The lack of education for these children has led to a lack of other developmental skills to continue onto higher education. The lack of knowledge and skills to pursue other lines of work forces them to be contented with low paying jobs. Since much of the supply chain requires low-skilled labour, these tasks are considered ‘better suited’ to children than adults. For instance, employers will hire children for their small fingers when picking cotton to not damage the crop. These children are subjected to long working hours, exposure to pesticides and are often paid below the minimum wage. 

In Uzbekistan, children are subjected to long hours and exposed to pesticides whereas in Bangladesh, children work with dangerous chemicals and machines. 

Hence, sustainable fashion is vital as it teaches consumers to practise turning to shops with ethically sourced goods. And recently, consumers are sending the message to fast fashion companies that they demand ethical sourcing and garment transparency.

_{^{Poor and hazardous working conditions in fast fashion}}

Moving on, a concern for workers who suffer from poor working conditions and hazards comes from fast fashion. The International Labour Organization (ILO) states that globally, around 35% to 40% of workers are not paid the legal minimum. The lack of human rights in these factories and the exploitation of foreign workers is inherently racist, as a lot of fast fashion brands rely on the unfair treatment of workers from other countries in order for them to make a profit. Brands have created a production model which keeps garment workers poor and working in unsafe conditions in order to maximise their own profits. 

In fast fashion, the Rana Plaza incident. It was early in the workday, the power to the building cut off, the cracks widened, and concrete fell onto workers sewing, buttoning, and fastening clothes. These disasters arise from poor labour conditions faced by workers in the ready-made garment sector in Bangladesh. Exposed every day to an unsafe work environment, high incidence of work-related accidents and deaths. The main reasons for the collapse of the Rana Plaza include occupational diseases and engineering and administrative failure.

_{^{Gender discrimination and racism in the fashion industry}}

Gender discrimination

Thirdly, fast fashion has also brought about gender, racial, and class inequalities. How did gender inequality derive from fast fashion? A common example would be that most brands find a way to capitalise the word ‘feminist’ without supporting the women who make their clothes. Furthermore, the Labour Behind the Label campaign informs us that approximately 80% of garment workers are women aged 18-35, and many of these workers are underpaid and overworked.

Gender inequalities can also be proven according to the International Ladies Garment Workers Unite Movement where most male managers prefer hiring women, believing that they are meek, and willing to work more hours despite having little pay.

Racism

So, how are racism and fast fashion intricately linked to each other? Evidence of racial inequality can be seen where millions of black and brown people who make our clothes in factories thousands of miles away bear the heaviest burden. In the UK, as much as 1,245,000 tons of clothing was purchased, equivalent to 38 pounds per individual. The problem lies when buyers aren’t aware of the unwitnessed and back-staged production of these clothes — lowly paid garment workers working overtime in unsafe, cramped, dirty, and poorly ventilated factories.

According to Garment Workers United, 85% of garment workers earn at a piece rate between 2 to 6 cents (approximately RM0.80 to RM2.00) per piece of clothing produced whereas most of them are paid 300 dollars (nearly RM1000) from working 60-70 hours a week. In the end, we don’t realise the devastating impacts which fall on black and brown bodies as we unconsciously overspend and then throw these clothes away as soon as we lose their attraction.