I care a lot about ethical fashion — it’s something I have spent time learning about and enjoy sharing what I know with others. So when I saw this book coming out, I was hopeful about having a place to direct people who are interested in learning more. Ostensibly “an insider’s look at how the rise of fast fashion obstructs ethical shopping,” I found instead that this book fell short of presenting a thorough and cohesive story about the ills of fast fashion. 

The author is a journalist with credentials from some big name outfits like InStyle. Unfortunately, the anecdotes she shares and the research she presents both have a shallow, myopic quality. While she names the main drawbacks of fast fashion (labor exploitation & environmental degradation), I did not find her chapters to be well-developed. Scattershot anecdotes and cursory reporting on existing research ultimately meant the writing felt fairly sophomoric. 

One of the redeeming chapters what the one that held the description’s promise: an insider look at how fashion journalism contributes to seasonal cycles and overconsumption. Hardy’s account confirmed a suspicion I had that fashion outlets are very heavily directed by marketing affiliate dollars not actual reporting. 

That said, the book holistically did not live up to the expectations I would have a nonfiction title claiming to expose an industry’s dark side. However, I sincerely hope the topic continues to gain traction as it is extremely relevant, even if I don’t expect this will be the book to make waves.