From the collection of 16 Tort Reports, each produced by 5-person teams of students in Jon Hanson’s Torts class at Harvard Law School, two focused on the problem of fast fashion. Both were awarded Tortys by this year’s Academy. Congratulations to both teams for their splendid documentaries!
Check out those videos below.
Consumer Culture – Fast Fashion
From the newest gadgets, to the newest clothes – we live in a consumer society. We also know that consumerism and overconsumption harms the climate- our tort report survey revealed that the majority of us consider climate change to be the #1 pressing problem that we face today. Our tort report explores the tension between consumer culture/individualism and its negative impact on climate change. We focus our inquiry on fast fashion – what is it, why is it so appealing, and what are the hidden forces driving consumer behavior?
Fast Fashion, Full Fraud
This video examines the quickly growing problem of greenwashing, a series of public relations methods used by corporations to make misleading representations about the sustainability of their products and business practices. The video begins by introducing and defining the scope of greenwashing. It then describes how greenwashing has become a particular problem in advertising by the fast fashion industry. The heart of the video’s analysis focuses on a recently filed class action lawsuit which alleges that the clothing retail giant H&M engaged in advertising efforts that significantly mislead consumers about the sustainable nature of its Conscious collection products. (Special thanks to Charity Ryerson for h
Related Systemic Justice Project Resource:
Breanne Parker, Fast Fashion, Consumer Complicity, & Corporate Accountability