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Impacts of fast fashion and technology
Essays on environmental justice
Impacts of fast fashion and technology
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The issue about how our actions, as citizens, might reflect environmental injustices of the past is generally seen as relevant to the Global North. However, my position is more complex. I am a postcolonial citizen of Indonesia; its economic model of extractive policies began under Dutch colonialism and was strengthened under New Order dictatorship. I am also a resident and consumer in the Global North. As a citizen from the Global South, I find that the power of colonization power even at the international level still dominates in the third world creating social injustice. In this paper I reflect on two case studies. First, the movie “The True Cost” dealing with the fast fashion companies H&M and Zara which employ many workers in developing …show more content…
The company not only has a social impact on the people, and the economy, but also on the environment. So when we refuse to buy the products of fast fashion companies we support the sustainability in every aspect because as I figure out, in the sense of that movie, there are many intersecting links between to poverty, profit, business, market, other social issues and the environment …show more content…
It is because every decision will be a stepping stone for the future. Yet, there are always two sides to every action. Although we may prefer to support local products to help our local economy and community rather than those transnational corporations, we can not escape from big economic actors who rule the roost. It is because all our actions are subordinate to the logic of the consumption (Arnould 2007:98).
Both these examples reflect on us as citizens, I somewhat think occasionally our behaviors are grounded as consequentialist. In “Philosophy and Ethical Consumption” (Barnett 2005:13), a contemporary philosopher, Peter Singer, says there is a contextual factor in every action. For instance, reducing demand for purchased clothes made by H&M and increasing demand for local alternatives may contribute to reforming local movement. Yet we may end up on the greyish area between purchasing these fast fashion clothes and considering employment; or being a consumer for
Throughout the article “Pave the Planet or Wear Shoes” the author discusses the issue of the relationship between the current capitalist economy and the values that it promotes on society. While discussing that relationship the author incorporates certain Buddhist principles that relate to the overall problems that result from the current economic system. The main problem that arises with the current capitalist economy is that it brings a “staggering ecological impact” and an “unequal distribution of new wealth” (88). The values of greed and delusion that this economic system promotes does not fully support the entire global economy, and this is why the author uses the metaphor “Pave the Planet or Wear Shoes” as a solution to the problem. The metaphor is broken up into two parts giving two scenarios or solutions that the global economy will take in order to fix the economic problems of unequal distribution of wealth and the ecological impact.
In China, Kelsey Timmerman spent time with a couple who worked at the Teva factory, traveled to the countryside to meet the couple’s son, insert name, who hasn’t seen his parents in three years due to his parents working long hours and it being expensive to take a train ride. In the US, the author visited one of a few clothing factories in the US to talk to the workers about his shorts, and the decrease of American garment factories. Timmerman wants the consumer to be more engaged and more thoughtful when mindlessly buying clothes. By researching how well the brands you want to buy from monitor their factories and what their code of ethics details, you can make a sound decision on if this is where you would want to buy your clothes. The author writes about brands that improve employers lives like SoleRebels, a shoe company who employs workers and gives them health insurance, school funds for their children, and six months of maternity leave. Brands like soleRebels that give workers benefits most factory workers have never even heard of help improve the lives of garment workers and future generations. From reading this book, Timmerman wants us to be more educated about the lives of garment workers, bridge the gap between consumers and manufacturers, and be a more engaged and mindful consumer when purchasing our
The Real Cost: Contract is a commercial that was released October 31, 2014 across multi-wide media, TV, Radio, Print, and digital causes a bright side of controversy for teens who were expected to be in use of Tobacco. The commercial shows a list of scenes in an average teen life while also the slow effects of losing free time and your own time with the use of cigarettes. It’s not the typical anti-smoking commercial because instead of just saying don’t smoke its digs in the feel of teen emotion towards how they chose to live there life and what decisions that are willing to make. The commercial features a teenage girl narrating normal events in her lifestyle talking in a way she’s stepping up in her life to find herself when initially
Nike has been under a great deal of pressure to correct the misdoings that have been done regarding production facilities in the East. As Nike is responsible for these plants, their reputation has been tainted with increasing public debate about ethical matters. While Nike still promotes itself as one of the industry leaders in corporate social responsibility, workers in Asia are still forced to work excessively long hours in substandard environments and are not paid enough to meet the basic needs for themselves or their families. They are faced to a life of poverty and are unfortunate subjects to harassment and violent threats if they make any attempt to form unions or tell journalists about labour abuses in their factories. Phil Knight’s speech regarding Nike’s steps to improving human rights in Asian countries was a step in the right direction for Nike, but it would have been much more effective had Nike fully followed through with these initiatives.
