The sting in the tail of Manchester’s fashion ascent

Materials World 11th October 2019

It’s been 200 years since Manchester established itself as a global ‘Cottonopolis’, and now the city is once again riding the crest of a fashion wave. This time, the industry it’s leading is fast fashion – but there’s a dark side to this success.

Dr Patsy Perry and Dr Amy Benstead of the Department of Materials have spoken out about the consequences of fast fashion – both in terms of the environment and the workforce.

“Fast fashion is so accessible, so cheap, so readily available online, fast, free delivery – it’s too hard to resist,” says Dr Perry, who specialises in the environmental impact of the fashion sector. “A lot of the products are made from polyester and synthetic materials, which don’t biodegrade.”

While consumers are increasingly aware of the environmental cost of fast fashion, they may not realise there’s also a human cost. Dr Benstead warns that exploitation of workers is taking place in the UK. “I think that people are a lot more aware about environmental damage and recycling and plastic use arising from the manufacture of their clothing, but not about the exploitation that can actually happen when your clothes are being made,” she explains.

Read the full article on The Hub.

FashionFashion onlineManchesterThe Department of Materials