Are bargain fashion retailers bad for society?
It may seem far-fetched or alarmist, but that’s the query posed in a recent face-off between U.K. style expert Liz Jones, for the Daily Mail, and Alexandra Shulman, editor of British Vogue (and covered by a recent post on Jezebel). You should really click on the links for the full story, but here’s a quick rundown on the argument for the prosecution:
- Cheap clothes tend to be made in factories in poverty-stricken nations where the workers are not paid a living wage, labor in unpleasant and unsafe conditions, and (in some cases) may even be underage.
- Dirt-cheap prices have devalued clothing, particularly pieces (cashmere sweaters, handbags, etc.) that should be luxurious. Instead of building a wardrobe full of timeless pieces that could last their entire lives and even be passed on to future generations, women are now immersed in a "throwaway" culture where nothing - not just fashion - has any sense of worth.
- In the long run, buying tons of cheap clothes and then tossing them ends up costing more than buying a few expensive pieces that last.
- Discount retailers take revenue away from local designers and clothing manufacturers, damaging the economy.
- Clothes purchased for rock-bottom prices tend to be literally discarded when fads change or they fall apart, leading to an increase in the amount of non-biodegradable waste that the average woman generates.
- Since everyone is shopping at the same stores, everyone ends up looking the same. What happened to creativity in fashion?
Arguments for the defense?
- Affordably priced, fashionable clothes are one of the few ways that cash-strapped women can still treat themselves without breaking the bank. Buying trendy pieces that you won’t want to wear for the rest of your life can be fun!
- Many women would love to have finely crafted, durable pieces - but they simply can’t afford them.
- Who says that these clothes are thrown out? With a little care, they can really last.
- Just because a piece has a designer label doesn’t mean it wasn’t made in a factory with unfair labor practices - that is a separate issue altogether.
My opinion? I’m going to have to side with the defense. Personally, I have tons of basic wardrobe staples that came from places like Target, Old Navy and Forever 21 - not just trendy items, but things like jeans and T-shirts - and I wear them on a daily basis. What’s more, I usually have them for years before they need to be replaced. Also, I don’t know anyone who actually throws clothes in the trash; unless a piece is hopelessly stained or falling apart from years of wear, everything tends to get donated.
What irks me the most about this anti-bargain-bin tirade is the imperious tone. Ms. Jones seems to think that the majority of the women buying their clothes at these stores could afford designer duds if they really wanted to and if they would just discipline themselves. Nowhere is this more evident than in lines like, "Far too many women - vain, capricious creatures that we are - don’t care about such matters [referring to the environment and fair labor practices]. Women with children care even less…" before launching into a story about a mother she met who - horrors! - had three pairs of $15 jeans. Her view seems to be that women value quantity over quality, and that they would prefer to spend thousands of dollars at Forever 21 on trendy pieces that they later throw in the trash to spending those thousands on one quality piece from, say, Chanel. Personally, I don’t have hundreds - let alone thousands - to spend on anything, much less clothes, and I do the majority of my shopping at these retailers out of sheer necessity. I’m sure many women feel the same. What are your thoughts?
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