If there’s one thing everyone wishes for, it’s cheap, trendy clothes.
There was a time when this wish was unachievable, but not anymore.
Now you can open your web browser, search for the outfit your favorite celebrity was wearing, and boom.
You find it, an exact copy at a much lower price.
This has become possible because of fast fashion brands.
As the name suggests, these brands aim to adjust rapidly to the changing fashion trends.
They copy styles as soon as they hit the ramp and sell them for peanuts.
When you buy from a fast-fashion brand, you probably feel accomplished, like you struck a great deal, but the truth is quite horrific.
Those cheap clothes you wear to woo your Instagram followers are destroying your health and the planet.
You see, fast fashion brands use cheap dyes and fabric to produce their clothes. These materials are non-biodegradable, cause skin problems, and kill marine life.
These brands hire laborers in poorer countries and abuse them with long working hours and low wages.
All this proves that fast fashion brands are something we should stay away from.
Today, conscious shoppers wish to know which brand is fast fashion and which isn’t.
One of such brands people want to know about is Hollister.
In 2000, Abercrombie and Fitch Co launched a brand for teenagers-Hollister. The brand’s wide range of funky tee-shirts ripped jeans, and stylish swimwear instantly caught the attention of the young generation.
After its success in the United States, Hollister opened its stores in Canada in 2006 and then in London two years later.
The brand has been growing stronger ever since. In 2019, the brand had the honor of making it to Piper Jaffary’s list of top five clothing brands for teenagers.
Today, Hollister has five hundred and seventy-eight stores spread across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Hollister is a well-known brand, and like all famous brands, it has some responsibilities.
The first and foremost responsibility is to produce and promote sustainable fashion. So is Hollister fulfilling this responsibility, or is it a fast fashion brand?
To find out, we need to look at how many boxes Hollister checks off on the “Fast Fashion Brand Practices” checklist.
Does Hollister offer thousands of clothing styles in different colors?
Yes, Hollister offers its consumers everything from tee-shirts and dresses to shorts for thin, curvy, and athletic girls.
Does Hollister use polyester and elastane as the primary clothing materials?
Yes, polyester is the primary fabric in all Hollister apparel. Besides that, elastane is also used to make most of the clothes.
Does Hollister launch all the trendy garments and styles shortly after celebrities wear them?
Yes, Hollister is famous for producing trendy clothes as soon as they hit the ramp.
Does Hollister have lower prices than the pioneers of fashion trends?
Yes, since the brand’s target audience is teenagers, it tends to keep the prices low.
Does Hollister have factories in third-world countries?
Yes. Hollister manufactures its clothes in China and third world countries like India, Vietnam, and Cambodia.
Final verdict?
In 2013, when fast fashion started spreading its roots in the United States, many big names saw a decrease in sales, including Hollister.
To tackle the issue Hollister’s parent company came up with a plan- cheaper clothes and a new CEO with experience in the fast fashion industry. The goal was to fit into the fast fashion industry by rapidly producing new styles at lower rates, as this seemed like the only way to keep the brand afloat.
This proves that Hollister changed its policy long ago, and today it is a fast-fashion brand.
Is Hollister ethical?
An ethical brand believes in the preservation of nature along with the protection of animal and employee rights.
Hollister claims to be an eco-friendly brand, but its manufacturing practices say otherwise. Most of its clothes contain non-biodegradable fabrics like polyester and rayon.
The brand also uses many toxic chemicals that run into landfills and lakes.
Unfortunately, Hollister has not taken any steps to reduce or neutralize the chemical waste they produce.
The brand does, however, plan on partnering with BCI cotton in the future. This will help Hollister save thirty percent of water used in producing its denim range.
As for animal rights, Hollister does not have any policy proving that the brand cares about our furry friends. The brand offers a wide range of wool and leather products, but no one knows the origin of these materials.
Now, let’s talk about the rights of employees. Hollister has been charged guilty of fifty-one violations regarding child labor. Besides this, none of the brand’s suppliers own a certificate proving good employee policies.
No one knows what conditions Hollister’s supply chain employees work in, what they get paid, and what incentives the company offers its hard-working laborers.
All this, along with the fact that Hollister is a part fast fashion industry, proves that Hollister is not an ethical brand and has a long journey ahead.
Does Hollister use child labor?
In the early 2000s, Hollister came under fire for employing young children. The brand’s aim was obvious.
It wanted laborers who would work for them at low wages. The brand abused the children by making them work for long hours in unhygienic conditions and paying the bare minimum.
In 2008, Hollister was found guilty of hiring children without a work permit. The brand also paid over twenty-five hundred US dollars in penalties.
This, along with a massive outburst from Hollister’s customers, led the brand to develop a code of conduct.
This code of conduct urged the brand to take strict actions against human trafficking and child labor.
To this day, the rules are intact. None of Hollister’s factories can employ child laborers, and all their suppliers go through a strict verification process to ensure they follow policies set by the brand.
The brand’s website states that Hollister is against child labor and human trafficking. It further says that neither Hollister nor its vendors force children or adults to carry out any operations.
