How Has Social Media Affected the Fashion Industry?
Social media trends have kickstarted a drastic evolution in fast fashion—and not a good one. On platforms like Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, influencers can reach thousands, even millions, of people who want to be just as cool, (seemingly) post-able and relevant from the moment they wake up to the moment they go to bed. Social media is a powerful force shaping consumption, especially fast fashion.
You may know of TikTok star Addison Rae, but you might not be aware of her recent collaboration with American Eagle or the fact that it has been suggested she might single-handedly bring back low-rise jeans. And whether or not you’re a fan of Cardi B, you have likely heard of fast fashion brand Fashion Nova because of the promotions she and some other celebrities have done. Fashion Nova’s influencer advertising model was responsible for its sales increasing by 600 percent in 2017 alone.
“Fast fashion” refers to the trendy, inexpensive clothing that imitates designs from the catwalk or celebrity culture and is mass-produced as fast as possible to make the designs conveniently available to consumers.
But this term also describes how consumers treat the clothing they buy. Fast fashionistas don’t invest in clothing that lasts a lifetime—the trendiest things usually go out of style in less than a year, anyways. These articles of clothing (usually cheap, low-quality, and made of synthetic materials that do not decompose) invariably end up in landfills once they go out of style. About 85 percent of “textile waste in the United States goes to landfills or is incinerated,” with consumers blithely unaware of the blood, sweat, and tears that went into making the garments.
Trendy fashion has dramatically affected garment production patterns and worsened conditions for workers. Whereas new designs used to be introduced seasonally, it is not uncommon now for fast-fashion retailers to “introduce new products multiple times in a single week to stay on-trend” and meet the demand created by social media trends. Retailers outsource production to garment factories, choosing the ones that produce the most, the cheapest and thus encouraging competitive pricing between factories lobbying for work. This incentivizes factories to produce more for less, driving down wages for workers across the globe and creating a market for forced (and therefore cheap) labor.
In the U.S., Los Angeles is one of the cities with the biggest trafficked workforce. The “made in America” tag in your shirt may suggest that it was ethically made, but it probably originates from a sweatshop-like garment factory in Los Angeles in which undocumented or disadvantaged workers labor long hours for well under minimum wage. The New York Times interviewed workers that made clothes for Fashion Nova for “as little as $2.77 an hour.” Many other brands source their products from factories in Bangladesh or Vietnam where the working conditions are just as bad and worse.
Technically, merchandise produced through slave labor, prison or convict labor, forced child labor or indentured labor under penal sanctions is not “entitled to entry or importation to the United States.” Identifying those products, however, is no easy task. Most fast fashion brands are able to distract attention from production realities through careful social media advertising that presents a wholesome image, or by endorsing codes of conduct that suggest investment in ethical procedures. This is often only surface-level, however. American Eagle, for example, ostensibly follows a “Supplier Code of Conduct” but shows “no evidence that they provide their workers with a living wage.”
Moreover, a loophole in federal law enables brands to evade penalization “for wage theft in factories if they can credibly claim that they did not know their clothes were made by workers paid illegally low wages.” Most brands are able to feign ignorance because they use “middlemen” to hire factories to produce their garments and therefore (legally) distance themselves from the production process. At the end of the day, however, the real problem is not only the exploitative factories but also the insatiable demand (and unethical capitalism) that keeps them in business.
Here’s a solution: make slow fashion trendy again.
This is already a movement that is gaining momentum on social media. Take, for example, fashion tiktokker Heidi (@the_rogue_essentials)—she is the founder of #slowfashiontiktok, and she has almost 27,000 followers. Check out her account to learn more about what it means to be a conscious consumer… and how to make it fun!
You can also join the slow fashion movement by unfollowing fast fashion brands or influencers that support them. Start to engage with TikToks or Instagram posts that promote ethical fashion trends, or follow Instagram influencers that focus on ethical fashion, like Aditi Mayer (@aditimayer), Shannon Buckley (@shannydoots) or Dressember’s own Michelle Chavez (@michelleforgood). Think of your likes and comments as votes—chances to use your voice to change the narrative.
About the Author
Emmy Luker is a writer and MDiv candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is passionate about speaking and writing about what is true, and doing it in a way people can and want to hear. Originally from Colorado, she is a big fan of alpine views and mountain hikes, but she is learning to love the wind and the lake as a recent transplant in Chicago.