“Clothing toxicity will be the next big health scandal”

This Fashion Revolution Week is marked by the tenth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy. Did this tragedy which killed more than a thousand people really serve as a detonator in the fashion industry?

The collapse of Rana Plaza, which caused 1,138 deaths and 2,500 injuries, effectively served as a detonator because it was a global shock. It took a long time, of course, but there were a lot of articles on the subject and the general public realized the hell of the workers who make our clothes. In terms of laws, there was ‘The Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh’, signed by brands and manufacturers, which guarantees safety against fires and building collapse, and was renewed in 2018. This makes it possible to fight against the precariousness of certain buildings which are built in a hurry, but unfortunately not all brands sign these agreements. We finally realize that things evolve slowly when there is no constraint, and that everything depends on the will of the fashion players.

Is this the only regulation imposed since this tragedy?

In France, there was the law relating to the duty of vigilance in 2017, which also stems from this disaster, to force the principals to ensure safety in the factories. The problem with making clothes is opacity. We can ensure the safety of textile workers on condition that we have total transparency throughout the entire production chain. Unfortunately, it often happens that factories resort to subcontracting; which results in less visibility. There is today an awareness on the part of the consumer, but there is still a long way to go in terms of safety and working conditions in the textile industry.

Is made in France the solution to these problems?

In absolute terms, I could answer in the affirmative, but the reality is that we don’t have the resources to manufacture all the clothes in France. One of the solutions is above all to fight against overproduction, which is linked to the fact that consumers are constantly pushed to renew their wardrobes at bargain prices. We now manufacture 150 billion pieces of clothing each year, that’s huge. As a result, price becomes an issue as consumers believe that ethical and responsible fashion is expensive, when it is not. It is offered at a fair price in view of the quality and longevity of the garments produced, and in good conditions. And all of this is obviously amplified by the economic crisis we are going through, and which is still benefiting fast fashion. In the end, we have a lot of things in our cupboards, and one of the solutions is to sort things out to realize that we don’t need much more, except to renew one or two pieces from time to time. This would avoid the waste that results in open dumps on beaches in Kenya or Ghana.

Despite its efforts, the fast fashion model is constantly singled out for its impact on the planet, and the conditions in which the clothes are produced. But is it solely responsible?

Everyone is responsible, luxury as well as mass distribution, for overproduction and overconsumption. The entire industry should be regulated, and this is what certain players, such as those gathered in the collective En Mode Climat, are asking for. They ask in particular to prohibit the import of toxic clothing. Despite the European REACH regulation, which regulates the use of chemical substances, we realized that polyester was over-represented in clothing, which constitutes a major health problem. The toxicity of clothing will be the next major health scandal, as shown by the report submitted by Audrey Millet to the European Commission last February. And all of this is linked to this sartorial bulimia, to this injunction that encourages people to believe that they have to consume to be happy, and harms the environment, health, and those who make the clothes.

How to explain that the REACH law is not more restrictive?

This regulation is precisely being revised with the aim of integrating other chemical products that are not currently described in the law, and to see what is happening in the factories. The question of importation is also central, because there are products on the French market that have crossed the border even though they contain toxic substances supposed to be prohibited by European regulations. And this again concerns all segments, from luxury to fast fashion.

There is this famous paradox: an awareness of consumers who nevertheless still turn en masse to fast fashion. Do they ultimately hold the key to forcing brands to change?

It is obvious that it is the consumers who will encourage brands to change, but as long as they overconsume things will not change – or little. Consumers want to buy good and better, but there are too many things on the market, and that is why the industry must also be regulated.

Can the inflationary context and the rise in energy prices constitute new brakes on moving towards ethical and responsible fashion?

Inflation obviously amplifies the problem, but you also have to look at the longevity of clothes. It is economically more interesting to invest in one pair of jeans that you will keep for a long time, rather than in three jeans that will have to be replaced after a year, or even less. You have to do some pedagogy, and explain to people that you’re not happier when you have 50 jeans in your closet. And it’s the same for all our clothes. We only wear a third of our wardrobe, so why buy so much? I can completely understand that we don’t always have the means to buy ethically and responsibly, but in this case it is better to go to a second-hand shop and look for a quality piece that we will pay less.

There has been a boom in post-pandemic sustainable and ethical initiatives, but these advances now appear to be stalling. How to explain that things are not moving faster?

I would still say that things are progressing a bit, that things are falling into place. The European Commission is going to sign the duty of vigilance law extended to Europe later this month, and there is also the implementation of environmental labelling… These are nevertheless small advances, even if it is obvious that this is not enough.

What will be the highlights of Fashion Revolution’s new annual campaign?

The main event will be held on April 24 at the Forum des Images in Paris, and will be open to professionals, the press, and the general public upon registration. Of course, we are going to talk about the tenth anniversary of the Rana Plaza tragedy, but also the progress of the laws that I mentioned earlier, and our ‘Good Clothes, Fair Pay’ campaign launched last July, which calls for a living wage for textile workers. We are asking for a million signatures from European citizens by next July in order to be able to sit down at the negotiating table for the laws in progress at the European Commission. This is very important, because we are currently only 15% of the objective. There really needs to be awareness of the misery of workers in the textile industry.