1st Draft

Title: Fast-fashion should be eliminated from the world

Class number : 20420  Student name : Ho Eun Lee

             These days, we cannot do anything with 1$ because of advanced prices. If I say that a worker who lives in Africa works 16 hours a day and gets paid 0.45$, most of the people will say that I’m just joking. However, this is not a kidding but a blue fact. The accidents or controversies about long working time and payment are from exploitation. In fact, the huge and rich enterprises, GAP, H&M or Forever 21 etc exploited their workers, and that brought lots of accidents and tragedies to workers. Although the companies’ affluent finances, they still exploit weak workers, usually from developing countries, to save their management cost. Thus this researcher suggests the elimination of the fast-fashion from the world.

             When people think about ‘exploitation’, they usually imagine the exploitation in cacao farms. Because there are only few advertisements or campaigns about child exploitation in developing countries even only about cacao farms or soccer ball factories. Usually the object of exploitation is children, and it matters. Because the children consider as a future, and by considering the children as workforces, we lose the potential hope of the nation. According to Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, however, most of the multinational corporations, for example H&M, Next, Primark, and C&A etc, have their manufacturing plants in developing countries and they acknowledged that they employed illegal aliens and children and exploited them. Also, the exploitation about the clothing industry, especially for fast-fashion, took considerable possession in exploitation market.

             Also, the environment problem with global warming as the center has become a grave matter in modern society. Most of the people think that their clothes are not the cause of global warming at all. According to Environmental Protection Agency, however, 84% of unwanted clothes went into dump ground or landfill in the United States in 2012. Also, usually the material of the clothing is the natural cotton. When it was thrown away, it produces a great amount of greenhouse gas under the ground, and they cannot be used as compost. Like this example, we can easily find the cases of serious environment pollution that was triggered by thrown out clothing.

             A general reaction about fast-fashion is not that bad, because it gives us quick changed trend with small amount of money and several styles in short period of time. However, people who said that the fast-fashion is good do not know about the severe scenes of harsh exploitation in developing countries and gradually contaminated earth. We who live in earth should know about our planet, earth, and should know about our neighbors who are suffering from exploitation and live in developing countries.

             Actually, the exploitation in clothing market is not all the cases of exploitation, and there are few clear statistics or current state. At this point, I would like to reveal the reason why this researcher chose this like complicated thesis. The world is now in ‘globalization’. In generation of globalization, we need to take care both of our neighbors (They are usually developing countries’ people in this paper) and the land that we are standing on, earth. Now some of controversial subjects are on the table of debate, but this thesis is not well-known, and even people cannot recognize the seriousness of problems from fast-fashion. This researcher wanted to notice people about the seriousness of this theme, thus this researcher suggests solutions about each of argument that are reducing the consumption of fast-fashion and activating the second hand market.

             First, for breaking down of exploitation (Especially about children exploitation), this researcher suggests reducing the consumption of fast-fashion. According to BUST magazine, Bangladesh’s 80% of the exports are clothing and most of them are fast-fashion market. When we think together with the fact that Bangladesh has the most exploitation rate in the world, we can draw a conclusion that fast-fashion market makes the exploitation. That means, by reducing the consumption of fast-fashion, we can save many people under the harsh exploitation. Also, this researcher would like to suggest the giving of systematic education system to developing countries rather than demanding the cheap workforce. Now, we have to stop exploiting for each nation’s profit, because in globalization society, that doesn’t work. With reducing consumption on fast-fashion and education system for developing countries will be clear solutions to the society that fits in ideology of modern society that is globalization.

             Second, for solving the problems about environment pollution that was caused by the clothing waste, this researcher would like to suggest activating the second hand market. Fast-fashion triggers people to waste more and buy more with fast changed trend. If there were a few second hand market, people would change their consumption habit in positive way that helps the environment, and naturally the fast-fashion that harms both of people who lives in developing countries and the environment will disappear. Actually, activating something aimed at large audience is not that easy and has a lot of possibility to fail. Thus to activate the second hand market ordinarily, this researcher thinks that the government of each nation should intervene in a consumption market. This researcher believes that activating second hand market with force of the government would settle in modern society in positive way.

             With this like solutions, this researcher believes that we can make better society that there is no exploitation and no clear boundaries among the countries. Also by acting like this, we can reduce the poverty or pollution and get a lot of capable people, so finally our society that is connected as one can be going to bring a bright future.

             There can be a refutation about my first solution that is not realistic because the fast-fashion is one of the huge cultures in our society so eradicating the culture at once is impossible. However, this researcher asserts not about the period of time, but just eliminating fast-fashion. This researcher considers a difficulty of eradicating a culture that has existed for a long time, thus this researcher suggests reducing that is connected to eliminating. Also the enterprises of fast-fashion can merger with other non fast-fashion companies. In that case, new marketing strategies and colorful styles could be come out, so there won’t a serious loss for fast-fashion enterprises. Also there can be a refutation about the part of financial for the building a systematical education system. However, we can get a hand of United Nations organization affiliated with the UN. By getting a hand from them the systematical plan will be deducted.

             Also there can be a refutation about my second solution that there will be a limitation to absolutely substitute a consumption of fast-fashion into second hand market. If there are enough advertisements or campaigns with second hand market under the command of government, the second hand market will settle into the modern society. Also the second hand market aims at developed countries’ people, so the market will be achieved with internet web. We can develop the application for second hand market and we can foster it like Air B&B service. Also with this like technologies, we can foster the sharing economy and it will bring the huge development to the nation.

             Fast-fashion is same with a machine that produces a large amount of clothing waste. If we continue this situation without any restriction, we will live in the planet that is filled with clothing waste under the ground. This researcher suggested the second hand market with advertisements or campaigns under the government’s command to reduce and eliminate the fast-fashion from the world. Also this researcher suggested the education system for developing countries with the flow of globalization. This researcher would like to emphasis again about the importance of this thesis. Although we live in 21 century only, this world will be passed by our descendants. We have duty to make clear and better society for our descendants and the earth in future. Thus this researcher thinks that Fast-fashion should be eliminated from the world.