Voice of London

Black Friday is a great time to grab a bargain and treat yourself with some retail therapy. However, when does a sale become too much?

The fast fashion retailer has come under fire after its Black Friday ‘pink’ sale due to its ludicrously reduced items. Pretty Little Thing listed an up to 99% off sale, listing dresses for as little as 8p and high heels for 25p.

One Twitter user stated that she got ‘56 items for £28’ in the sale with another retweeting, acknowledging the environmental and ethical impacts on this sale.

Critics are claiming this sale encouraged unsustainable consumption and questioning just how much labour workers are being paid if profit can be made from an 8p dress?

This is not the first time that Pretty Little Thing has been associated with unethical practices.  Fast fashion giant Boohoo which own brands such as Pretty Little Thing and Nasty Gal in recent years have gone under investigation for modern slavery allegations.

An investigation by the Sunday Times reportedly uncovered that textile workers manufacturing garments in Leicester for these brands, were being paid an alarming £3.50 per hour. The UK minimum wage for over 25s is £8.72 per hour so this is clearly a huge breach of not only the law but also the well-fare of these workers.

With the current economical and environmental climate fast fashion poses many issues with its unsustainable ideologies. The point of fast fashion is that it’s fast, cheap and cheerful.

The easy accessibility of mass produced fast fashion is what is so appealing to consumerism. Consumers see that affordable cute top, see that next day delivery is available and they’re done.

The self gratification of online shopping is fulfilled and one eagerly awaits for their next day delivery purchase. We as consumers have been programmed to see our fast fashion purchases as that alone.

The journey that each fast fashion garment goes through is detrimental to our environment and workplace ethical practices.

It’s time to rethink our clothing decisions and help reduce the environmental footprint of the fashion industry. But how? The first step to slowly start combatting fast fashion is to educate oneself on the realities and reinforce this knowledge through our shopping habits.

Words and infographic: Natasha Shah | Subbing: Dina Nazari