Final 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 excessively high 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 joke,
but a true fact. The accidents or controversies about long working hours and
small payments result from exploitation in working places. In fact, huge and
rich fast-fashion enterprises, such as the GAP, H&M or Forever 21 exploited
their workers, and that brought lots of accidents and tragedies to workers. Although
the companies have great finances, they still exploit low-wage workers, who are
usually from developing countries, to save their management cost. That is,
exploitation in clothing enterprises takes considerable portion of human rights
violations that are caused by exploitation in clothing company. Thus this
research suggests the elimination of the fast-fashion from the world.
When
people think about ‘exploitation’, they usually imagine the former exploitation
on cacao farms. Because there are only few advertisements or campaigns about
children exploitation in developing countries that are usually about cacao
farms or soccer ball factories. Usually the object of exploitation is children,
and this matters a lot. Because children are considered as an priority future, and
by considering children in the workforce, we lose the potential hope of the
nation. According to Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, however, most
of the multinational fast-fashion corporations, such as H&M, Next, Primark,
and C&A have their manufacturing plants in developing countries and they
acknowledged that they employ illegal aliens and children and exploited them.
Also, the exploitation in the clothing industry, especially for fast-fashion, comprised
a large proportion 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. The fact that we have to pay attention is
fast-fashion encourage throwing away of clothing, because fast-fashion has to
follow the latest fashion. Thus we can say that fast-fashion encourages
acceleration of global warming.
A
general reaction to 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 complicated thesis. The world
is now in a state of ‘globalization’. In generation of globalization, we need
to take care both of our neighbors (They are usually people from developing
countries 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 notify people about the seriousness of
this theme, thus this researcher suggests solutions for each argument that can
reduce 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 highest 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 high 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.
This
researcher believes that we can make better society once 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. To sum up, elimination of fast-fashion even can bring fast-fashion
companies a huge financial benefit by merging between fast-fashion companies
and slow-fashion companies. Also, there is an increase of people who regard
green consumption as important, so slow-fashion companies or merged fashion
companies would get little financial blow.
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 these technologies, we can foster the sharing economy and it
will bring the huge development to the nation. With this system, each nation
can get not only effect of green consumption and mature civic awareness about
protection of the environment, but also development of economic system that was
followed by government’s policies about green consumption market.
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, “Fast-fashion should be eliminated from the world”.
Although we live in 21st 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. An irresponsible attitude for environment
of the earth is not desirable attitude of modern citizens. One of the
Millennium Development Goals(MDGs) from UN is to ensure environmental
sustainability. Each nation should try to decrease nation’s loss of
environmental resources. We have to make a better society that is one union by
following these rules. Thus this researcher thinks that Fast-fashion should be
eliminated from the world.
Sources
Environmental Protection Agency. (2012). Industry Sector
Profiles.
Article from: https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2014-01/documents/5-industry_2012_tri_na_overview_document.pdf
Fast-fashion. (No source of date). Unethical production-
What is a sweatshop.
Jared T. Miller. (2016, September 16). No one wants
your cheap, old clothes—not even the neediest people on Earth.
Jewgeni Tepliakov. (2016, January 20). Fast fashion &
the destruction of developing countries.
United world schools. (2000, September). What are the
sustainable developing goals.
Article from: http://www.unitedworldschools.org/sustainable-development-goals-sdgs-and-uws/?gclid=CjwKEAjwvr3KBRD_i_Lz6cihrDASJADUkGCaa-Dj7nz9YFRioUqSxNyUXmum621u-DTAKDzQf_kHHxoCc6rw_wcB
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