How fast fashion sustains colonialism
VPRO Tegenlicht:
With Tegenlicht’s future explorer Aja Barber, we discuss possible solutions to our clothing crisis. Because even if you love fashion and self-expression, you cannot ignore the fact that the fashion industry is problematic.
Barber mercilessly dissects the global fast fashion chain and draws historical connections to European colonialism: after all, the fast fashion industry exploits the Global South with ease. And when consumers are done with their purchases, the West simply exports its clothing waste back south under the guise of ‘donation.’
But that’s not all. Today’s fast fashion clothing is of such poor quality that both you and your wardrobe don’t benefit at all. The microfibers from your trendy polyester summer suit are now in your drinking water.
So: everyone deserves better clothing. The cotton farmers, the textile workers, nature, you… and the fast fashion CEOs? They deserve a fair wage. How we can achieve this is what Aja Barber discusses in this episode of Tegenlicht.
- Direction: Tara Vierbergen
- Curator: Geert Rozinga
- Camera: Roel van ‘t Hoff
- Sound: Susanne Helmer
- Editor: Jouke Dubel
- Production: Sharon de Vries
- Image research: Paula Witkamp
- Design: Fien Leeflang
- Final editing: Julia Veldman
May 19, 2024