Fashion is everything to society and the media. The fashion industry has transformed into a necessity in the life of people. Everyone wants to look good, feel fabulous and feel as if we belong with everyone else. The envy and desire to wear certain things and look a certain way all come, from wearing the latest fashion handbags, accessories, dresses, shoes, and the list goes on. But, when is considering fashion into an individual’s life going too far to the extreme? Many do not consider the whereabouts of fashion materials and how the environment is affected by the mere existence of certain garments. Some may believe these objects grow on trees. But that is clearly not the case. Even though it would be nice. The fashion industry as a whole, has been notorious from green issues caused by their lack of sensitivity to the environment, conspicuous and unnecessary consumption of materials, encouraging an “throw-away” society and image issues that support women and young adults to look a certain way to feel “beautiful.” This is an issue that has increased over the past decades. Not just women, but men also feel the uncontrollable need to do whatever it takes to look like the celebrities they see on television and on the runways. The thought that the materials to make those desired items may have caused the life of animals or the destruction of mother nature does not come into mind. Countless people are concerned about conserving planet Earth and keeping it healthy. The fashion world has been targeted for many corruptions.
In the essays that we have been reading, there is a consist theme that has been occuring. This consist theme has been that there are people who are in power, and that their conscience has been covered by hot iron, becuase their minds are being controlled by their love for money, and that they have screwed up the way that the world works in the pursuit of money. The first assignment that we had was to watch the “Story of Stuff” and then had to talk about it. In the “Story of Stuff”, the main idea was that corporations cared about one thing and one thing only, making the most money, even if that meant destroying human lives and destroying the planet. In the next assignment, we had to read Naomi Klein’s essay “No Logo”, in which she tells us that the corporations found that they could make money without making any products, instead they made something called “brands”, which were nothing but concepts that did not require them to make the actual products. So instead they had several companies that treated their workers without any respect, but could make the products for the corporations at cheap costs. And in the essay “Iron Maiden” written by Jacobson and Mazur, the authors tell us about how the media has created an environment in which women honestly believe that only when they buy “brands” and torture their bodies to the horrors of unnecessary cosmetic surgery. And all of this is because there is a group of people, who have their morals controlled by their love of money, and that they have a race for who can own the most things and that nothing can get in their way, and all of this is shown by the essays that we have been studying.
The primary goal of The Walt Disney Company is to become one of the world’s leading producers and providers of not only entertainment, but also information (The Walt Disney Company, 2014). The company aims to achieve this by utilizing its immense brand portfolio so as to differentiate services, content, and consumer products. While this is the overall goal, there exist other innate milestones that essentially touch on socially responsible business in enhancing sustainability. They include, but are not limited to; zero net greenhouse gas emissions, whereby the company aims to have reduced net greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2020; zero waste, whereby Walt Disney hopes to achieve a 60% reduction in waste from
This article is about the overall impacts of fast fashion. The particular section referenced discusses possible solutions and alternatives to fast fashion. It talks about how it is possible to produce environmentally friendly clothing through the use of organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, and other fiber crops that require less pesticides, water, and other inputs. It goes on to share how certain brands are beginning to implement the model of sustainable clothing. The point of this article is to introduce readers to the topic of fast fashion, give background, and show readers what they
Everyone’s interpretation of environmental justice varies from their degree of belief and understanding of this serious subject. Though politics play a large role in the globalization of the world, it is those politics that have the power to accept or reject people’s notion. Though the characters in Edward Abbey’s book go about making their statement in an unacceptable way, to them, it is thought to make a difference in the amount of expansion they hope will not be made in the western states. As starhawk states, “we must have respect within to gain it” (30). With the respect of our selves, neighbors and our natural settings, there leaves no room for anything other than improvement.
