The Power of Empowerment: Females, Fashion, and the Difference We Can Make
Written by Rebecca Storbeck Trubac
If I had to pick one milestone in my life regarding fashion, it would be the moment I learned about fast fashion. The carefree H&M years versus the admittedly discouraging ‘conscious-consumer’ years. You may have heard this term - fast fashion - often being thrown around, but in case you are not aware, it’s an approach to the fashion supply chain that focuses on making cheap and trendy clothes readily available to the consumer. Step into your local shopping center and you will get the picture.
I remember this enlightening conversation quite clearly. Strolling along the Bodensee, a friend told me about an international campaign trying to combat the negative impacts of the fashion industry. Digging deeper and deeper, I was frankly appalled with what I came across. Since that day, I've never been able to walk into a fast fashion shop without a sense of disheartenment.
The negative impacts of fast fashion spread across multiple dimensions: the environment, worker's rights, animal rights, gender inequalities, racism, and much more. Because women play a vital role in the production of our garments, their strife particularly took my interest. But, along the way, I have also realized that we can create change through our purchasing choices.
While fashion can have and has had detrimental impacts on females, it can also be used as a tool for good. A source of empowerment. A way to bridge the inequalities of gender.
On one hand, as it requires no formal education or prior job skills, the fashion industry for garment workers provides an economic opportunity for these women who may not have other possibilities. This, in of itself, can help trigger a sense of empowerment for the woman. The downside of this, however, is that women represent a vulnerable group within the fashion supply chain with plenty of room for exploitation. Sadly, fast fashion brands have taken advantage of this cheap labor pool.
From the recruitment process to the end of employment, issues can be prevalent throughout all phases of a woman’s time in the garment industry – including low and delayed wages, sexual harassment, and discrimination. Many of these jobs are part of the informal economy, which means that the workers are often not protected under a country’s legal framework, making them highly vulnerable to exploitation. You may have heard the term 'modern day slavery', which is a perfect way to describe much of the fashion industry.
On the other hand, this is where the empowerment of a woman can play a major role in her life, as well as have a snowball effect. Pay female workers a fair and living wage and because women's wages are more likely to go toward the education of their children, this will in turn allow their children to receive schooling.
The power of empowerment. This power must be exercised at all stages of the fashion supply chain. If only all women were provided with the tools and liberties to reach their full potential!
What can we do? It is admittedly easy to go on living your life without thinking of the struggles facing girls and women in other parts of the world. As a consumer, it is tempting to turn a blind eye to this. We simply see the outcome: trendy clothes at affordable prices. But the informed consumer cannot continue this trend without realizing the price that others are paying. We go for quantity over quality, resulting in overstuffed drawers and closets that create a cycle of continually buying and purging.
Let's increase the sense of empowerment held by a woman involved in the fashion supply chain. Let's raise awareness to the struggles that women face on a regular basis to get garments from point A to point B. Awareness, of course, is just the first step.
The next step? Dig a bit deeper into the brand's supply chain when you are contemplating a purchase. Put pressure on brands and governments to ensure fair working conditions throughout all levels of a garment’s journey. We have so much power as consumers, so why not exercise it? Support brands that support women. Throughout my journey, I have explored several brands who do just this and the advantages are clear: hiring women and paying them a fair wage with generous benefits creates this sense of empowerment which impacts not only the woman's life, but her family's life and society as a whole.
A study by Deloitte in Australia found that paying garment workers living wages throughout the supply chain would only increase the price of a finished garment by 1%! Isn’t that a sacrifice that any of us would make?
Why not reduce the negative effects of the fashion industry, while increasing the positive effects of empowering women? We have the power to create change!
Written by Rebecca Storbeck Trubac