Dissertation: Is Fashion Brand Missguided Ethical? 2020

Is fast fashion brand Missguided ethical and has recent news in 2020 changed perceptions of the brand?

Maheen Malik

Abstract In a year full of reflection and self isolation, increased social media and news coverage has caused a general change in behaviours and knowledge of world events (Statista 2020).

Specific occurrences this year such as the exploitation of workers, underpaid wages and forced labour may have possibly changed consumer’s mind-sets on fast fashion brands.

In this dissertation the researcher investigates how ethical the brand Missguided is, taking into consideration past press in the media concerning the brand as well as current information and statistics.

The first chapter explores Missguided staff treatment in regards to the head office team members, retail store and garment workers. For this chapter an anonymous ex retail staff member was interviewed and the Channel 4 documentary ‘Inside Missguided’ was analysed. To conclude this portion it can be surmised that Missguided’s staff at the head office get treated very well and receive plenty of benefits; however the documentary does not disclose any information on garment workers conditions abroad. Although the Missguided CSR page is very detailed and Missguided have partnerships with well reputed ethical organisations; there is little first-hand/visual evidence that reassures the consumer on the conditions of the international garment workers.

The investigation then goes on to evaluate Missguided’s transparency, for which much can be said the same. Missguided is very transparent with the details provided on their website but there isn’t particularly much reassurance on international workers conditions. More so although Missguided have made efforts to be sustainable, this is counteracted by primary evidence that proves a Missguided retail store in the UK have been discarding garments in bins (usually returns/faulty items).

The researcher then goes on to examine Missguided and animal ethics; from which can be concluded that Missguided have taken substantial measures to avoid selling real fur since their scandal in 2017. However more than half of Missguided’s stock includes 50%> Polyester and Polyester is arguably an unethical material that causes harm to marine life.

Finally changed perceptions on the brand in 2020 are studied through 2 qualitative focus groups and a quantitative online survey. It can be concluded that perceptions on fast fashion brands in general have changed over the past few years, and due to increased time spent on social media this year, many participants have become more educated on potential detriments of fast fashion.

However social media influencers continue to have a profitable effect for fast fashion brands.

Consumers that make the effort to become knowledged on fast fashion brands are more likely to stop purchasing from these brands. Further more, bad press encircling a direct competitor of Missguided is likely to affect the perception of the brand Missguided itself. An example of this is the exploitation of garment workers in 2020 with a factory in Leicester associated with Boohoo.

Word Count: 5796

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Contents

Abstract (i) Acknowledgements & Glossary of terms (ii) Timeline (iii-iv) Introduction (v) Methodology (vi) Chapter 1: Do Missguided treat their staff ethically?(1-3)

Chapter 2: Is Missguided transparent? (4-6) Chapter 3: Animal ethics (7-9) Chapter 4: Have perceptions on Missguided changed in 2020? (10-12)

Conclusion (13) Recommendations and future studies (14) Annotated references (15-17)

Appendices (vii-Li)

Acknowledgements With special thanks to all the interview, focus group and survey participants.

And thank you to Fashion Roundtable for hosting an Ethics and Sustainability session featuring industry experts on the 12th of November 2020.

Glossary of Terms CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility

MMU: Manchester Metropolitan University PPE: Personal Protective Equipment RSL: Restricted Substances List

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2014

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2016

2017

Channel 4 docu

released ex Missguid manufactu Leicester not workers the m wage

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2018

2020

2019

Covid-19: Many consumers become

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xposing ded’s urers in t paying minimum e

redundant and are spending more time at home. People are becoming more financially conscious. CO2 emmisions decrease whilst the population are quarantined.

China concentration camps: Forced labour and garment production linked to many brands.

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Introduction In this essay the researcher explores how ethical Missguided is and if perceptions on Missguided have changed this year. According to Collins dictionary in 2020, to describe something as ethical means that it is ‘morally right or morally acceptable’. This can be seen as a subjective answer and so the focus group participants were asked on their personal intake on what ethical means.

Three objectives were explored in this study which included to research the efforts that Missguided have made to be ethical, to evaluate the authenticity and effectiveness of these efforts. Are they just performative means for profit? And finally, to discover any changes in consumer behaviour and attitude towards Missguided in 2020. The aim of the research was to present Missguided’s efforts into being ethical; and to research any recent changing mindsets towards Missguided.

