In examining the deeply ingrained racism against Black people in America, I found myself asking, is fashion racist? In short, yes. If it intersects and engages with history, with the determining of what is “in style” and who’s voices are amplified, then yes. It is, by its sole existence, racist. This is a three-part series examining racism in fashion. It is not meant to be an exhaustive list, but as a starting point to question everything around us. Every industry we are a part of, every article of clothing we put on our bodies each day is a choice, but it no longer need be an ignorant one. As a warning, I will be addressing slavery, rape, and other forms of violence in this series. Take care of yourself as needed.

We have a bit of a consumption problem here. It’s a problem that we in Western countries have created and grown with our insatiable desire for the latest and greatest. With the rise of globalization, the internet, and the “highlight reel” of social media, we’ve been encouraged never to repeat outfits, to always post something new and share the link of where to buy it amongst our followers. We demand cheaper, faster clothing options and brands demand a higher profit margin for those options. Those desires alongside a system designed to uphold white supremacy, puts garment workers in the trenches of the fast fashion machine. This grueling work has been outsourced to countries where labor laws are lax and working conditions often go unregulated. It’s also worth noting that of the 74 million people that make up the world’s textile workers, 80% of them are women of color.

So what exactly are these unsafe working conditions? Garment workers often experience respiratory issues due to cotton dust in poorly ventilated factories (something that is especially problematic with the rise of COVID-19), long term musculoskeletal issues due to repetitive tasks, unclean drinking or bathing water due to runoff from dye houses, etc. They are often overworked, underpaid, and encouraged to put in long days with limited breaks due to corrupt political or managerial structures. For a lot of white people, it might be a challenge to see this as a direct result of racism. It is important to consider the history of colonialism that ravaged so many of these countries in the first place, and left them with deteriorating infrastructure, political systems and resources. Basically, most of these issues can be boiled down to racism- overt or subtle, intended or unintended, they all carry the same impact.

It’s not just overseas garment workers experiencing racism in the workplace. The structures that allowed these issues to fester exist here at home, too. Remember when Julia Bond called out Adidas back when they hopped on the Black Lives Matter bandwagon in June? A lot of brands were quick to distance themselves from their racist practices when the death of George Floyd ignited the nation’s collective outrage, but it only highlighted the issues that had always been just below the surface. Anthropologie was called out for the disgusting and racist nickname used to identify potential shoplifters, and the fact that they don’t pay the Black influencers they work with equally (or at all) in contrast to their white counterparts. These brands (and others) were very quick to distance themselves from the concept of racism, but not with the racist acts they themselves were committing.

So what can we do about it? We can keep having these conversations long after the hashtag trends have died down. We can shop smaller and less frequently, and even post about how proud we are to be #outfitrepeaters. We can vote with our dollar and shop Black owned brands and demand action from the brands that have participated in wrongdoing. We can get educated on projects like The 15% Pledge  – an organization that is demanding retailers dedicate 15% of their shelf space to black owned businesses. Drop a comment below with a Black owned brand you love, or ask for a recommendation if you don’t have any yet. Let’s continue this conversation.