It goes without saying that COVID has had a disastrous effect upon the fashion industry both upon consumers but mainly upon workers and the production process. The worst effected in the fashion industry are those within the fast fashion industry to name a few, Primark, Pretty Little Thing and H&M.
These brands are some of the main culprits of environmental waste during COVID and not only this but are also responsible for canceling orders which has lead to many workers in countries like India not being paid and unable to provide their families and themselves with basic needs including food.
It’s an utter disgrace.
Pretty Little Thing is responsible for listing over 200 items a day sometimes on it’s website, how is this sustainable! But to top it off during Black Friday 2020 they launched a 99% selling clothes for pennies, their lack of care and consideration for not only the environment but for the people employed to produce their clothing is astonishing. To start making a difference pledge to not buy from these brand again they are seriously damaging and the only way they will learn is by seeing a drop in sales, it is the only way they will change.
H&M is renowned for greenwashing and in more recent years they have started to combat this with ‘conscious collections’. However, you may or may not know that when sustainable materials are blended with synthetic materials (which they are in these collections, they cannot be recycled, so are they really making a conscious collection to benefit the planet or simply to attract customers in with the green appeal.
Lastly, should we even get into Primark, this company is unsustainable from the get go, from their poor working condition to the lack of respect and policies they have for the environment. Their care is about money and ensuring that it continuous to come in. All in all fast fashion is so damaging and COVID has made them more damaging with their canceling of orders, affecting people’s livelihoods and overall lack of respect for the environment. If you do one thing to become more sustainable I suggest making a pledge to yourself, don’t buy or buy less from these damaging brands.