This study is relevant today due to the increased bad press and media this year in 2020 regarding forced labour and underpaid wages by fast fashion brands. During the first UK lockdown, journalist Vidhathri Matety went undercover to work for a factory in Leicester that supplied clothes for Boohoo and Nasty Gal. Matety discovered that some workers were paid as little as £3.50 an hour and little PPE was provided (Matety 2020). Labour Behind The Label soon after released a report in June 2020 titled ‘Boohoo & Covid-19’ which details accounts of furlough fraud, workers being denied pay and being forced to come into work despite showcasing Covid-19 symptoms.

Although there hasn’t been any particular bad press related to Missguided this year; in the past Missguided have been at the subject of scrutiny in regards to underpaid garment workers (Channel 4 2017). Since then Missguided have revealed a raw documentary (Inside Missguided Channel 4 2020) and tightened policies. The researcher explores the effectiveness and authenticity of these policies in this dissertation.

Furthermore cases of fast fashion brands such as Nike, Zara and Victoria’s Secret were linked to forced labour by Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang province of China where they are reportedly being tortured and held against their free will (UHRP 2020). To surmise there has been an increase in media attention this year concerning ethics and fast fashion and due to the pandemic an increase of 55% of the UK population say they have found themselves following the news more (Statista 2020). It would be relevant to see how Missguided have progressed as a brand from previous ethical scandals and how consumers perceptions have changed this year, if at all.

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Methodology The researcher carried out both primary and secondary evidence to collect a mixture of qualitative and quantitative data that was relevant to the title. Primary evidence was vital to source reliable and current information. Secondary evidence such as articles were used to provide detailed and factual material from experts. Qualitative data cumulated included focus groups and interviews which allowed a personal, opinionated approach from participants but was time consuming.

Quantitative data constituted towards statistical data. Three alternative methods were used in accordance to the Triangulation research process.

Focus Groups Two focus groups were utilised as part of the primary evidence part of the research. The first focus group consisted of female students or recent graduates that shop or have shopped quite frequently at Missguided and fast fashion brands in general. The aim of the focus group was to investigate recent changes in perceptions on Missguided in response to events in the media this year. The participants all fitted into the age bracket of the Missguided target audience and were at an age where they are quite impressionable but also starting to think critically. The second focus group consisted of participants that worked for Vintage fashion brand Area Eighteen. This brand claims to be slow fashion and sustainable. The focus groups took place virtually through Zoom and participants were encouraged to be honest and engage with each other. These focus groups were beneficial in observing relevant group conversations and dynamics; the main disadvantage was that participants may have structured their answers to please the moderator or have completed research on the title beforehand which may have caused bias.

Interviews In order to gain further primary evidence; the researcher interviewed experienced persons in the field, and staff members of Missguided at different levels. The first interview was with Anonymous B, an ex supervisor at a Missguided store, who was made redundant in 2019. This interview took place through email and provided information on the ethical working conditions for retail staff at Missguided. The second interview was with Nazma Akter who has first hand knowledge of garment workers conditions in Bangladesh. Nazma brought insight into the effect of Covid-19 on garment worker’s lives in Bangladesh. The interview with Nazma took place over video call, and due to the long distance the connection was fairly disturbed at times which may have been a disadvantage to the study. The third interview was over email with the CSR team at Missguided. The answers for the questions had to be approved by the Head of Department at Missguided so it could be argued that the answers may have been less personal and transparent than the answers provided by the exretail staff member.

Desk Research Desk research was conducted for this investigation to get valuable qualitative data. This consisted of articles and online sources such as the Missguided CSR website, Labour Behind The Label’s 2020 report, ‘Inside Missguided’ the Channel 4 documentary and articles written by journalist Vivian Hendriks and more. Books that were read to gain insight into the topic of fashion and ethics were ‘Over-dressed: The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion’ by Elizabeth L. Cline as well as ‘Empire of Things’ by Frank Trentmann. More so existing essays written by graduates were read and analysed. These included critical evaluation essays of Missguided’s CSR by students Demi Barnes (2019) and Amy Leyland (2020). Finally a virtual live ethical and sustainability session hosted by Fashion Roundtable was attended. The two hour session included insight from valuable speakers and touched upon subjects such as modern slavery in the fashion industry and crime and punishment in the UK legal system in response to illegal treatment of workers. The session was attended by experts in the field such as a member of the Head of Modern Slavery Policy Unit at Justice and Care UK, a sourcing director at ASOS and a team member of Labour Behind The Label.

