The Global Fashion Summit is the leading international forum for sustainability in fashion. And Chinese fashion giant, Shein, pledges $15m to ethical work practices for recycling workers in Ghana.
But is Shein ‘greenwashing’? Greenwashing is a term used to describe companies who put their money into expensive marketing campaigns instead of putting the money into minimising fashion waste. It’s a clever marketing gimmick to make consumers think they are supporting a company whose practices are ethical.
Cleaning Up
Shein is a A$139.5 billion company. In Shein’s case, the money is going into cleaning up the mess they make, instead of making ethical choices across the supply chain. The $15M pledge is in support of the Or Foundation, but the work of this company does not rely on donations, Greenpeace says. Greenpeace states that the world needs to operate under a ‘Polluter Pays’ principle. Those who make environmental mess and damage health in their business practice should be financially responsible for the cleanup.
The answer is not to create recycling work ethical in third world countries, but to reduce the quantities of fast fashion and introduce more slow fashion practices.
Shein has more new styles every day than any other fashion brand. In April this year, a team from Greenpeace Africa and Greenpeace Germany visited Tanzania and Kenya to find out where cheap clothes end up. This isn’t just fast fashion, it’s galloping. They found fashion waste on huge dump sites, burning open fires, along river beds and washed out to sea, with extremely damaging consequences for the planet.
Complex Answers
The answers to the practices which see 15 million garments for recycling entering Ghana every week are going to be complex and involve a lot of talking. 40% of these garments end up in landfill due to poor recyclable quality.
If there is one thing we have learnt from the pandemic, it is that change only happens when it is forced upon us. Perhaps the supply chain issue will see some changes to the fast fashion industry whether we like it or not.
What is certain is that the world cannot sustain the current fast fashion diet. For those who consume from places like Shein, not knowing where fashion waste goes is the equivalent of putting your head in the sand.
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