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Sustainable influencers take on fast fashion
Content creators are promoting sustainable fashion online and seeking to expose the environmental damage caused by huge fashion firms like Shein, H&M and Zara.
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South African influencer Masego Morgan poses for a portrait at a Vintage shop in Simon's Town on December 15, 2022. (AFP/Gianluigi Guercia)
S
ustainable influencer Masego Morgan was shocked when a fast fashion giant offered her $1,000 for a single social media post to promote its brand.
Not only had the South African social media star never been offered that kind of money, the company represents exactly what she is against: overconsumption of cheap, planet-harming clothing made by underpaid workers.
And she's not alone. Former Love Island contestant and sustainable fashion influencer Brett Staniland said he was offered close to $5,500 (5,076 euros) for a post for a major fast fashion brand, the kind of money most small or sustainable brands simply can't compete with.
Content creators like Morgan and Staniland are promoting sustainable fashion online, where fast fashion corporations with deep pockets have helped flood Instagram, TikTok and YouTube with sponsored posts encouraging viewers to buy more stuff -- largely at the expense of the planet.
This growing army of influencers are seeking to expose the environmental damage caused by huge fashion firms like Shein, H&M and Zara.
They also encourage climate-conscious fashion choices -- what Morgan calls "mindful consumption" -- asking people to buy less, or if you do have to buy, best if it's second-hand or ultra-sustainable.
"We shouldn't necessarily compete with (fast fashion) in their way... their model is already unsustainable," said Morgan, whose TikTok and Instagram pages are full of playful posts bursting with upcycled and handmade items, many of which she features more than once.