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Chapter 1: Do Missguided treat their staff ethically?

9 participants from two different focus groups were asked what the word ethical means to them, and what they think makes a brand ethical. Consistent answers that came up were ‘conscious’, ‘treating workers fairly’, gender ‘pay gap’, ‘equal’ treatment, staff treatment, transparency, and ‘sustainability’ (Appendix A).

In this dissertation a few different aspects of the word ‘ethical’ will be considered; this chapter will focus on staff treatment in particular.

According to the documentary ‘Undercover: Britain’s Cheap Clothes’ (Channel 4, 2017) a clothing factory based in Leicester, providing garments for Missguided as well as a number of other brands, were paying their workers illegal wages. They were paid less than half the national living wage and were working in conditions that posed serious risk. At a factory named ‘United Creations’ an undercover reporter was packaging zips for Missguided at an hourly wage of £3.25 per hour in risky working conditions.

Since the scandal Missguided have introduced a Code of Conduct that manufacturers are obliged to follow. Missguided have also built partnerships with the ‘Ethical Trade Initiative’, ‘British Retail Consortium’ and ‘Labour Abuse Authority’ (Missguided 2020).

On episode 3 of ‘Inside Missguided’ (Channel 4 2020); ‘Basic Premier’ a potential manufacturer for Missguided based in Leicester is visited by Ashish Sachdeva (the CSR manager at Missguided).

Mick the factory boss admits that he is aware that ‘Ashish by reputation, …will look under the stone, and he’ll literally lift that stone up and dissect what’s underneath there. I am expecting him to be very thorough’(17:05). Ashish then enters the factory where he asks questions about the workers, scrutinises machinery and fire hazards as well as reading through a large stack of paper records. Nitin Passi, the CEO of Missguided even makes an appearance to the factory at a later stage and makes the effort of exchanging numbers with Mick the factory boss. This suggests that the garment workers are treated well by Missguided and extensive investigation is undergone before the brand becomes associated with a factory.

As explained on the Modern Slavery statement (Missguided 2020); Missguided source their products from 12 different countries. The Channel 4 documentary however does not enlighten the viewers on the working conditions abroad.

On the other hand the CSR website (Missguided 2020) clearly states each factory name, most of which are international (Appendix D and Figure 1). The documentary may not be reflective of how garment workers are treated by Missguided currently as the CSR team explain that they ‘struggle to onboard new factories in UK because of practices widely reported in media, we have seen decline in our factory base (in the UK) from 80 to 15 since 2017’ (Appendix D).

More so, recent primary evidence conducted on an ex retail staff member at a Missguided store (Appendix C) exposed some unsettling information regarding staff wellbeing. Anonymous B worked at Missguided retail store for a total of 11 months and was made redundant in 2019 after being successfully promoted to a Supervisor level. Anonymous B felt as if the management at the specific retail store had ‘affected’ their ‘mental health’, they felt ‘a lack of support’ and had to actually go to Human Resources to help sort out the issue. Anonymous B felt as if HR supported them fairly and felt as if her management handled the situation ‘morally wrong’. When asked if Missguided’s core values were applied at the work place, Anonymous B explained that the core values (female empowerment and confidence) were only applied when it came to serving customers. They felt as if retail can be a very difficult place to work and the core values were getting ‘lost in the drama and negativity at work which affected sales’.

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On the other hand Anonymous B received staff benefits such as ‘free clothes’ depending on the specific staff working hours and they ‘loved it’. More so they would rate the overall experience of working at Missguided an 8 out of 10, as they ‘would never stop someone from working at Missguided or advise them not to because every experience is different’.

To support the argument that Missguided treat their workers ethically, ‘Inside Missguided’ (Channel 4 2020), Treasure Evans (the senior creative campaign manager and creative director) shows her appreciation for her job. Treasure reveals that ‘Missguided gives me so much freedom, it’s unbelievable, I’m so privileged’ (Episode 2, 22:10). Further more Eleanore Chetcuti (Senior brand manager) expresses how Missguided are providing jobs for the underprivileged who aren’t necessarily fed by a ‘silver spoon’- ‘Manchester now has a platform for young people that wanna be in fashion’ (Episode 2, 14:05).

