“We believe in doing what is right in our industry, our
community and our world. This includes conducting our business in an
environmentally responsible way. We are always looking for ways to reduce our
environmental impact through better management of our natural resources. That
includes helping to reduce the demands on our forests by promoting sustainable
materials. And we’re introducing programs to reduce our energy consumption and
reduce or reuse materials whenever we can. Together with our manufacturers,
suppliers, partners and customers, we’re helping to support a healthier planet.”
– L Brands statement regarding environmental responsibility
Fact: Fashion is the second most polluting industry in the world.
Environmental Concerns
Even though Victoria’s Secret was one of the brands that committed
to the "Detox My Fashion" Greenpeace campaign in 2011 the lingerie
giant still doesn’t use eco-friendly materials in its collections and hasn’t
set a precise greenhouse gas emissions reduction target, which is why is
falling behind other brands like H&M, Benetton, and Zara. The use of
synthetic fabrics contributes to the global plastic pollution crisis and cotton
production methods are environmentally unsustainable (20,000 is the amount of
water needed to produce one kilogram of cotton; equivalent to a single t-shirt
and pair of jeans). Is spite of that, VS manufacturing is complying with a Restricted
Substances List and has a deadline for ceasing the use hazardous chemicals by
2020. Nonetheless, water reduction initiatives are not enough without a
specific target.
Also Victoria’s Secret doesn’t think recycled can be sexy, or
at least so it seems considering they don’t use any recycled fabrics. Only for
their glossy catalogues and only 10%.
Ethical aspects
From child labour to testing on animals and body shaming, VS
has it all. In 2011 a Bloomberg news investigation regarding “Fair Trade”
products ignited a media firestorm. They revealed the reality of children
working in slave-like conditions in the West African country of Burkina Faso, farming
the cotton subsequently used in the manufacturing of millions VS pieces of
clothing. There is no doubt that tracing cotton can be incredibly challenging,
but such a big company like Victoria’s Secret could invest more in regular and
thorough investigations for long-term benefits.
This was their response:
“They describe behavior contrary to our company’s values and
the code of labor and sourcing standards we require all of our suppliers to
meet,” Tammy Roberts Myers, vice president of external communications for
Limited Brands Inc., said in a statement.
“Our standards specifically prohibit child labor,” she said.
“We are vigorously engaging with stakeholders to fully investigate this
matter.”
Other concerns regarding overall manufacturing conditions at
VS factories in Asia include low-wages, overtime working hours and sometimes
even physical abuse. The sweatshop workers earn around 20,000 rupees a month
(aprox. 280 US dollars) and have to meet daily targets of sometimes 120 items
per person.
”MAS Holdings employs about 95,000 people, mainly women, in
53 plants across 17 countries, including Haiti, Bangladesh, Indonesia,
Honduras, Jordan, Vietnam and the US.
The $US1.6 billion conglomerate is one of Sri Lanka’s
largest apparel manufacturers, employing 70,000 workers in 40 facilities. This
includes the MAS Fabric Park, the country’s first privately-owned apparel
intensive free trade zone. The company produces for brands like Victoria’s
Secret, Marks & Spencer and Calvin Klein.” (source: https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2018/05/22/kili-m22.html)
Animal Testing
Since 2016 Victoria’s Secret has chosen profit over ethics
and decided to enter the Chinese market, fully understanding that they would
have to abandon their cruelty-free policies and follow the government's
requirements, namely start testing on animals in order to sell their cosmetic
products.
Body shaming
In 2014 a VS campaign with the following message “The
perfect body” has stirred a lot of controversy and inevitably the rage of tens
of thousands consumers who signed a petition requesting Victoria's Secret to apologize
and change the campaign. VS indeed changed the campaign to “A body for
everybody”, but used the same photo featuring models that didn’t represent body
diversity in any way.
Victoria’s Secret lack of inclusivity on their runways and
campaigns has caused a lot of backlash over the years. The “one size fits all”
concept has been around for too long now and consumers are slowly but surely
starting to demand a different approach. Portraying only one type of female
body as beautiful and sexy is not only archaic and unrealistic, but unethical
too as it can encourage negative body image and eating disorders.
The fashion and beauty industry has been feeding on consumers
insecurities for too long. This old and objectifying idea of female beauty has
to come to an end.
Cultural Appropriation
Not once, not twice, but three times the brand has been accused
of racism, “accidental” or not. First, they had Candice Swanepoel (blonde and
definitely not Asian) model a ‘geisha-inspired’ costume, then they dressed
Karlie Kloss to resemble a Native-American and lastly the ‘wild things’ section
of the 2010 fashion show where models of color were prominently featured
stirred a lot of controversy. Maybe it’s time for a diversity consultant?
References:
https://www.thelingerieaddict.com/2012/12/victorias-secret-lingerie-issues.html
