In June 2014, I was asked this question by Danielle Bunkall from develbranded.com. (See the full Part 2 interview here). My answer then was:
“Five years is actually a short time. When I first started my Masters 7 years ago, I was adamant that things would change in five years. And in real terms nothing has. In five years’ time we’ll nearly be in 2020; will there be change? I have hope, because I can see this new generation is thinking way differently to those generations that have gone before them, they’re just not quite connecting the dots yet. So we may have some change. But in the bigger scheme of things, as more consumers are coming online, I don’t see we’re going to change things very quickly unfortunately. We have too many big businesses caught up with creating product at a price-point for consumption. I think that we might get a percentage of change, but that it will still be in the minority.”
Five years on from that interview what has changed in the Fashion Industry?
The Fashion Revolution movement has gained some traction and activated large numbers of the new generation ✔
But now with their huge online presence, multinational giants are vying for your dollar with the cheapest bargains ever delivered to your door. Legitimate local makers cannot compete with these dirt cheap items (paid for by the blood sweat and tears of the poorest nations female workforce) ❌
So did we get the change I was hoping for? Not yet – but minority change is at least a start.
It's time for ALL of us to #bethechange
See also Part 1 of the full interview here