ZADY: The New Standard
Zady is an online clothing company based in New York City founded by Maxine Bédat and Soraya Darabi in 2013. The company advocates ethical practices within the fashion industry. Their ultimate goal is to bring awareness to the negative causes of fast fashion, and hopefully eliminate our consumption of these products. They state, “A system training us to buy more and more products of increasingly lower quality by an industry that hides the outrageously high environmental and social cost of its production” (Zady, 2017). Zady’s idea of a quality product stems from three main points: the product, the people, the planet. This website not only provides clothing that fits their conviction but also broadcasts articles from other credible websites that correlate with the dominant narratives of fast fashion. Although they are a clothing company, in the hope of making a sale, they are a credible website because they do not directly persuade consumers to buy their products but feature fast fashion as a global issue that should be limited overall. This website collects information from agricultural and sustainable articles to bring awareness of the high cost fashion has on our environment. They are constantly promoting other brands and designers that utilize ethical fashion in their businesses.
Authors
Having a background in international diplomacy and the United Nations, co-founder Maxine Bédat has prior experience with philanthropy organizations. She has also created a non-profit social enterprise, The Bootstrap Project. The Bootstrap Project is an organization that directly assists in changing the lives of artisans in developing countries. She spent time with these craftsmen that make clothes for the United States, which drove her inspiration to create Zady. Her involvement with the company Zady is focused on the production value of products and influence clothing has on the world and people. She has also spoke in a TED Talk about how “the apparel industry is one of the biggest violators of both the environment and human rights” (Zady, 2016). Her co-founder Soraya Darabi is manifested with the styling of the clothes and quality that makes customers feel good. According to Business Insider, “Darabi first made a name for herself at The New York Times where she ran its digital and social media efforts” (2013). Darabi has been successful with social media and the publication for other companies. Together this duo’s main goal is to make people feel good about the clothing they wear while staying environmentally conscious.
There is no direct contact information to the creators, but there is a contact page on the website that includes the New York offices address for Zady as well as three separate emails concerning orders and returns, career inquiries, and general inquiries. There are many links throughout the website that can take you to different sources. They provide a newsletter sign up and also links to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr. The Chronicle link at the top of the website leads to articles that are assumed to be written by the founders of Zady. Although not specifically stated who wrote what other than Team Zady, the article “End Fast Fashion” summarizes the negative connotations about fast fashion and the return of slow fashion.
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to highlight the ignorance people have over clothing and revealing that fast fashion is scamming people in many different factors. The article mentions the effects on the environment, labor workers, and the value of clothing. Not only are they trying to bring ethical reasoning to slower fashion industries, but they are trying to sustain fashion for its value and use.
Objectivity/Accuracy
The information covered is mainly through statistical facts and quotes from companies, filmmakers, and authors that also support the end of fast fashion. The Our Mission link at the top of the website provides a drop down menu with the link called Take Action. This page leads to facts concerning the effects fashion has on our water, forests, oceans, and soil. With each environmental factor and its relation to fashion, Zady provides credible sources at the bottom of each digital flyer. Although there is a bias to the content written in the article, it does not seem that way because Zady does not directly mention their brand as the solution to end such habits in shopping. The article provides an equal amount of all logos, ethos, and pathos. It is written free of grammar and spelling errors.
Conclusion
Zady is a credible source because it’s a clothing company that represents what it preaches. They remain modest by compiling a variety of articles from other sources in order to bring awareness of the subject not just to sell their clothing. They provide factual information that is posted all throughout their website informing people how fast fashion is effecting our world.
Citations
End Fast Fashion. (2016, March 09). Retrieved May 07, 2017, from https://zady.com/features/end-fast-fashion
Shontell, A. (2013, February 28). Tech Socialite Soraya Darabi Is Back With A New Startup And $1.35 Million From NEA. Retrieved May 07, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/tech-socialite-soraya-durabi-is-back-and-she-has-13-million-2013-2
SIGN THE DECLARATION. (n.d.). Retrieved May 07, 2017, from https://zady.com/takeaction
The High Cost of Our Cheap Fashion: The ZADY TED Talk. (2016, May 26). Retrieved May 07, 2017, from https://zady-com1.a.ssl.fastly.net/features/the-high-cost-of-our-cheap-fashion-the-zady-ted-talk
