The Ugly Side of Fashion

LVMH and Shein are two of the biggest names in the fashion industry. While LVMH, a conglomerate that oversees high-end brands such as Louis Vuitton and Dior, is synonymous with luxury fashion and Shein is the face of fast fashion. Most people wouldn’t associate the two, but besides being fashion giants, they have one major thing in common: both have come under fire for unethical practices. 

Last year, an Italian court placed Dior under judicial administration after an investigation found it outsourced work to Chinese suppliers that abused workers. The investigation found that safety equipment was removed from machinery and that workers were made to sleep in the warehouse. Similarly, Shein has been scrutinized for labor exploitation and contribution to fashion waste.  

The topic of the fashion industry’s impact on the environment and exploitation isn’t new. The 2013 Rana Plaza collapse, which killed 1,134 people, combined with a growing awareness of the climate crisis created an accelerated push for ethical fashion. In the last decade, brands have pledged to improve. But despite these promises, many brands are still falling short. 

Shortcomings

A lack of transparency allows brands to escape accountability. Fashion Revolution, an activism movement that aims to protect garment workers, publishes annual Fashion Transparency Reports. Since its conception, the movement has demanded supply chain transparency and government regulations for the industry. In a 2023 report, the organization wrote, “Transparency is foundational. In the absence of disclosed evidence, it is difficult to understand if the fashion industry is turning things around.” The same study found that out of the 250 brands reviewed, only two scored above 80 on the full transparency scale.

A lack of transparency allows for “greenwashing.” According to the NRDC, greenwashing is the act of making false or misleading statements about the environmental benefits of a product or practice. Companies hide behind buzzwords like sustainable or organic but fail to communicate their environmental practices adequately, a tell-tale sign that a brand is greenwashing. 

Katie Robinson, a sustainable fashion journalist, covers greenwashing scandals intensively on her podcast, “refashioned.” 

“There’s no actual repercussions. Maybe people will become aware of a particular greenwashing scandal and boycott, but brands know that people will forget,” Robinson said in an interview with Off Radar.

Robinson’s podcast deep dives into sustainable fashion topics, discussing topical issues in the industry. Robinson also frequently covers issues with luxury fashion. Conversations on unethical fashion usually center around fast fashion, creating an illusion that luxury is better. However, Robinson says luxury brands have adopted practices associated with fast fashion.

“I think the cultural perception of luxury stops people from questioning in the same way that we question fast fashion. The idea that expensive equals good is burned into our brains that luxury brands are just allowed to coast along.” Robinson said.

Is There a Solution?

With a lack of transparency and the prevalence of greenwashing, it is easy to become confused about what's “wrong” and what is “right.” One answer is to become more intentional when it comes to buying clothes, boycotting brands that are not taking adequate steps, joining movements like the Fashion Revolution, and doing research on companies before buying.

Slow Shop is an upcycling clothing boutique based in Austin made of a collective of artisans. The boutique adopts the slow fashion model, using repurposed material and paying designers a fair wage. Customers can choose between buying a pre-made design or having a piece made-to-order. 

“We do consignments. The designers have autonomy over what they’re sending in. We split 60/40 with the designer,” Mikaela Friedman, a member of the collective, said. 

A common complaint about sustainable fashion is the price, which reflects the time and care designers invested in the clothing. 

“We’ve tried to make it accessible. You can send in textiles and we cut a third of the fee down,” Friedman said. 

The shop also hosts workshops, such as mending classes. Mending is the act of repairing something that is damaged. 

“Mending used to be on our chores list, but it fell off our list with the rise of fast fashion and the influencer to buy new rather than just mending,” Friedman said. 

Mending not only cuts down on consumption but also on environmental waste. Clothes are given a second life instead of being discarded. In the United States, an estimated 11.3 tons of textile waste end up in landfills, according to a 2018 EPA report.

“I think people are starting to realize it's almost shameful to buy new all the time when you have these wonderful things that you could give a little love to. Mending has been a huge part of our community.” Friedman said.  

Buying less is another component of being intentional about how we consume.

“I feel like in 2025, the trend is potentially going toward reduce. People are saying ‘I need to stop buying for the sake of it, I need to stop using shopping as entertainment, ” Robinson said.