Fashion consumers are becoming increasingly aware of the environmental and ethical conditions that their garments are produced in. They refuse to buy shady and shoddy crap even though these may be available at dirt cheap rates. A striking example of this is the plummeting sales reported by fast fashion labels and shutting down of her clothing line by Ivanka Trump. H&M too reported an enormous drop in sales and, as of last March, $4.3 billion of unsold inventory. Zara’s parent company Inditex is also seeing sluggish sales this year, driving its shares to a three-year low, while Forever 21 reported a $40 million loss at the end of 2017.
New and old fashion businesses alike are now focusing on creating transparent supply chains, or at least the impression of them. It is standard practice to talk about factory conditions, environmental stewardship, textile production methods, etc. in the FAQ section of fashion websites. There is a growing distaste among mainstream consumers for unethical fashion. The source of clothing now matters more than ever before and brands are questioning the source from where their raw materials are procured from.
