#ethicalwashing

This isn’t about choosing sides—fast fashion isn’t completely bad, and slow fashion isn’t entirely perfect either. They both are playing the same game, just with different branding.

Slow fashion preaches sustainability like a holy gospel—buy this overpriced linen dress, and suddenly, you’re an eco-saint! Meanwhile, fast fashion peasants (a.k.a. broke people) are shamed for not caring enough. But let’s be real: slow fashion still wants you to spend, just with a smug little “ethical” label slapped on. And digital activism? Oh, it’s thriving—calling out brands, launching hashtag wars, and guilt-tripping consumers into “doing better.” So tell me, are we actually saving the planet—or just flexing our so-called ‘conscious consumer’ status for clout? 

Congrats, you did it! (Well—if you can afford it.)

1. Dress to Impress: Another Day, Another Expensive Guilt Trip

_They got us, huh?

Slow fashion tells you what to buy, but never asks why you feel the need to buy in the first place. The message is always the same:

Buy slow fashion, and you'll save the planet! Buy slow fashion, and you'll save the workers!

Too bad, most people don’t actually know how fast fashion destroys the environment, or why slow fashion is supposed to be better. We just nod along, guilt-tripped into thinking a $200 linen dress makes us ethically superior. Sure, we hear the usual spiel:

"Fast fashion pollutes! Slow fashion lasts longer!"

But how much longer, really? Five years? Ten? Long enough to justify the price tag?

_Luxury Guilt-Tripping: Now in Soft Beige!

And what about the workers—are they truly getting better conditions, or is that just another marketing line?

DW Planet A (2021) highlights how many so-called "ethical" brands still underpay garment workers and rely on exploitative labor, just with better PR. 

The narrative is simple: Fast fashion is the villain, slow fashion is the hero, and if you care about the environment, you’ll cough up three months’ rent for a "sustainable" linen dress.

...I hate to break it to you, but consumption is still consumption. No matter how many recycled buzzwords you slap on it, the industry still wants you to spend, spend, spend.

_Sustainability? More Like Expensive Self-Deception

If sustainability was the goal, we’d be buying less, not just different.

But no—rather than tackling our addiction to consumption, slow fashion just slaps on an eco-friendly label and a higher price tag, as no matter how much you try to brainwash yourself, slow fashion still operates within the same capitalist system as fast fashion.

Suddenly, shopping isn’t just a mindless habit—it’s a moral obligation (Brewer 2019).

Are we actually changing, or just paying more to feel better about staying the same?

2. Excuse Me? How Much for a Clean Conscience?

_Thrifting Ain’t a Cheat Code, Ya Know?

Ethical fashion isn’t about saving the planet; it’s about saving your self-image and flexing your moral superiority. Let’s be real—a $300 linen dress doesn’t make you an environmentalist. That’s not “activism”; that’s just bougie guilt relief. But don’t worry, you’re not the bad guy! You’re just “someone who can afford to feel superior while still shopping like everyone else!” It’s not a revolution—it’s… what’s it called again? Oh! Right. Same old capitalism, thrifted blazer.

And cue the self-righteous chorus:

“Just thrift more!” “Stop buying fast fashion!”

Aww, because secondhand stores are just overflowing with size-inclusive, work-appropriate, affordable, brand-new-looking clothes for everyone, RIGHT? 

News flash: thrifting isn’t the magical solution y’all think it is.

Prices are climbing, resellers are hoarding trendy pieces, and let’s not even start on the hygiene gamble. 

But sure, let’s keep shaming broke people for “not caring enough.”

Oh, okay. Too bad, so sad.

Sorry that my financial situation hurts your feelings! Guess I should dig through overpriced, picked-over thrift racks hoping to find something that fits? Or drop my rent money on a dress that still exploits workers, more aesthetically? Got it.

And if slow fashion is so “ethical,” why does it still gatekeep sustainability behind a paywall?

Chi et al. (2021) further confirm that slow fashion appeals mainly to wealthier consumers, reinforcing that sustainability is a privilege, not an accessible choice.

The message is clear: if you can’t afford to “shop responsibly,” you must not care enough.

But here’s the real tea—most people don’t choose fast fashion, they’re funneled into it. Meanwhile, slow fashion brands slap a sustainability sticker on a $400 dress and pretend they’ve solved overconsumption. If you’re poor, YOU'RE the problem.

At the end of the day, it’s not about buying better—it’s about buying less. 

But no brand wants to sell you that message now, do they? 

3. If I'm the Villain, Then You're Just a Hypocrite!

_Broke = Villain, Rich = Virtuous?

Fast fashion consumers get dragged through the mud, while billion-dollar corporations waltz away scot-free.

Oh how we love a good scapegoat. And in this case? It’s the broke college student scraping by, buying a $10 Shein top because, SHOCKER, that’s all they could afford. Meanwhile, slow fashion brands are out here polishing their halos, prancing around happily with their

“We’re so ethical” banners for “doing better”

— conveniently ignoring the fact that they’re still underpaying garment workers, sourcing materials from god-knows-where, and engaging in the same exploitative labor practices they claim to fight against. But hey, at least their website has soft beige aesthetics and an “Eco-Friendly” badge, right? So chic. So ethical.

_You're Just B-R-O-K-E!

Just tell me, if a brand calls itself ethical but still refuses to pay fair wages, is it actually ethical? Or just better at PR?  

Because, half these brands aren’t selling sustainability—they’re selling the illusion of sustainability at a luxury markup. And the best part? The guilt-tripping is free! Oh, you can’t afford to drop $400 on a linen jumpsuit?

Sounds like a YOU problem, not a ME problem! 

_Gaslight, Gatekeep, Greenwash

And that’s "the angle". The whole conversation shifts blame onto consumers, guilt-tripping them into believing they are the problem while the corporations doing the real damage get off with a performative Earth Day Instagram post and a “We Care” marketing campaign. Sustainability shouldn’t be a privilege, but slow fashion brands sure love keeping it that way.

Plot Twist (Not Really): Same Game, Same Winners—The Rich Make the Rules

Slow fashion isn’t about ethics—it’s about who gets to play the hero and who gets shamed for being poor. Who actually benefits when expensive brands tell you fast fashion is evil? 

Spoiler alert: They do.

They get to sell you virtue, all while keeping that virtue just out of reach for the average person. Because let’s be real—the same people who never had to worry about affording clothes in the first place are the ones dictating what “responsible” fashion looks like. Convenient, huh? At the end of the day, there’s no hero here—just a bunch of privileged people moving the goalposts and gatekeeping morality with a price tag. So before you drop half your paycheck on that “conscious collection”, ask yourself: Are you really making a difference, or just buying into another illusion? 

Funny how the ones selling you ‘the solution’ are the same ones who created the problem in the first place, huh?

References:

Brewer, MK 2019, ‘Slow Fashion in a Fast Fashion World: Promoting Sustainability and Responsibility’, Laws, vol. 8, no. 4, p. 24.

Chi, T, Gerard, J, Yu, Y & Wang, Y 2021, ‘A study of U.S. consumers’ intention to purchase slow fashion apparel: understanding the key determinants’, International Journal of Fashion Design, Technology and Education, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 101–112.