In episode 4 Nitin Passi proudly claims that ‘it’s an amazing feeling to see my employees this happy, it’s very rewarding’ (45:07). This is backed up by the many staff benefits shown throughout the show including an in house barber, social family like gatherings such as a gender reveal party, design team trips to Ibiza and themed parties. Treasure Evans expresses her devotion and gratitude to Nitin Passi in the final scene where she kisses and licks his face before saying ‘best boss ever’ (episode 4, 46:27).

The level of comfort and benefits received by the Missguided head office staff suggest that Missguided is partially ethical; however there is a lack of solid evidence to help determine how the other ‘39,000 workers in the supply chain’ (Missguided 2020) are treated, as well as retail staff members of Missguided.

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Chapter 2: Is Missguided transparent?

The Missguided website includes very thorough information including a Modern Slavery Statement, CSR information, and a list of the 172 factories across 12 countries that Missguided source from (Missguided 2020). The factory list also includes the percentage of male workers compared to female workers in each factory and a bracket estimate of the number of workers. The number of workers and gender ratio in each factory however is likely to change quite often; especially recently due to the pandemic as workers may have become redundant.

From the factory list provided by Missguided the majority of the factories- precisely 60.46% (Missguided 2020) are based in China; 8.14% are based in the UK and the rest are based in a range of countries abroad. Although this information is readily available, the factories in the UK make up of only approximately 8% of the total factories, but the Missguided team in ‘Inside Missguided’ project an image that the majority of the suppliers are UK based. Although there has been a decrease in UK based factories from 2017 by 81.25% (Appendix D) it can be seen as questionable that in the documentary international suppliers are hardly recognised at all.

In Episode 3 of ‘Inside Missguided’ (Channel 4 2020) the CEO of Missguided Nitin Passi states ‘to transport goods from Leicester or Manchester or London to our office here is quick and cheap and environmentally friendly. So the UK does make a lot of sense for us’. Victoria the head of buying then goes on to say ‘we want to keep British manufacturing alive’ (16:10).

According to the factory list provided by Missguided only 14 of the 172 factories are now UK based.

Only 1 is shown on the show (Basic Premiere LTD), which leaves a big question mark on what the working conditions may be like in the other 99.42% of national factories as well as the 91.86% of international factories.

It is a widely held opinion that factories internationally have worse working conditions than factories based in the UK. Ikrah Ali, a participant in the researchers first focus group (Appendix A) states her concerns for ‘suppliers not getting paid, working conditions being horrific, child labour’ and feels that when she notices a garment is made internationally, it opens up questions such as ‘is this brand ethical? is this made under fair working conditions?’.

In addition to this, the researcher completed a video call interview with Nazma Akter (Appendix E) who is the president, founder and executive director of Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, in Bangladesh. Nazma ‘started to work in the garments factory at the age of 11’ with her mother, and now works to empower vulnerable women and garment workers across Bangladesh. In regards to the impact of Covid-19 on garment workers lives in Bangladesh, Akter states that due to lockdown in retailers countries, production was put on hold and orders were cancelled, a ‘number of workers lost their jobs and couldn’t get the proper compensation and benefit’. A number ‘of pregnant women lost their job and didn’t get the maternity protection benefit’.

She then goes on to say that more than 40% of women in Bangladesh are single mothers that rely on their income. The loss of jobs lead to a subsequent increase in workplace and domestic abuse, as women were then forced to depend upon their family members/abusive people in their life again.

Garment worker’s salaries decreased about 1000 takas; and there wasn’t particularly any sufficient safety measures put into place.

Akter did not touch upon any brand in particular, so it can be argued that this information is quite irrelevant to the brand Missguided. However the number of injustices occurring in Bangladesh can be quite shocking and further begs the question as to how ethical are garment workers being treated by Missguided In the 91.86% of their factories abroad.

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On Missguided’s Modern Slavery Statement (Missguided 2020), it discloses that Missguided ‘paused incoming orders’ for a brief period but ‘did not have to cancel any orders completed or in production’ they ‘neither withheld supplier payments nor were any forced discounts levied on suppliers for any goods prepared’. Furthermore they provided manufacturers with PPE where required.

