Forever 21 Ethics

Forever 21 is a family-owned brand that has approximately about 815 stores around the world. The company Forever 21 is a clothing brand that I’m fond of whenever I desire to shop for attire. It provides me and many other customers with clothing for any season for a low price.

Forever 21 is an American fast fashion retailer brand that supplies their customers with trendy clothes and low prices. However, even though customers may be satisfied with their shopping in Forever 21, there is controversy that revolves around the company due to its ethics towards social responsibility and labor conditions.

It was known that the brand wasn’t vocal about how their production practices can impact the environment leaving many costumers concerned. Forever 21 contributes significantly to the pollution in the environment and to the waste in landfills since the clothes have a short lifespan because they’re of low quality, therefore, sell at low costs. https://www.sbstatesman.com/2019/09/29/sustainable-fashion-is-on-the-rise-as-forever-21-nears-its-end/ It is not acceptable to disregard the damage your products can do to the environment and have lack of social responsibility. To put behind this issue, Forever 21 has responded by stating exactly how they establish conducting their business in an ethical manner. “Forever 21’s provides 100% recyclable and reusable plastic and paper bags in many of its stores, we will continue to transport products via sea versus airfreight in order to help reduce carbon emissions — New Forever 21 stores include energy efficient lighting systems to vastly cut down on energy usage.” https://www.forever21.com/us/socialresponsibility/socialresponsibility.html Thus, emphasizing forever 21’s need to clear any concern their customers may have to show that they’re socially responsible.

Moreover, the labor conditions and employee relations in Forever 21 is uncertain. Employees that work in factories for Forever 21 are paid below minimum wage and work in heinous and unsanitary conditions. “None of its supply chain is certified by labor standards which ensure worker health and safety, living wages, or other labor rights. It also publishes zero information about its supplier policies and audits and doesn’t disclose any policies or safeguards to protect suppliers and workers in its supply chain from the impacts of COVID-19.” https://goodonyou.eco/how-ethical-is-forever-21/ The employees are significant to a business so they must be provided with ethical working conditions. Additionally, the health and safety of their workers should be essential and a priority because it’s morally right to provide them to work in a safe and sanitary working condition. Anything opposite of safe and sanitary would be a human right violation for the workers. In addition, Forever 21 then committed to providing their workers to a safe workplace and safe environment. The brand calls attention to the fact that they cooperate with the Department of Labor and have a global ethical program to avoid exploitative, illegal or hazardous conditions and abuse in the workplace. https://www.forever21.com/us/socialresponsibility/socialresponsibility.html

All in all, in order to corporate social responsibility and have a sustainable business is to provide information on how the company’s production works and how it may affect the environment. The public has the right to know how your products are being produced and how they may affect the environment. Hiding the truth on how harmful your products can be to the environment and not doing anything to stop it is utterly immoral and unethical. Also, a company should prioritize all its workers’ health from the beginning and not realize halfway how horrible their working conditions are because behind the title “employee” that is still a human being.