finalised in 2007 and it continues to promote model health through its on-going Model Programme. Recommendations in place since this date, which are also included in London Fashion Week's designer contracts, comprise: no under 16 models on London's catwalks, healthy food and drink available to all backstage, the introduction of a model relaxation zone, Equity becoming a representative body for models, and bi-annual meetings of the BFC's Model Programme Committee to discuss any issues that may arise.

"Vogue believes that good health is beautiful," Jonathan Newhouse, Condé Nast International chairman, said. "Vogue editors around the world want the magazines to reflect their commitment to the health of the models who appear on the pages and the wellbeing of their readers."

THE FUR INDUSTRY

Whether it came from an animal on a fur farm or one who was trapped in the wild, every fur coat, trinket, and bit of trim caused an animal tremendous suffering, and took away a life. Eighty-five percent of the fur industry’s skins come from animals living captive in fur factory farms. These farms can hold thousands of animals, and their farming practices are remarkably uniform around the globe. As with other intensive-confinement animal farms, the methods used in fur factory farms are designed to maximize profits, always at the expense of the animals.

MINKS

The most commonly farmed fur-bearing animals are minks, followed by foxes. Chinchillas, lynxes, and even hamsters are also farmed for their fur . To cut costs, fur farmers pack animals into small cages, preventing them from taking more than a few steps back and forth. This crowding and confinement is especially distressing to minks. The anguish and frustration of life in a cage leads minks to self-mutilate, biting at their skin, tails, and feet and frantically pace and circle endlessly.

Fifty-eight percent of mink farms are in Europe, 10 percent are in North America, and the rest are dispersed throughout the world, in countries such as Argentina, China, and Russia. The international trade in fur is highly lucrative, with an estimated global value of £10 billion per year. Conservative estimates suggest that each year 40 million animals are killed exclusively for their fur.

CONSUMPTION & ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

CONSUMPTION

Bringing out a new line of clothing every year encourages fashion enthusiasts to buy new clothes that they don't really need. While some people see this as harmless or as a boon to the economy, others believe that it encourages mindless consumerism.

ENVIRONMENT

The materials, transportation and production that are involved in the fashion industry all have an impact on the environment. Many synthetic materials are derived from petroleum, while many more natural materials are grown on land that could be used for food production.

GOING GREEN

Synthetic fibres are more difficult to dye than natural fibres. Manufacturers add heavy metals and toxic compounds to the water to help the dyes cling to these inorganic fabrics. This creates pollution in the form of runoff to lakes, rivers and oceans. With concerns over this pollution, some companies have begun to use more environmentally friendly products. Eco-friendly clothing manufacturers use organic cotton, bamboo, soy and hemp to weave fabrics, and then use plant-based dyes to give the fabrics colour. Some companies also use recycled synthetic fibres like polyester and plastic bags in their products in an effort to keep non-biodegradable items out of landfills.

references• http://smallbusiness.chron.com/clothing-industry-moral-ethical-aspects-15220.html• Fact sheet child labour – focus on role of buying companies• http://smallbusiness.chron.com/top-ten-ethical-issues-fashion-business-21866.html• http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues/ethical-fashion• http://www.ethicalfashionforum.com/the-issues• http://www.raderprograms.com/causes-statistics/media-eating-disorders.html• http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/76241.php• Student pages – the fashion world @ BEAT• http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2012/05/03/the-health-initiative-vogue---model-health-wellbeing• http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/animals-used-clothing-factsheets/inside-fur-industry-factory-farms/• http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/fur/