Topic Outline
I. Introduction
A. Introduce the topic
- Over the years, fashion has developed into a way of life. The means by which people
decorate themselves with various clothing items and accessories has allowed fashion to
become an avenue of expression and individuality.
- With changes inherent to modernization, fashion has undergone modifications according
to current trends that govern the needs and wants of consumers.
- Due to changes in style and fashion's impact on a person's social standing, consumerism
permeated the realm of fashion as it fueled the consumers' desire to achieve personal
satisfaction through aesthetics.
- In view of the growing influence of fashion in terms of demand and profitability,
companies devised a new system that aligns with the modern era known as fast fashion.
B. Brief background on the topic
- Fast fashion refers to mass-produced, inexpensive, and trendy clothing items that
cultivate the narrative of buying and discarding clothes at the cost of alarming
socio-economic consequences (Algamal, 2019).
C. Thesis Statement
- Albeit that fast fashion offers a wide fashion selection, allows innovation of trends, and
produces inexpensive clothing, it should not be tolerated because it capitalizes on stolen
designs, promotes unfair labor practices, and degrades the environment.
II. Counter Argument
A. Fast Fashion offers a wide fashion selection
a. Provide evidence
- Fast fashion is renowned for its ability to offer a diverse and extensive selection
of clothing and accessories due to the industry's rapid production cycles, which
can see new designs brought from concept to store shelves in just a matter of
weeks.
- Fast fashion brands closely monitor fashion trends and consumer preferences,
allowing them to swiftly produce garments inspired by runway styles or celebrity
looks, thereby broadening their product range.
- The success of fast fashion is built upon extremely short lead times and is
additionally based upon the idea that consumers will continue to buy clothes
exponentially, both out of necessity and desire. The two main appeals for
consumers to purchase from fast fashion companies are low prices and frequent
availability of new products following trends (Payne, 2022).
b. Refute counter argument
- Critics raise environmental and ethical issues, including the industry's ecological
footprint, exploitative labor practices, and product durability concerns.
- Evolving consumer preferences, increased competition from sustainable options,
and a growing focus on quality and ethics pose challenges to the long-term
viability of the fast fashion model.
c. Provide evidence of the refutation
- The environmental and ethical issues caused by fast fashion outweigh the vast
fashion selections it offers.
- For evidence, in 2018, the fashion sector contributed over 17 million tons of
textile waste to landfills, a volume that escalates each year (Environmental
Protection Agency, 2020).
B. Fast fashion allows for the innovation of trends
a. Provide evidence
- On the other hand, one study has shown that consumers enjoy seeing new
products every week or month in their favorite retailers like H&M, Zara, and
Topshop.
- In addition, many fashion companies have responded to this trend by expanding
their product lines and becoming more "multi-style brands", (Gazzola et. al,
2020).
b. Refute counter argument
- While this may be true, this technique however has put more pressure and strain
on designer's inventiveness and showcased that this trend can only be sustained
by delocalizing the production to regions to offshore manufacturing where labor
is cheapest, with the use of workers on low wages without adequate rights or
safety and comply supply chains that produce cheap materials, (Rauturier,
2023).
c. Provide evidence of the refutation
- Critics argue that fast fashion's negative impact includes its use of cheap,
toxic textile dyes, making the fashion industry the one of the largest polluters of
clean water globally. The constant speed and demand mean increased stress on
other environmental areas and the speed at which garments are produced also
means that more and more clothes are disposed of by consumers (Rauturier,
2023).
C. Fast Fashion produces inexpensive clothing
a. Provide evidence
- Fast fashion companies thrive off of cheap textile production on a mass scale,
mostly outsourced from China and India.
- These inexpensive materials include mostly synthetic polyester (the least
expensive textile to produce), cotton, elastane, viscose, and nylon. Pushing
trendy products utilizing a quick output model comes at a great ethical cost
(Zuniga, 2023).
b. Refute counter argument
- While fast fashion is a wallet-friendly and ethically sound option for cheap
apparel, it highly promotes negative labor practices and has some health-related
concerns due to the environment and the materials used in the production.
c. Provide evidence of the refutation
- In order to sustain this level of production at a cost that allows the consumer to
purchase clothing in large quantities, many fast fashion companies allow their
subsidiaries to remain largely unregulated because it absolves them of
responsibility for the unethical practices being used to produce their clothing at
such low costs.
- However, it is becoming increasingly difficult for brands to turn a blind eye to
the exploitation of their labor forces as it is being brought more and more into
the public purview, as exemplified in 2019 when thousands of garment workers
in Bangladesh went on strike over their low wages garnering international
attention (Ross, 2021).
III. Your Argument
A. Fast fashion capitalizes on stolen designs
a. Provide your educated and informed opinion
- With the prevalence of social media and its faculty to disseminate ideas among
varied groups of audiences, fast fashion companies display tendencies to
capitalize on stolen designs, particularly from independent designers.
b. Provide evidence
- In numerous instances, fashion company "Forever 21" has been notorious for
copying designs from luxury brands such as "Gucci," as the former released
jackets with an identical style and color scheme (Hanbury, 2018).
- According to Roberts, the designer behind "Mamamerch," the fashion company
"Old Navy," plagiarized her featured text, allowing the established brand to
accumulate profit at the expense of intellectual theft (Lieber, 2018).
- In 2023, visual artists Kritsa Perry, Larissa Martines, and Jay Baron underwent
legal proceedings against the Chinese brand, "Shein” for employing an Artificial
Intelligence (AI) system to scan popular designs and commit fashion piracy
(Pontone, 2023).
c. Provide interpretive statement (warrant)
- In light of the delinquencies demonstrated by fast fashion companies, it is high
time to demand accountability and transparency concerning the originality of
their products.
- More than that, governments should lobby, amend, or reinforce copyright laws
that exclusively address concerns about fashion. In the United States, the
Council of Fashion Designers of America endeavored to pass the Innovative
Design Protection Act; however, the bill was quietly disregarded and
overshadowed.
- A similar case persists in the Philippines, where no law fully covers the concerns
of fashion creators; only a fraction of the trademark law touches on
fashion-related issues. Considering the predominance of fashion piracy,
governments must recognize its pivotal role in protecting intellectual property
rights, especially among entrepreneurial designers.
B. Fast Fashion promotes unfair labor
a. Provide your educated and informed opinion
- In order to mass produce so many inexpensive garments so quickly, factories
are often sweatshops where laborers work in unsafe conditions for low wages
and long hours.
- In many cases, children are employed, and basic human rights are violated,
reports EcoWatch..
b. Provide evidence
- The U.S. Department of Labor reports that in Los Angeles, more than 50,000
mostly immigrant women work in clothing production. And 85% of factories
violate labor laws, federal wage, and hour laws (Assoune, 2021).
c. Provide interpretive statement (warrant)
- As the data presented suggests, the welfare of the mentioned fashion is a very
concerning manner.
- Considering the environment they are subjected to (hazardous environments,
maltreatment, and unjust working frequencies), it is critical that government
sectors take a deeper view of fast-fashion's labor practices.
C. Fast fashion degrades the environment
a. Provide your educated and informed opinion
