# data[].attributes.body
I have thought about the question and here is my answer. Push the link and it will bring you to the video about why i think fashion is important to society!!

I have had fun looking at this subject and hoped you have fun  too!!!
(- Lydia )

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is Fashion Important to Society?  A question in our "Curriculum of Questions" Series

# data[].attributes.body
Feel free to respond to this question in written form, video form, animated form, or however else you'd like to make your point.  You can also post links to appropriate videos, articles, etc. to help us think more deeply about this topic.  If you need some ideas to get you started, head to Our Thriving Hive to see some other questions related to this topic.  Remember that kids of all ages will be posting and commenting on this Padlet. Keep all writing, links, and videos appropriate for all readers/viewers. Thanks! https://ourthrivinghive.com/2019/04/01/is-fashion-important-to-society/

# data[].attributes.body
Check these out to see how fashion may impact our environment:

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is fast fashion destroying our environment?

# data[].attributes.body
What happens to your old clothes?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Outlets vs retail, and Winners prices: Sale fail? (CBC Marketplace)

# data[].attributes.body
I think fashion is important to society as it helps you express yourself through the clothes you wear.
Fashion has adapted through the ages with styles and jewellery.

# data[].attributes.body
Is there a "right" way to make fashion?  Should we be aware of a company's practices before buying their products?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters in the world. We compare leading fashion brands and see which companies are putting people and the planet before profit.

# data[].attributes.body
I think fashion is important because you can bring out your identity, but on the other hand i think if you try to keep up with what everybody else wear's you will lose your identity.(Bryce)

# data[].attributes.body
What if you helped make it possible for others to be fashionable?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Clothing giant H&M is facing accusations of child labour and factory conditions that are unsafe for workers.

The Swedish fashion retailer is preparing to open a store in Auckland on Saturday.
Read about the checkered history of H&M on The Wireless here
Amid the publicity surrounding the opening, the Washington-based Workers Rights Constortium said hundreds of thousands of workers making H&M garments in factories in Bangladesh were doing so in dangerous conditions.

"We're talking about severe safety hazards. For example, lack of fire doors and fire exits, lack of proper alarm systems, lack of sprinkler systems," said Workers Rights Consortium executive director Scott Nova.

"There's no question that workers' lives continue to be put at risk at many H&M factories and certainly consumers in New Zealand should be aware of that," he said.

The problem is shared by many major clothing brands, and another charity organisation rated H&M's efforts to avoid worker exploitation higher than some local brands such as Glassons, Ezibuy and Pumpkin Patch.

But H&M is the biggest buyer of clothing in Bangladesh, contracting more than 200 factories to make its clothes.

It was the first company to sign up to the Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety after the collapse of Rana Plaza killed 1129 workers in 2013. Despite not having clothes made at Rana Plaza it promised to make safety improvements to all its factories in that country.

But three years on, and a year since the deadline for making improvements expired, most of the factories used by H&M were still unsafe, Mr Nova said.

He said the company had also not followed through on a promise ensuring all its factory workers were paid a living wage, but admitted H&M was not the only retailer slow to act.

"H&M is not particularly worse than other major brands and retailers but it's also not particularly better.

"They tend to talk a better game on labour rights and human rights than some of their competitors but when it comes to actually delivering on that rhetoric we haven't seen much evidence of genuine progress," Mr Nova said.

H&M is the second largest clothing retailer in the world with 4100 stores operating globally and another 400 scheduled to open in 2016. It contracts some 1900 factories employing 1.6 million workers to produce its clothing.

Swedish investigative journalists Moa Kärnstrand and Tobias Andersson Åkerblom spent weeks talking to factory workers in Myanmar who made clothes for H&M.

They found girls as young as 14 working 12-hour days in two factories outside Rangoon, in breach of Myanmar law and international labour conventions. Their findings were published in a book this month called Modeslavar, or Fashion Slaves.

