Blog Post #1 – POWER
One of the lectures throughout the better lives project that had influenced my thinking was by Julia Crew, discussing the topic of power. This lecture had brought up topics relating to the concept of power in the fashion industry and their relation and influence upon inequalities caused by power, including themes such as money, media, consumer choice and protest.
The first theme discussed the influence of money and its relation to power in the fashion industry; within this section of the lecture, Crew had expressed how the fashion industry currently relies on the exploitation and enslavement of others in order to maximise their wealth by creating larger profit margins. This concept affects the most vulnerable societal groups in particular, such as those from lower class and minority backgrounds, making this a matter of discrimination and inequality. For example, one piece of evidence supporting this claim, as mentioned in the lecture, is that the legal minimum wage in many countries typically hangs below the suggested living wage. This means that the legal requirements enforced within numerous countries enable employers (particularly large corporations) to exploit their workers by underpaying them, whilst leaving them with few alternatives to find better paying jobs, due to many employers engaging in the same exploitative practice. This topic of discussion had influenced my thinking by encouraging me to consider the laws and regulations put in place by forces external to the fashion industry, which in turn allow the industry to continue its unethical practices. As a result, I believe that we (as collective force) should prioritise questioning the wider issues within our global and national economic structures, as well as those existing strictly within the fashion industry. For example, if the minimum wage in each country had been increased to match or exceed the suggested living wage, then employers would be legally obliged to pay their workers substantially, enabling each worker to live a higher standard of living and consequently not feel trapped in an unethical workplace.
The second theme surrounded the power of media in fashion and its influence upon consumption. Within this lecture we learnt that although the majority of advertising is often ignored, those that are recognised by consumers have a great impact upon their consumption. This argument introduced us to the screening process, which is a concept that suggests consumers will ignore irrelevant advertisements, unless they’re surrounding something we are interested in. As a result of this process, brands and advertisers have began using algorithmic systems which detect consumer’s interests, in attempt to project relevant ads onto their screens as to reach a relevant audience (of whom will pay attention to what they’re selling.) Considering this knowledge, this section of the lecture had influenced my thinking in regards to the ways in which I as a consumer should be attempting to limit my exposure to ads in order to prevent the influence encouraging over-consumption of irrelevant and necessary products and services.