By Ellie Hutchings

ITV2’s Love Island has proven to be a constant source of debate. Some watch it religiously; some dismiss it as nothing more than frivolous reality TV and some are adamant that the people and relationships portrayed on the show have detrimental effects on its viewers. Whatever your standpoint on the controversial show, it is undeniable that the latter is true when it comes to fast fashion. The islanders are rarely (if ever) seen wearing the same outfit twice, and various sponsors are constantly pushing audiences to get the Islanders’ looks.

Last year, online-led retailer ‘Missguided’ was Love Island‘s brand partner for fashion, sending Islanders new clothes every day with the same items of clothing never being seen together again. This year, Love Island‘s fashion sponsor is ‘I Saw It First’. Founded in 2017, ‘I Saw It First’ quickly became a big player in the fast fashion industry and seems to have no qualms about its contribution to it. Quoting from ‘I Saw It First’s’ website, the brand claims to be “the ultimate one-stop-shop for the stylish generation of savvy, fast-fashion obsessed females”.

First of all, I want to address the major problems with fast fashion itself, and thus the problem with such a shameless promotion of it.

Fast fashion can be defined as “the process by which inexpensive clothing is rapidly produced by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends”. It is ÔÇÿfastÔÇÖ in that designs and trends tend to move quickly from the catwalk to high street stores or cheaper online retailers. As a consequence of the speed with which trends come and go, paired with the relentless production of new items, fast fashion saw 300,000 tonnes of clothing binned in the UK in 2016, and itÔÇÖs safe to assume that this figure is increasing. This throw-away culture has a detrimental effect on the environment, not only because of the amount of waste produced but also because of the resources and methods used to produce such vast quantities of stock. This is not to mention the treatment of the workers who physically make the clothing, being forced to work extremely long hours in harsh conditions with hardly little pay. Frankly, the list of harmful effects of fast fashion is insurmountable and ever growing.

As far as Love Island is concerned, the show provides a major and almost unrivalled platform for whichever brand it partners with. Viewers are relentlessly exposed to ‘I Saw It First’, not only through adverts during Love Island‘s running time, but also through use of the show’s interactive app. Users are able to identify an outfit they like worn by an islander, and with just one click, they can be taken to the ‘I Saw It First’ website where they can actually purchase the item. Those who visit ‘I Saw It First’s’ website are bombarded with references to their Love Island collections, with each female islander having their own separate collection of items they’ve worn whilst on the show.

It appears that this relentless promotion of fast fashion is inescapable, making it no surprise that people do actually buy into it. With Love IslandÔÇÖs audience being a young market, theyÔÇÖre an ideal demographic for advertisers, as theyÔÇÖre much less likely to have any fixed brand-loyalty. ItÔÇÖs also likely that many of the viewers can identify with the contestants they see on their screen, who are similarly young and, until recently, were no more famous than the average viewer. This identification is another big win for advertisers. If viewers can feel closer to their favourite contestants by being able to purchase an item theyÔÇÖve seen them wear, then many will do so.

The evidence that promotion through Love Island boosts the fast fashion industry is overwhelming. For example, in an interview with Marketing Week, ‘Missguided’ revealed a 40% boost to sales when the programme aired compared to the eight weeks prior to when the show started. However, responsibility for the growth of such a detrimental industry shouldnÔÇÖt be pushed onto its viewers. Many of Love Island’s viewers are unlikely to know the true cost of the purchases they make, as the dark side of fast fashion is rarely exposed in conventional media. Even measures to decrease the damage done by fast fashion have been squashed. For example, Ministers recently rejected plans for 1p per garment levy to tackle fast fashion (which would have been used to raise money for better clothing sorting and collection).

So, what are the alternatives to fast fashion? You don’t have to stop buying clothes altogether to boycott the industry – there are plenty of alternatives. Buying from charity shops or websites such as ‘eBay’ and ‘Depop’, upcycling old or worn-out clothes and even making your own garments are just a few of the ways to beat fast fashion. I spoke to YouTuber and slow fashion advocate, Immy Lilly, about what we can all do prevent the growth of fast fashion. Speaking about her own purchasing habits, Immy says ÔÇ£I will admit a fair amount of my wardrobe is from high street stores, however since I decided to live a slow fashion lifestyle I buy the majority of my clothes second hand and if I do want a new item I make sure it is from a sustainable company – even if this means spending more money.ÔÇØ Immy also shared some of her favourite ethical and sustainable brands: ÔÇ£My favourite company is called ‘Everlane’, they are extremely timeless, sustainable and incredible quality. A similar UK based ethical store is ‘Olive Clothing’. They have a similar feel, but the pricing is more reasonable, and they have more pattered pieces. If youÔÇÖre after trending fashion but with a conscience, then NobodyÔÇÖs Child is a great online store – their prices are extremely reasonable tooÔÇØ. You can find Immy’s YouTube here for more.

Finally, Immy briefly touched upon the damage done by the promotion of fast fashion on TV: ÔÇ£You can only imagine the amount of business generated by using such a huge platform to promote fast fashion. The problem with this is that often fast-fashion companies are promoting trending items that will only last a season (if that) and are destined to end up in landfill.ÔÇØ

While Love Island is certainly corroborating this trend, more and more people are distancing themselves from the fast fashion industry. The non-violent protest organisation ‘Extinction Rebellion’ are challenging people to boycott fashion for a whole year in order to disrupt fast fashion businesses – and their message has certainly proven to resonate with many, as the turn out for their protests on the matter suggests. In a surprising new move, fast fashion giant ‘Pretty Little Thing’ recently launched their ÔÇÿRecycled by Pretty Little ThingÔÇÖ collection ÔÇô in which all the garments are made from recycled fabric off-cuts and plastic bottles. Whether this is just a fad in order to jump on the ‘#fastfashionrebellion’ train rather than a genuine show of concern for the environmental consequences of the industry, IÔÇÖm not so sure, but, either way, itÔÇÖs a step in the right direction ÔÇô and hopefully one of many to come.