Gen Z, Fast Fashion, and the Hidden Cost of Convenience
Authors: Nayana Joseph and Arghya Aayaan
Everyone loves a good haul - bags of fashionable clothes arriving at your door for the price of a takeaway. Many companies such as Shein and Primark capitalise on this demand by offering affordable, fast and updated fashion. However behind these appealing and inexpensive items lies a hidden reality - Child Labour.
In the fast fashion industry, the pursuit of speed and low costs frequently comes at the expense of ethical practices. According to the international labour organization, over 138 million children ages 5 - 17 are involved in Child Labour globally; within this large number, an estimated 54 million work in hazardous conditions. In countries such as India and Bangladesh, children as young as 10 work sewing garments in cramped, unsafe factories just to meet the relentless production schedules driven by consumer demand. While these garments appear to be new, clean and harmless, many are the result of exploitation involving overworked and undernourished children.
Our generation, Gen Z, has grown up with the internet, globalisation and social media, which has exposed more than any previous generation to human rights issues. PSHE lessons, viral TikToks, and documentaries have made it clear that our consumer choices have real consequences. Many young people have used their platforms to challenge unethical practices and call for greater transparency from companies. Nevertheless, despite increased awareness converting this knowledge into meaningful action will always remain a challenge.
Gen Z has a unique set of economic challenges that we consider daily that older generations didn't have to. Our rent prices have soared, car insurance has become downright unaffordable (it has doubled for 16-24 year olds between 2012-2022, according to the Washington Post), most importantly, our real wages haven't kept up with the rising cost of living. We don’t have alternatives. Supply chain transparency is expensive and companies pass that cost down to us, the consumer. We don’t have the privilege to be able to shop according to our values.
Sorting through hundreds of tons of clothing in an abandoned factory for a social mission called Clothing the Loop. Source: Unsplash.com
The main problem we face is that we have the knowledge but not the ability to change. We know social media algorithms keep us in our own bubble. If we don’t already follow content promoting ethical practices, platforms such as TikTok and Instagram won’t show it to us because they don’t want us to leave the app. Instead, they feed our need for a quick dopamine rush and push content showing 20+ item Shein hauls without a question about the detrimental process to create those clothes. We often fall into the trap of pluralistic ignorance: the false belief that because others don’t seem to care, maybe I don’t need to either.
Still, there’s reason to be hopeful. Gen Z as a generation has already shifted the conversation. We may not be perfect, but we’re pushing corporations to push social responsibility up the priority list and we try to hold brands accountable. As our financial independence grows, so will our power to reshape demand. We demand for industries that don't rely on exploitation. Brands that can offer affordable and ethical alternatives will have the opportunity to capitalise on a largely untapped market, especially as increasingly socially conscious Gen Alpha are on the horizon.
The next time you pick up a £5 T-shirt, ask yourself: who really paid the price? Awareness is the first step. Real change will come when we match that knowledge with pressure placed upon ourselves, on brands, and on the systems that let Child Labour exist in the first place.