Pretty Unethical

In one of my modules this week we discussed ethics in terms of PR, and reviewed some of the unethical and unsuccessful campaigns which ran throughout 2020. In a time of uncertainty, I believe it is essential to communicate effectively, clearly and consistently in order to prevent panic and confusion. Unfortunately, our government failed to do this. Of course, we are all aware of the ‘stay alert, control the virus, save lives’ slogan put out by the government when lockdown levels were eased in the summer. Instead of bringing a sense of confidence to the public, the UK were left confused and millions took to twitter to parody the slogan or express their general concerns and confusion as to what it meant. Rather than speaking to the public and answering questions, the government refused to do any press interviews which arguably only sparked more confusion as to what the slogan meant and what we were allowed to do again. This was shown perfectly on the channel 4 program Gogglebox, which revolves around watching different families in the UK watching various different TV programs which broadcasted that week. All of the families shown were confused, unconfident and appeared to have lost respect for the government as a result of the way they have dealt with Covid-19.

Whilst discussing our views on these campaigns it made me think to the various black Friday deals and promotions I had seen promoted by various fashion brands. In an age where being eco-friendly is at paramount importance, the fast fashion industry is once again showing its hypocrisy in pledging allegiance to the green movement. Online fashion retailer Pretty Little Thing heavily promoted a 99% off everything sale, which sparked a sense of excitement amongst many teens and young adults. My TikTok and Twitter feeds were full of customers showing the 5p tops and shoes they managed to buy. In the past, I myself would have also been excited at this sale but this year I couldn’t help but think of the ethical and environmental impacts of the sale. If they can afford to sell clothes at 99% less of the original price, how much do the clothes really cost to make and more importantly how much are they paying their workers? PLT have released a line of clothes made from recycled materials, but when a sale which endorses the idea of fast fashion is promoted more heavily than the recycled clothing, the message falls short. Libby Peake of the Green Alliance stated “Fashion has a bigger environmental footprint than aviation and shipping combined. Single-use clothing is bad for the environment, and doesn’t necessarily save customers money in the long run”. To learn more about their message please click here. By PLT selling clothes at such a small price point, it adds to the new idea of clothing being disposable and single wear. I have to admit in the past I have bought hundreds of pounds worth of clothes from online fashion retailers which I only wore on the odd night out. This year I have begun to change my habits in effort to live a more sustainable and ethical life. I have recently become a vegetarian, no longer buy products in single use plastic, I walk where I can and have started to shop in charity shops. I am not perfect, but these habits are something I hope I can bring into 2021 and continue for the rest of my life. I would also love to show these values in my PR work. As a stated before I believe consistency and clear communication is key, and in these ways, I believe we need to show how important it is to look after our planet so that we can continue to live and work on it for hundreds of years to come. I’d love to know your thoughts on this topic in the comment section below. Thank you