News for T-shrits

Fast fashion is a business model where companies produce as much clothing as possible, for as cheap as possible. Despite decades of discussion about the human rights and environmental implications of the model, recent online trends where people show off their haul of bulk-bought clothing suggest it isn’t going away. Let’s break down what it is and its impact.

While a $10 t-shirt may seem like a good deal, it’s worth considering what it costs to make it.

By Baz Macdonald of Re: News

It is likely a piece of fast fashion, where companies sell as many clothes as possible for the cheapest price by having them made in countries with more relaxed employment laws.

This can have human rights and environmental impacts at every stage, starting with the farm where the cotton for that shirt was grown.

China produces the largest amount of the world's cotton. Twenty per cent of that comes from the Xinjiang region where the Uyghur community are forced to work on farms.

The true extent of this, and other human rights and environmental issues, are not known because there is very little transparency within the industry.

Tearfund's 2021 Ethical Fashion Report found 87% of companies didn’t know where their fabrics came from, and only 71% knew where they were even manufactured.

What we do know is that garment workers frequently work 10 to 16 hour days, six days a week, for nearly three times less than their country’s living wage.

In Asia and the Pacific there are 65 million garment workers, and most of them are women.

Fast fashion is a business model where companies produce as much clothing as possible, for as cheap as possible. Despite decades of discussion about the human rights and environmental implications of the model, recent online trends where people show off their haul of bulk-bought clothing suggest it isn’t going away. Let’s break down what it is and its impact.

While a $10 t-shirt may seem like a good deal, it’s worth considering what it costs to make it.

By Baz Macdonald of Re: News

It is likely a piece of fast fashion, where companies sell as many clothes as possible for the cheapest price by having them made in countries with more relaxed employment laws.

This can have human rights and environmental impacts at every stage, starting with the farm where the cotton for that shirt was grown.

China produces the largest amount of the world's cotton. Twenty per cent of that comes from the Xinjiang region where the Uyghur community are forced to work on farms.

The true extent of this, and other human rights and environmental issues, are not known because there is very little transparency within the industry.

Tearfund's 2021 Ethical Fashion Report found 87% of companies didn’t know where their fabrics came from, and only 71% knew where they were even manufactured.

What we do know is that garment workers frequently work 10 to 16 hour days, six days a week, for nearly three times less than their country’s living wage.

In Asia and the Pacific there are 65 million garment workers, and most of them are women.

Fast fashion is a business model where companies produce as much clothing as possible, for as cheap as possible. Despite decades of discussion about the human rights and environmental implications of the model, recent online trends where people show off their haul of bulk-bought clothing suggest it isn’t going away. Let’s break down what it is and its impact.

While a $10 t-shirt may seem like a good deal, it’s worth considering what it costs to make it.

By Baz Macdonald of Re: News

It is likely a piece of fast fashion, where companies sell as many clothes as possible for the cheapest price by having them made in countries with more relaxed employment laws.

This can have human rights and environmental impacts at every stage, starting with the farm where the cotton for that shirt was grown.

China produces the largest amount of the world's cotton. Twenty per cent of that comes from the Xinjiang region where the Uyghur community are forced to work on farms.

The true extent of this, and other human rights and environmental issues, are not known because there is very little transparency within the industry.

Tearfund's 2021 Ethical Fashion Report found 87% of companies didn’t know where their fabrics came from, and only 71% knew where they were even manufactured.

What we do know is that garment workers frequently work 10 to 16 hour days, six days a week, for nearly three times less than their country’s living wage.

In Asia and the Pacific there are 65 million garment workers, and most of them are women.

Fast fashion is a business model where companies produce as much clothing as possible, for as cheap as possible. Despite decades of discussion about the human rights and environmental implications of the model, recent online trends where people show off their haul of bulk-bought clothing suggest it isn’t going away. Let’s break down what it is and its impact.

While a $10 t-shirt may seem like a good deal, it’s worth considering what it costs to make it.

By Baz Macdonald of Re: News

It is likely a piece of fast fashion, where companies sell as many clothes as possible for the cheapest price by having them made in countries with more relaxed employment laws.

This can have human rights and environmental impacts at every stage, starting with the farm where the cotton for that shirt was grown.

China produces the largest amount of the world's cotton. Twenty per cent of that comes from the Xinjiang region where the Uyghur community are forced to work on farms.

The true extent of this, and other human rights and environmental issues, are not known because there is very little transparency within the industry.

Tearfund's 2021 Ethical Fashion Report found 87% of companies didn’t know where their fabrics came from, and only 71% knew where they were even manufactured.

What we do know is that garment workers frequently work 10 to 16 hour days, six days a week, for nearly three times less than their country’s living wage.

In Asia and the Pacific there are 65 million garment workers, and most of them are women.