Summaries
Here you can find summaries of the six texts that are included in the exam question about fast fashion and CSR which appeared as part of an English A HHX exam in May 2019.
- Text 1: “The problem with fast fashion – Huffington Post” (2:10)
- Text 2: “Who made my clothes? The people bringing Transparency to the Fashion Industry” (4:10)
- Text 3: “Corporate social responsibility offers fashion brands a great opportunity”
- Text 4: “Millennials demand socially responsible clothing, but won’t buy it”
- Text 5: “Brands and Social Activism: What Do You Stand Up For?”
- Text 6: “Adidas has sold 1 million pairs of sneakers made from ocean trash – and reveals a new normal in footwear”
Text 1: “The problem with fast fashion – Huffington Post” (2:10)
Author: Paul Josephson
Genre: Video report
Year of Publication: 2016
The material is a video report by Paul Josephson for the Huffington Post, published in 2016.
The video report informs the viewer that 80 billion pieces of new clothing are bought globally each year. The report defines fast fashion as companies convincing people to buy clothing they do not need.
The fashion industry makes 1.2 trillion dollars each year, with 250 billion coming from the US alone. Fast fashion clothes are cheap and fashionable, but on average we wear them only five times and keep them for only 35 days.
The text continues with an explanation of how the fashion industry reached this point. In the early 1900s, clothes became cheaper once mass production expanded to factories in developing countries, which provided cheap labour. This allowed companies in the US to increase their profits. Factory workers, on the other hand, are often paid very little and work in dangerous conditions. Some factories also use child labour.
The text also provides information about the negative impact that fast fashion has on the environment. For example, the clothing industry is the second highest polluter of clean water, the pesticides used in cotton crops contaminate drinking water, and polyester waste takes hundreds of years to biodegrade. Over 70 million trees are used every year to make fabrics like rayon, contributing to deforestation, while the coal used in the manufacturing process, and the by-products it generates, pollute the ai...
