By: Linh Ngo
You’ve probably never cared much to check the tags of your clothing. It may come to a surprise that upon testing by Circle Economy, 41% of garment composition labels did not actually match the composition of the garment.
There are multiple reasons why these labels can be inaccurate, but one large reason is attributed to the speed at which supply chains have to work, to keep up with rapid demand. Unfortunately, too often inaccuracies fall through quality control checks. According to Circle Economy, while “11% of cotton-polyester composition claims deliberate fraud is not likely,” it is often the case that companies claim the material is more expensive than what is actually used. According to Pretty as You Please, fraud in garment tags is usually done to reduce costs in production and hide components of clothing that consumers may find threatening to the environment.
As consumers, we must strive to make a conscious effort to understand what goes inside our clothing and the impact this has on the world, especially with issues of climate change becoming more prevalent to our society every day. Content creators such as Jennifer Wang have gone viral for reviewing quality and material from a variety of brands, including fast fashion retailers such as Zara. Reading their garment tags for indication of quality. She comments on deceptive garment tags and names of clothing items in her Youtube Short “Don’t let fashion companies trick you!” where she comments on a fast fashion wool coat being labeled as such while containing no wool. The coat was labeled differently to avoid using the word wool in her home country of Canada where labeling laws are different. However, she also mentions that in the UK where labeling laws are less strict, the garment materials aren’t even listed for some clothing items.
Movements such as #Whatsinmyclothes and the prevalent values that Gen-Z holds as conscious consumers who care about sustainability continue to propel conversations like this into the limelight. Now, more than ever, these are the most important conversations we should be having on social media platforms such as Tiktok.
Sources:
“#whatsinmyclothes: The Truth behind the Label.” #whatsinmyclothes: The Truth Behind the Label : Fashion Revolution, www.fashionrevolution.org/whatsinmyclothes-the-truth-behind-the-label/. Accessed 31 Jan. 2024.
Shukla, Shipra, et al. “What’s in a Campaign: What’s in My Clothes?” Pretty as You Please, 15 July 2023, prettyasyouplease.co/features/news-views/whats-in-a-campaign-whats-in-my-clothes/#:~:text=Many%20of%20the%20fibres%20used,consumers%20to%20make%20greener%20choices.