Fashion and Ethics

This article addresses the fashion movement referred to as ‘clothing upcycling’ and the observations of textile practitioners and designers in Otago, New Zealand utilising these methods to further understand the upcycling movement and how these local actions connect to the global upcycling movement. This article is informed by a more substantive sociology masters project which interviewed local designers about what they were upcycling and why they were using this approach in their design. This research centres on a group working in a somewhat obscure and isolated region of the world yet because fashion is a globally connected industry, all designers, textile practitioners, and textile workers working conditions, production and sales are constrained by the current state of global economics and the global fashion industry even if the local environment and responses of various communities to these factors is distinctive. This makes clothing upcycling in Otago, an interesting comparison to the industry forces and fashion initiatives other writers and critics are witnessing in their local fashion scene. The term ‘clothing upcycling’ is chosen for its current relevance within fashion theory especially theories discussing the human and environmental ethics of both fashion production, fashion consumption and textile and clothing disposal and recycling.

In the article, the author discusses the relationship between ethics and crisis communication by analyzing the scandal involving the introduction by the Gucci fashion house of its black sweather with a collar covering the lower part of the wearer's face. Also cited are how racism is a key ethical issue, and why racist messaging in fashion should be avoided.

For fashion, which is connected so intimately to our bodies, senses, emotions, and memories, value is more than a matter of cost. In order to illustrate the true value of fashion 'radical transparency' is framed as a tool through which brands can counter supply chain opacity and tell stories about the production of their garments. However, models of transparency often conceal more than they reveal. This article unpacks the concept of 'radical transparency' by exploring the differing approaches taken by three fashion brands: two large international brands and one boutique Australian label. It asks: how might radical transparency contribute to rethinking fashion value? By critically analysing the capacity for fashion businesses to communicate complex details of their supply chains to consumers who may suggest they want such information yet are also frequently overwhelmed by it, this article demonstrates the potential as well as the limits of transparency. It argues that while the degree to which models of transparency are 'radical' varies significantly, such methods of disclosure nevertheless introduce an important sense of openness to an industry otherwise defined by dislocated and difficult to trace modes of production.

Sustainability is a central challenge of the fashion industry. In an era where Internet and social networks allow information to spread quickly, more consumers are familiar with the call for “ethical fashion” as disasters such as Rana Plaza resound worldwide. However, consumers interested in buying “ethical” clothing could have a hard time orienting themselves amongst the abundance of brands claiming to be ethical on the market. Consumers might make purchasing decisions based on their knowledge of a brand. In this context, it is imaginable that corporate social responsibility (CSR) communications, including codes of ethics, could constitute one way a consumer can learn more about a company’s values. These codes may serve a variety of purposes—they are undoubtedly one of the ways a brand communicates its commitment to ethical principles. Indeed, by analyzing the codes of ethics of some of the industry’s well-known brands, it is evident that they primarily focus on employment and workers’ rights (including equality and discrimination issues), labor safety standards, bribery and anti-corruption, counterfeiting and unfair business practices, as well as respect for (and sometimes improvement of) the environment. A company’s code of ethics is also a powerful tool for improving brand image by adopting a code that responds to the issues that consumers care about. It is therefore necessary to distinguish between companies that are truly ethical and those that merely appear so. In order to protect consumer confidence in such documents, a fil rouge across legal systems may be found (although the specific characteristics may vary greatly) in the laws that protect consumers from misleading advertising.

A definitive guide to ethical fashion.