Not so Pretty Little Thing…
As we all know, Molly Mae Hauge has faced scrutiny over the past couple of months, reminding us all that we only have 24 hours in a day, regardless of the fact that she earns up to £10,000 per Instagram post. Whilst she dismisses the tone-deaf comments to get ready to lead a runway as the creative director of Pretty Little Thing at a London fashion event, protesters rage outside exposing the acclaimed celebrity.
Let us just clarify exactly what was said in this podcast with Steven Bartlett, The Diary of a CEO…
“You’re given one life and it’s down to you what you do with it. You can literally go in any direction…. So for you to sit there and say we all have the same 24 hours in a day is not correct. But technically what I’m saying is correct — we do. I understand we all have different backgrounds and we’re raised in different ways and have different financial situations, but if you want something enough you can achieve it and it just depends to what lengths you want to go to get to where you want to be in the future”
Okay, so perhaps these comments have just been taken a little too seriously and she just needs some serious help PR-wise. But still, these comments fuel protesters such as Venetia La Manna, who staged the protest last Wednesday.
This “24-hour” comment reached millions of accounts, creating a viral trend, with people creating memes calling out Molly Mae for her ‘Thatcherist’ ways. But where is the same passion to talk about the wage theft and devastating sustainability issues that this brand clearly advocates?
When we look at the ownership of the company, BooHoo Group PLC is the parent enterprise of PLT, with the owner Mahmud Kamani, notably worth £1.5 billion, helping his multi-millionaire son run the company. PLT is one of the biggest ultra-fast fashion brands, achieving a 38% revenue growth last year and earning £636 million. Let's contrast this with the appalling and illegal wages of those working in PLT factories in Leicester — £3.50 per hour, with unethical conditions and inadequate PPE in the height of the coronavirus. These undercover allegations have come to light after Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, described the conditions within these factories as “truly appalling” with “sick criminals forcing innocent people into slave labour and a life of exploitation”.
So we fast forward to the brand kicking off the show in London Fashion Week, which is one of the biggest fashion events in the world, celebrating recognised as well as underground designers around the capital. The British Fashion Council Refused to include the brand within their schedule, therefore it was simply an event during the week. Awkward, yet understandable. The collection itself unsurprisingly includes skimpy body-con dresses, out-of-season, oversized tailoring, and cheap, thin materials. We all know that whatever you order from there is see-through, right?
Not only is London Fashion Week renowned for providing unique opportunities for emerging British designers, but it is also a city-wide celebration of up-and-coming and well-known couture designers. PLT is by no means couture…
Aside from the fact that PLT does not deserve catwalk time, their supply chain mishandling, their mistreatment of workers — oh, and the comments from an out of touch influencer about poverty and social mobility — this brand also contributes to an ultra-fast fashion model. 85% of textile waste ends up in landfills radically contributing to climate change, and PLT’s collections focus on fast fashion trends rather than timeless pieces. Take Black Friday as just one example. At midnight, just as the 24 hours, those precious 24 hours, were ending, many prices dropped by 99%, costing 5p for a coat. As expected, most customers were elated by the record in sales, but let’s truly think of how this is possible. How can something drop from the original £49.99, and the company still make a profit? I can’t quite explain this, but there are two things for sure: their textile workers are earning pennies, and it’s feeding into the climate crisis.
Ironically, PLT has a sustainability page on their website, where they strive to look after the planet through smarter supply choices, and their resale platform, which will offer up second-hand clothing in a bid to cut down unnecessary waste. This greenwashing is another desperate attempt to combat the bad press and protests against the brand. Again, they need some serious help PR-wise — do they think we are that naïve?
The issue of sustainability has become too urgent to ignore. Adding resale items is not a solution but just a cover-up. With the impact of “spending to prove your power”, we as consumers need to make tactical decisions to reduce fast fashion brands alike with PLT:
BooHoo Group PLC:
- Boohoo
- Karen Millen
- Nasty Gal
- Pretty Little Thing
- Coast
- Misspap
- Oasis
- Warehouse
- Burton
- Wallis
- Dorothy Perkins
The reality is that fast fashion is here to stay, but the question is, can it be ethical? Luckily the increased awareness has inspired many brands and apps to create a sustainable fashion market. Examples include:
- Monica Vinader
- People Tree
- Stella McCartney
- Outland Denim
- Depop
- Vinted
These brands create luxury clothing with certified, fair, and local labour promoting reusable materials. Some of these brands can still be affordable, with complete transparency in their mission to reduce apparel waste. Whilst most of the fashion industry currently encourages profits rather than people, clothes are now as important as ever.
Whilst Molly Mae struts the catwalk, behind the scenes is far less pretty, with poor labour conditions, and inadequate use of eco-friendly materials promoting a take-make-waste model impacting the devastation of the climate crisis. It’s time to act and use our power as consumers to not fall for influencer culture, as those too affected by the change in global climate and poor labour conditions have the same 24 hours in a day, but live quite a different life to that of Molly Mae.
