An insider's look at how the rise of "fast fashion" obstructs ethical
shopping and fuels the abuse and neglect of garment workers
"With years of expertise in the fashion industry, Alyssa's reporting is
consistently deep and thoughtful, and her work on sustainability and
ethics has changed how I view the clothes I wear."
--Brittney McNamara, features director at Teen Vogue
Ours is the era of fast fashion: a time of cheap and constantly changing
styles for consumers of every stripe, with new clothing hitting the
racks every season as social media-fueled tastes shift.
Worn Out examines the underside of our historic clothing binge and the
fashion industry's fall from grace. Former InStyle senior news editor
and seasoned journalist Alyssa Hardy's riveting work explores the lives
of the millions of garment workers--mostly women of color--who toil in
the fashion industry around the world--from LA-based sweatshop employees
who experience sexual abuse while stitching clothes for H&M, Fashion
Nova, and Levi's to "homeworkers" in Indonesia who are unknowingly given
carcinogenic materials to work with. Worn Out exposes the complicity
of celebrities whose endorsements obscure the exploitation behind
marquee brands and also includes interviews with designers such as Mara
Hoffman, whose business models are based on ethical production
standards.
Like many of us, Hardy believes in the personal, political, and cultural
place fashion has in our lives, from seed to sew to closet, and that it
is still okay to indulge in its glitz and glamour. But the time has
come, she argues, to force real change on an industry that prefers to
keep its dark side behind the runway curtain. The perfect book for
people who are passionate about clothing and style, Worn Out seeks to
engage in a real conversation about who gets harmed by fast fashion--and
offers meaningful solutions for change.
