● On April 24, 2013, the eight-story Rana Plaza building, outside of Bangladesh's

capital Dhaka, collapsed during work hours. More than 1100 people, most of them
employees of several garment and apparel factories housed in the building, were
killed. The building contained five factories, and the majority of the victims were
young women producing garments for export to western retailers.

- Invites to make sure to conduct regular inspections of the workplace to identify

potential hazards and address them promptly, implementation and enforcing strict
safety regulations and inspections in factories where fast fashion products are
produced to prevent another fast fashion factory incident. It is crucial to promote
sustainable and ethical fashion practices that prioritise worker safety.

● The global fast fashion industry is often called out for the exploitative working
conditions in its factories that are staffed primarily by impoverished women as well as
children — especially in developing countries. Many of these workers toil for little
pay and have few rights, largely so clothing manufacturers in Europe and the US can
keep costs low.

- Calls upon the European Commission to take a gender-responsive approach to

human rights due diligence can help to identify and address the different risks and
vulnerabilities that female workers face. In response, some companies have begun to
adopt policies that provide for equal pay and employment benefits and prohibit
discrimination among full-time salaried employees.
The global shift towards the language of sustainability, inclusive growth and the
UNGPs (UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights) framework has
been a fundamental step towards addressing the systemic inequality sustained by
the fashion sector.

● Exploiting children in fast fashion working 14 to 16 hours a day in hazardous

conditions violates not only children’s right to schooling but also freedom. Living way
below the poverty line are often forced to rely on their children to survive, putting
them to work as young as five years old.

- Urges the European Commission to require that all suppliers, to provide independent
third-party-issued certification that they do not utilise child labour. The EU could
adopt a ‘duty of vigilance’ that establishes concrete obligations to prevent exploitation
within the supply chains of large multinational firms carrying out a significant part of
their activity.
ENVIRONMENT

● In compliance with the European Commision, fast fashion has affected sea life
and landlife due to the microplastics used in clothes. This is due to the
process of washing low quality clothes, made out of polyester, rayon or nylon
releasing tiny plastic particles which end up in the sea and these get
consumed by plankton and then the fish we eat end up in our own body.
 ● Greenwashing is increasing and it is covering up the actual problems that are
being faced. This is used to persuade the public that the organization’s
products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly when they are actually
not. (reputation of organizations shown as positive). EXAMPLE OF BRAND
MARK AND SPENCER

● According to the European Union, 80% of textiles end up in landfills,

increasing pollution. Only 1% of textiles are actually recycled into new
garments. Textiles generate greenhouse gasses such as methane gas and 10%
of the global carbon emissions. The sweatshops use toxic chemicals and dyes
into the groundwater and our soil.-

RESOLUTIONS:
● We call upon the European Commission to launch legislation to ensure that the
brands that use sustainable materials are reliable, eco-friendly and natural products
in order to not deceive consumers. This is because there are some brands that use
labels to trick their consumers, making them think their product is sustainable.
● Urges the European Commission to approve legislation for the reduction of
microplastics usage since there are no available laws that apply microplastics in a
comprehensive manner.
● Urges a legislation on the prohibition of discarding textiles and clothes into landfills
but rather recycling centers to reuse into new garments.
ECONOMY
Problem: Fast fashion brands can have very low prices compared to competitors, this
demotivates and makes it difficult for non-fast fashion enterprises to enter the market.
Resolution: In order to aid small and medium-sized enterprises, regarding the
constant overshadowing of fast fashion businesses, the EU could implement lowered tariffs
and taxes for establishments that produce sustainable clothing. As a result, they can lower
the overall pricing of their products, appealing to bigger audiences.
Because cause: Influencers are constantly promoting fast fashion brands, increasing
their demand, resulting in inhumane working conditions and an increase in environmental
damage.
Solution:
Social media has a massive impact on today's modern society.Influencers are
constantly producing videos in platforms such as Tiktok or Instagram where they
showcase fast fashion trends that reach vast audiences, promoting this detrimental
problem. The EU could collaborate with these influencers offering them discounts
and promotion codes of vintage and sustainable clothing, this way the prices are
reduced, grasping the attention of more people and combating the constant debate of
its high prices.
Because cause:
Problem: A 2022 investigation by UK publication iNews alleges that workers are paid
as little as 0.03694 cents per item.

Resolution: The EU should not import clothing products from countries lacking human
working rights nor where there’s unfair wage.