Essay

We've Been Fighting Fast Fashion Since the Industrial Revolution

From the Triangle Factory Fire to Shein, the Garment Business Can’t Escape Ethical Quandaries

by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox

Attention-grabbing headlines constantly alert us to the ills of fast fashion. The multi-billion dollar industry churns out mountains of inexpensive-but-stylish clothing, much of it sewn in sweatshop-like factories in Asia and Latin America and sold by popular brands such as Shein, H&M, and Zara. The industry exploits workers, uses harmful chemicals, and causes environmental damage to the planet. The garments it produces are of poor quality, which means consumers keep coming back for more—and the cycle of harm repeats.
  Social and environmental justice advocates taking aim at fast fashion direct their criticism (justifiably) toward big retailers and powerful corporations. But some also point fingers at ordinary consumers, who—with the aid of social media and online trade—play into the wasteful ethos that perpetuates this industry. Meanwhile, defenders of fast fashion claim that its global nature is democratizing ...

Essay

Kari Lake Is Just the Latest Arizona Hustler

From Make-Believe Springs and Real Estate Scams to Disappearing Ballots, the State Soaks Up Hallucinatory Claims Like Rain

by Tom Zoellner

Kari Lake isn’t giving up. Even as she prepares to mount a campaign for U.S. senator, and more than two months after her election opponent was sworn in as Arizona’s governor, she swears that it is she who is the real governor of the state. She continues to insist the election was stolen.
  Election denial has become one of the pillars of the modern GOP—but the desert soil of Arizona soaks up such hallucinatory claims like rain, at least partly because of the state’s unique history. Through most of the last century and a half, Arizona has been a geography of personal reinvention, ambitious schemes, and glowing hype that exceeded nature’s limits. The name itself is derived from a 1736 silver rush in a valley near a ranch called Arizona that flamed out just weeks after it began. Lake’s false crusade has already lasted longer.
  What’s in the water in Arizona that inspires ...

  • The Takeaway

    Art Opens a Portal to Curiosity

    We Should Measure Its Value Not in Dollar Signs But in Question Marks

    “L.A. is one of the largest creative economies in the world but artists here are low-wage workers. So do we even value art at all?”
    Artist Joel Garcia asked the pointed question at last night’s Zócalo program, “What Is the Value of Art?” Put on in partnership with NeueHouse, KCRW, and Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, the program took place just days before Frieze Los Angeles—a week of art exhibitions, events, and big money—descends upon …

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