Blog Post 2 – Themes Reflection

The three main themes of Better Lives consist of Sustainability, Diversity and Social Responsibility. Throughout my practice over the 6 weeks of this course, my main goal was to implement and consistently think about these themes and somehow integrate them into my work, both for my better lives project and hopefully for the future in PR. The three themes itself can be somewhat broad, as there is so much to delve into when thinking about them in terms of the fashion industry. Firstly, to really understand these themes I watched the lectures provided and did research to deconstruct the meaning and purpose of them in the industry. Sustainability is obviously an ongoing topic that is frequently discussed in terms of fashion. It is no secret that there is such argument that fashion is incredibly effective on sustainability. For example, mass productions of clothing and fashion weeks create a huge carbon footprint, not to mention a huge amount of pollution. Diversity in the fashion world is also something that is widely considered, with many different brands struggling to find a real differentiation from themselves to others, losing out on hype and consumers because they bring nothing new to the table. Lastly, social responsibility. In my field of study (PR), social responsibility is a theme that is constantly appearing. What do brands have to offer to society? Is there a purpose for them? Do they have social responsibility? Another big part of the theme social responsibility is cancel culture. Many brands often deal with huge backlash due to this newfound ‘culture’ and end up losing out on many opportunities to grow.  

As a fashion public relations student, my response to these themes can be defined through the subject itself. Public relations is all about communicating a message and to tell a story. This can be directly related to the Better Lives themes, social responsibility in particular. In PR, to be able to stand out as a brand is to strive for something that is rooted in a brand’s identity. This is where social responsibility can come into play. For all these themes, the role of PR is crucial in communicating how a brand can stand out amongst the rest. It is about analyzing the diversity of different sectors in the fashion market. To be a successful brand in today’s society, there also has to be an element of sustainability, as environmental topics such as climate change can affect a consumer’s opinion. Recently, protests such as Extinction Rebellion have gotten popular, putting pressure on the fashion industry to introduce and practice more sustainable and ethical approaches. With more ethical issues in fashion becoming bigger and more talked about, it is important that I use my given platform to work with brands that are conscious of their social standpoint and impact. I will strive to do this as my job subject has the power of influence over consumers, who are a big part of society. PR’s can push consumers in the right direction socially, overall encouraging the consensus to truly think about what they’re purchasing and therefore choosing to support.