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Sustainable influencer Masego Morgan was shocked when a fast fashion giant offered her $1,000 for a single social media post to promote her brand.
Not only has the South African social media star never been offered that kind of money, the company represents exactly what she’s against: the overconsumption of cheap, planet-damaging clothing made by underpaid workers.
And she is not alone. Former Love Island contestant and sustainable fashion influencer Brett Staniland said he was offered around $5,500 (€5,076) for a post for a major fast fashion brand, the kind of money most Small or established brands simply cannot compete.
Content creators like Morgan and Staniland are promoting sustainable fashion online, where deep-pocketed fast-fashion corporations have helped flood Instagram, TikTok and YouTube with sponsored posts that encourage viewers to buy more stuff — mostly at the expense of the planet.
This growing army of influencers is seeking to expose the environmental damage caused by big fashion firms like Shein, H&M and Zara.
They also encourage climate-conscious fashion choices—what Morgan calls “conscious consumption”—by asking people to buy less, or if you must buy, better if it’s second-hand or ultra-sustainable.
“We don’t necessarily have to compete with (fast fashion) in their way… their model is already unsustainable,” said Morgan, whose TikTok and Instagram pages are full of playful posts filled with articles of renovated and handcrafted, many of which she displays. more than once.
– “Improvement is revolutionary” –
Morgan began borrowing clothes thrifted by her elegant Japanese mother, who told her that “alteration is a revolutionary act” and encouraged her to repair clothes instead of buying new ones.
The 26-year-old, who posts much of her content from her kitchen in Cape Town, said she tries to hold corporations to account rather than make people feel guilty about their choices.
Influencers like her are “agents of change,” said Simone Cipriani, chair of the UN Sustainable Fashion Alliance and founder of the Ethical Fashion Initiative.
“They counteract the negative impact of another kind of thing that you find in social media…overconsumption.”
Social media has become extremely important for fashion brands, who can reach millions through influencers showing off their outfits in things like #outfitoftheday posts.
A common influencer in a western country can easily make six figures a year through sponsored content and affiliate links. And the more followers they have, the more brands can charge.
Social media has helped boost fashion sales, with global consumption of clothing, footwear and accessories doubling since 2000, according to the Hot or Cool Institute.
But this has come at a high price for the planet. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), the clothing industry accounted for about two percent of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2019—about the same as the airline industry.
Those emissions could rise by 55 percent by the end of the decade, he added. They would have to drop by 45 percent to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, as outlined in the Paris Agreement.
The environmental footprint of fashion production and consumption needs to be reduced by 60 percent in high-income countries to limit global warming, according to the Hot or Cool report.
In addition to decarbonizing the fashion industry, their advice is to buy no more than five new items a year and wear clothes for longer.
– ‘Against her’ –
Exposing the harmful influence of fast fashion corporations is at the core of Venetia La Manna’s content.
The 33-year-old influencer has amassed a massive online following, with nearly 6.5 million views on TikTok and Instagram for her “Recipe for Disaster” series about the social and environmental damage caused by companies such as Adidas, Amazon and Nike.
She makes a good living working with resale sites like Vestiaire Collective, eBay and Depop. But it’s not always easy to compete with fast fashion-backed influencers.
“We are against him in terms of money and power,” she told AFP from London.
“In the last five years, I really feel like this issue is on the map. It used to be that plastic and food were the main focus in conversations about our environment, but now it’s really talking about fashion,” said La Manna. .
The second-hand clothing market is booming and is expected to reach $218 billion by 2026, up from $96 billion in 2021. This is partly driven by a growing number of clothing resale and rental firms. that cater to a growing class of conscious consumers.
Love Island star Staniland hopes good-for-the-planet businesses will continue to grow on social media.
And he has scored some wins. The 29-year-old played an important role in the change of sponsor from fast fashion companies to eBay.
But for now, it may be an uphill battle. Like most sustainable influencers, Staniland must rely on multiple streams of income.
After turning down $5,550 from a fast-fashion giant, he worked with an underwear brand he believes in, ONE Essentials, but still needs his modeling to pay the bills.
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