I have conflicted emotions about Black Friday. On the one hand, I love a bargain. Of course I do: I'm a student. But each year Black Friday feels more and more unnecessary.
Fast fashion already promises us impossibly cheap garms all year round. Do we really need an extra day to encourage overconsumption, only for us to wear our new outfit once and chuck it away? Or is there a more sustainable alternative for our Christmas shopping? LRFS21 knows there is.
Black Friday 2020 has probably been the scariest one of all, thanks in no small part to Pretty Little Thing's mammoth 99% off sale. On the face of it, it seems too good to be true. Dresses for pennies? Multiple outfits for less than £3? This is the sale that dreams are made of, right?
Wrong. This deal is a steal, literally. If they can afford to sell a single dress for £0.08 and still turn a profit, what does this say about PLT's production chain? How much did that fabric cost? How much did the factory worker get paid for their hard labour? Even if we had successfully convinced ourselves before that these factory employees get even a mere £0.02 per garment, this sales ploy by PLT has shown us that it can't even amount to that much!
PLT has received commendation and condemnation in equal measure for this unprecedented Black Friday sale, something that I am sure they saw coming. Does this not, then, provoke an even more profound sense of outrage and injustice? Billionaire PLT CEO Umar Kamani is using our moral outrage as a marketing strategy to peddle his cheap wares. As twisted as it seems, each time we speak out about PLT's role as a very integral cog in the machine of modern slavery, Kamani knows that we are still advertising his brand. All publicity is good publicity.
With more money than any human could hope to reasonably spend in one lifetime, he continues to use slave labour to sew together shoddy fabrics in inhumane conditions in order to keep costs as low as possible for himself - and the quality as low as possible for you. Be honest with yourself: if you've ever bought from PLT before, how long have your purchases lasted before disintegrating entirely? How many of them do you still own? How many of them have you worn more than once?
Unfortunately, fast fashion has to serve an important purpose in our society. We can not get on our high horse about fast fashion when it is sometimes the only option for people to have any clothes at all. We can, however, be vocal about the need for change. There is a way to provide fashion that is both ethical and affordable - take a look at this post for just a small selection of some great sustainable fashion brands.
Pretty Little Thing's headline Black Friday sale is the closest the brand has come to transparency regarding their sourcing, manufacturing, and production processes. It may only cost you pennies, but it costs exploited labourers and the planet immeasurably. If you can afford to shop more sustainably, please consider giving fast fashion brands like PLT a miss. Our small actions can force titans of throwaway culture into assuming the responsibility that is rightfully theirs.
Leeds RAG Fashion Show 2021 is supplying you with an online Christmas Market all this week to help you shop independent this festive period. Keep an eye on our Instagram this week to browse your own sustainable gift guide. AND 15% of each purchase goes to this year's charities: Carers Leeds and Labour Behind The Label.
We all love a bargain, but a £0.08 dress is a steal.
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Check out our 2021 charity Labour Behind The Label for more information about the true impact of our fashion consumption
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