Commentary: Fast fashion is cheap, wasteful and hurting the planet — and you can stop it
Los Angeles Fashion Week begins in October in the biggest clothing manufacturing center in the country. But what do you find when you go beneath the clothes - not the nudity but something much more revealing: how the world's wardrobes are made, and what real damage is done to the planet and to humans who create your $10 "bargain"?
Before Dana Thomas, there may not have been a job description for an "investigative fashion reporter," but she has certainly claimed it. In her new book, "Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes," she goes inside sweatshops, boardrooms, washing machines, stores, laboratories and showrooms to find out about the ravages wrought by cheap, disposable fashion, and the work of both technology and conscience to remedy it.
Q: The good news for L.A. is that it's the largest apparel manufacturing center in the country. Part of the bad news is half of the people who work in it are undocumented, apparently working in sweatshops. What are the consequences and the impact here in L.A.?
A: Well, the consequences: You can see these sweatshops; they're sort of like in plain sight. It's a shame for L.A. because it is such an important garment industry, that so much of it is underground essentially.
Because the things are made in the USA, they get to carry a "made in the USA" label - and it begs the question of, maybe we should be IDing our clothes by how they're made, not where they're made, because obviously "where" doesn't really confer anything.
It's also a great loss