It helped me better understand the struggle that mom and pop shops are having to stay in business due to the rise in Walmart’s throughout the United States. It gave me a different perspective on the topics relating to the course because this is greatly influenced by those with money and the power they have to in fact buy out any other offers that may be presented to those that own these large pieces of land where Walmart’s are continuing to try to build more and more Walmart’s. This video showed me how much commercials and television in general manipulates you to believe that Walmart is doing good in the society when in the end it’s all about the amount of profit that the 1% receives. Some of the strengths of the film was letting the viewer see how Walmart is affecting these families on a daily basis from deciding whether to eat or go to the hospital. When you don’t know if you are going to eat or not on any given day shows the impact that Walmart has on a tremendous amount of families. For the amount of profit that a corporation like Walmart has do not treat their employees with the opportunities for a raise, vacation time, and the opportunity to step up and make a difference. It inspired me to make a difference within the people that work there that I know and also educate those that might not know as much as I know about Walmart
This film has opened up a new perspective to me about the mindset of many of the people that have and are running many of the most noticeable household name brands that we have all come to know since childhood. The film does a very good job of explaining how businesses and corporations have not only grown but evolved over the last 40 plus years. We all know that at the end of the day, a company’s goal is to make money. “The Corporation” gave me a very in-depth look at the extent that major corporations will go to in order to keep their company successful and profitable. With many of the companies that were mentioned in the film, the average person such as myself, would never know that the companies that we support and patronize have taken part in modern day slavery to give use the products that we have come to love. The part of this that was most troubling was the fact that these business practices no matter how unethical we find them are in fact legal and do not
...it can be quite challenging to monitor, adapt to, and respond to so many demands and obligations, but it is well worth for it. Not only is it ethical and helps you treat people and nature fairly and respectfully, but it is also just good business sense. Nowadays, customers are attracted to companies and brands that are socially responsible. Take, for instance, the green fashion movement. While it was once dismissed as a trend, its ability to stick around for so many years has proven that people want to do well and buy good.
The theories and ideals shared among consequentialists are by no means to be scrapped; philosophical theories are theories, not prescriptions. While they do all make an attempt to describe a solution to various moral conundrums, one can not forget that validity is shared among theories. Holes may seem larger in certain standards and ideals, but these holes are never refutable and should be used to create a larger discourse between philosophical theories. Consequentialism and all it’s sub-groups (direct, universal, hedonism, aggregative, evaluative, maximizing, etc.) are based around two dominant principles: For an act to be in the right or wrong one must look solely to the results of the act, and subsequently second, the more net-good produced
Colonial Mentality theory grounds this study in recognition of colonialism’s lingering impact. Colonial Mentality theory attempts to shift the dominant ways in which people perceive the world (Young, 2003). Young (2003) stated, “Colonialism claims the right of all people on this earth to the same material and cultural well-being” (p.2). Young (2003) asserted that colonialism “names a politics and a philosophy of activism” that challenges the pervasive inequality in the world. In a different way, it resumes anti-colonial struggles of the past. Historically, American powers, deemed the west, subjected many regions, the non-west, to colonial and imperial rule. American powers felt it was their duty to colonize and felt justified in doing so: Colonial
Over the past few decades there have been discourses both in favor and against Globalization’s capacity to guarantee a sustainable future. Authors attest societies and businesses’ inability to account for ecological and environmental limits when dealing with economic growth, examples of this are some of the traditional business metrics used by most global companies, and nations’ measure of wealth (GDP); both sides heavily resting on economic factors, fail to account for societal and environmental concerns (Byrnea & Gloverb, 2002). Other researchers point at the intensive use of resources, especially by global corporations; such as the increasing and careless consumption of fossil fuels, water, precious metals, etc. leading to a rise in GHG (Starke, 2002) (United Nations Development Program (UNDP), 2000). Most fervent opponents go as far as to call ‘sustainable development’ an oxymoron (Ayres, 1995).