This month Fashion Revolution, the global advocates for making the fashion industry and it’s workers rights sustainable, ethical and fair, released it’s 2018 Consumer Survey Report.
The downloadable PDF comes in two formats, 1. The Full Report and 2. The Results – so there’s something for everyone here and that people with all levels of interest can pick up something useful and meaningful to them. The release of the report coincides with the co-founder and Global Operations Director, Carry Somers making an appearance on British TV show BBC’s Breakfast, saying “Transparency is key. If we can’t see what’s happening, then we can’t fix it.” And she’s absolutely right.
The report’s timely arrival also met with the first oral hearing of the Environmental Audit Committee’s ongoing enquiry into the fashion industry. This hearing, which has been preceded with written reports and oral evidential panel submissions from leading academics, designers and figures from the fashion and textiles sector, saw CEO’s and representatives of UK fast fashion giants like ASOS, Primark, and Misguided held to question alongside more ‘respected’ iconic British brands Burberry and Marks & Spencer about their manufacturing and retail ‘practices’. The Parliamentary panel, chaired by MP Mary Creagh, grilled the company heads and reps about over-production, workers rights, failure to liaise with external organisations who are campaigning to change the industry for the better from within and a range of highly sensitive and topical matters.
All of this current media exposure to the burgeoning awareness in the mainstream about the acute environmental and ethical issues rife across the whole sector ironically comes in on the wake of a tidal wave of Black Friday sales and deals. The tug-of-war for consumer’s brand loyalty and ethical conscience is happening and it’s a complicated and emotional dilemma for many consumers. On one hand, everyone wants to look good and get a great deal for buying clothes but at the same time, no one really wants to add to environmental destruction or be complicit in enslaving garment industry workers in life-threatening working conditions or illegal bonded labour.
The wonderful thing about Fashion Revolution’s report is that represents a broad spectrum of consumers across the globe and finally gives them a voice amid all of the ‘official’ industry scrutiny. It’s presented in readable and easy to grasp terms that mean something to all who don’t necessarily think about manufacturing supply chains and technical processes. It’s a step in the right direction and a model of hope in a complex mass of problems. Download the report and find out more here…
https://www.fashionrevolution.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/201118_FashRev_ConsumerSurvey_2018.pdf
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