Abstract
This chapter links the economic incentives of fashion to the brands' response to criticisms about the ecological impact of promoting overconsumption; defines the social activism entrepreneurs who raise calls for change; exposes the reader to the social media world of sustainable fashion advocacy; and explains the misinformation dilemma at play, outlining the major issues of concern, providing scientific, evidence-based analysis of labor, health, and safety realities, "race-to-the-bottom" competition, resource scarcity, waste generation, and pollution mitigation.
This chapter links the economic incentives of fashion to the brands' response to criticisms about the ecological impact of promoting overconsumption and defines the social activism entrepreneurs who raise calls for change. It exposes the reader to the social media world of sustainable fashion advocacy; explains the misinformation dilemma at play, outlining the major issues of concern, providing scientific, evidence-based analysis of labor, health, and safety realities, "race-to-the-bottom" competition, resource scarcity, waste generation, and pollution mitigation. The earliest consumer safety policies had to do with limiting or banning chemical components that could leach toxic elements on the body of consumers. Academically, research lagged behind, while investigative journalism took an urgency stance with articles, editorials, and in 2015, the first full-length feature documentary films. The topics of these productions vary from exposing labor exploitation, to unethical marketing, to environmental damage. Impact on the environment is the core problem, yet aspects are stressed differently.