People, Planet and Profit are all factors which affect the fashion retail industry in different ways and for different reasons.
People, are making of the industry. As well as running the industry, people are the consumers who allow it to function. Consumers demand for fast fashion is ever growing yet people are still not aware of where their clothes are made and how. High Street store Primark, for example, has previously been involved in scandals concerning the wages they pay their factory works. While their code of conduct states workers should be paid at least £5.73 an hour, a secret reporter found workers being paid just £3.50 per hour for 12 hour days, 7 days per week. They were also expected to work in ‘bitterly cold’ conditions and go to communal toilets with little or no breaks. The naivety of the consumer shopping in Primark is allowing the factory workers to be paid such little wage and work in such poor conditions.
Planet and sustainability have huge links to the fashion industry. As the increase of global warming is becoming more alarming, brands are continually trying to show and make themselves more ethically sustainable. Nike for example, are focusing on eliminating waste through more efficient product design. 54 million pounds of factory scrap was transformed into materials used in their footwear and apparel. They are also reducing and improving their water use. They have reduced the wasted water used in production by 18% in apparel and 43% in footwear.
In June 2016 Britain decided to leave the EU after a ‘Brexit’ referendum. It will take a total of three years to come out of the European Union and the effects are both positive and negative. As we begin to leave, the price of the sterling has dropped by 10%. This is not necessarily a bad thing, the price of the pound dropping means tourism increases are tourists get more for their money and spend less. Equally, it does mean spending by the UK consumer becomes a lot less as people have less disposable income to spend in the fashion industry. The effects of Brexit may also effect workers of retail. Anyone working from European countries will now need a ‘Right to Work’ in the UK meaning many could leave jobs and unemployment will rise.