"We found some girls who started working there at the age of 14 and we met many more girls who were below 18 and they worked from 7 or 8 in the morning until about 8 in the evening. In some weeks they worked from 7 in the morning until 10 in the evening."

H&M said it had since stopped using those two factories but Mr Åkerblom said child labour was likely widespread in Myanmar and the company would not say if it had checked the other factories it worked with.

H&M better than most - charity organisation

Baptist World Aid Australia, which grades fashion companies each year on the steps they take to stop the exploitation of garment workers in the factories they use, said H&M was better than most fashion houses.

Its latest report in April gave H&M a B+ grade.

Report author Jasmin Mawson said, although H&M had much to improve on, it was one of the more transparent companies. It listed all its suppliers on its website and reported annually on any abuses it found in its factories.

Local retailers often scored worse than H&M, she said.

For example Glassons got a C+, Ezibuy a C, while MacPac and Pumpkin Patch both scored Ds.

"Australian and New Zealand companies are a little bit behind on the ethical sourcing game compared to the US and Europe.

"However, we are really encouraged that all those companies are really open to working with us so we are really looking forward to seeing how they continue to step up over the coming years," Ms Mawson said.

Zara, which was part of the world's biggest fashion house Inditex, and will also be opening its first store at Auckland's Sylvia Park mall on 6 October, got an A grade from Baptist World Aid.

H&M's response

H&M declined to be interviewed but in June it flew a group of New Zealand fashion writers, including journalists from Fairfax and the New Zealand Herald, to its Stockholm headquarters to learn about the company ahead of its opening at Auckland's Sylvia Park mall on 1 October.

In a statement the company said it was "of utmost importance" that its products were made under good working conditions and it had taken action on the two suppliers in Myanmar that it had identified as having had problems with ID cards and overtime.

"That teenagers have working hours violating the rules is unacceptable to H&M. Any overtime must be in accordance with legislation as well as our own demands, this is particularly important when it comes to the age group 14-18.

"If a supplier doesn't live up to our standards or national legislation we - in accordance with our routines - demand that the supplier immediately establishes an action plan, which has been done also in this case. One of the measures concerning the two suppliers in question is improved recruitment routines, which has resulted in improved handling of ID-cards."

H&M said the Bangladesh Fire and Safety Accord was extremely important to the company.

"Although being behind the projected schedule, we are experiencing good progress. We are convinced of the positive impact of the work being done within the Accord and that it will reach its long-term aim: to make the textile industry in Bangladesh safer for the workers.

"The remediation delay is partly due to import delays of upgraded safety equipment as well as a shortage of technical expertise in Bangladesh needed to conduct detailed engineering assessments, planning and submissions of drawings, and installation of technical equipment. Initial timelines for remediation set up by the Accord were also too optimistic.

"These are challenges that all brand signatories are facing and they are not specific to H&M," the company said.

It added that its pledge to pay a living wage to all its factory workers was progressing.

"By 2018, all of H&M's strategic suppliers should have improved pay structures for fair living wages in place. By then, this will reach around 850,000 workers," it said.

Big brand phone makers use child labour - Amnesty

Bangladesh clothing factories reopen after disaster

Bangladesh garment workers protest over pay

Stricter safety standards promoted at garment factories

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fashion victims: the true cost of H&M clothing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Clothing giant H&M is facing accusations of child labour and factory conditions that are unsafe for workers. The Swedish fashion retailer is preparing to open a store in Auckland on Saturday.

# data[].attributes.body
I loved this TED talk about how fashion designers think and how we could all benefit from thinking in this way!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fashion your future: Think more like a fashion designer | Suzi Vaughan | TEDxQUT

# data[].attributes.body
when i first started thinking about if fashion was important to society, my first thought was,no way, because i only thought fashion as fancy dresses and jewelry. but i realize now that what i chose to wear everyday is fashion. i chose to wear clothes that make me fell happy and comfortable.(chloe!)
Check out this video of me explaining my thoughts!