This can be seen as cautionary and ethical, however in regards to international suppliers particularly; the information given regarding Covid-19 can be seen as quite brief. The statement declares Missguided ‘maintained a continuous dialogue and received updates from factories (in China) as to the ongoing situation and provided support where necessary’. In Pakistan ‘all our factories were given permission to remain open by the local authority…we visited Pakistan in March to see the factories before UK lockdown was introduced.’

Akter believes that the ‘CEO, the big boss’ or the ‘supplier’ should be in the factory during the pandemic, she feels as if many factories in Bangladesh are not personally visited by the suppliers but are only monitored digitally through ‘Zoom or other apps’. This leads to risk because she believes the garment workers are not given knowledge on how to protect themselves. The CSR manager Ashish states in the documentary that ‘we’re a bit stricter on our audit compared to other brands’. Although the policies reflect this, one could consider that there is little evidence that these ethical policies are being respected by Missguided’s suppliers internationally. Nonetheless the CSR team clarify that ‘to maintain independence of programme all audits are conducted by The Reassurance Network (TRN)’.

The Reassurance Network is currently the only company qualified to carry out audits to the Clearview standard; a voluntary standard for labour providers that includes in-depth assessment of responsible recruitment practices (Appendix D).

Other scenes in the documentary contain unfiltered blasphemy and raw uncut moments that portray Missguided in a transparent light. Treasure Evans the creative director of the brand can be seen as the most honest, energetic persona and shares that at her job she is ‘basically allowed to be completely’ herself and ‘unapologetic’(Episode 4, 42:15). Digitally Missguided is presented as quite transparent through their decision in 2017 to never retouch their models again.

Tate Wolverson, a participant from the researcher’s second focus group (Appendix B) identifies an ethical brand as a ‘brand that has nothing to hide’. In terms of the retail work place Anonymous B, an ex retail staff member at a Missguided store (Appendix C) unveils that Missguided ‘claim themselves to be a brand which they show publicly but behind the scenes so much goes on that no one is aware of whether that be the people, team and core value’. Furthermore they claim ‘they don’t do anything sustainably for the environment. When a lot of faults would get returned or items were taken off the shop floor … it would go straight to the bins at Selfridges which would honestly kill me because it was such a waste...It’s not even a case of we were not able to take it home and make use of it, it had to go in the bin!’.

In contrast to this, the Missguided CSR website includes information concerning their partnership with the Regain app, where consumers are encouraged to drop off their unused clothes to a specific location in return for a Missguided discount code. The clothes will then be repurposed in an effort to ‘reducing environmental impact’. Furthermore Missguided allegedly give ‘end of line, returns and sample stock’ to the charity Newlife, where all the stock is sold in Newlife’s stores with proceeds going directly to disabled and terminally ill children. Although these can be seen as progressively ethical and sustainable measures; the interview primary evidence completed by the researcher says otherwise, and suggests that these measures are performative (Appendix C).

Up to 85% of textiles go into landfills each year and while people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than in 2000, they only kept the clothes for half as long (McFall-Johnsen 2020). The sustainability of a brand affects the earth and in turn affects human and animal life; it can be viewed as ethical to be transparent with consumers in all walks of the brand including garment disposal.

One may be shocked and discomforted to know that Missguided stores were disposing of garments in bins (2019) and still may be, in contrast to the information available on Missguided’s CSR page.

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Chapter 3: Missguided and animal ethics Missguided’s CSR strategy is based on 3 main pillars ‘ethical trade, the environment and animal welfare’ which are ‘delivered with pace but sustainable in the long run’.

In the past Missguided have been at the centre of some scandals regarding animal welfare and ethics.

In April 2017 it was uncovered that real fur was being sold as faux fur on the Missguided website, as well as across a few other retailers. A concerned consumer shared her worries with HSI UK, and after a series of tests it was found that a pair of pom pom stilettos sold by Missguided was made of real fur (Hendriksz 2017). Despite this news HSI applauded the fact that Missguided had fur free policies in the first place and that their statement was accountable and progressive.

Although Missguided’s policies can be commended, the fact that Missguided had a fur free policy in place and still managed to sell fur on their website suggests that there was a lack of communication between Missguided and their suppliers, particularly in China. In response to this Missguided issued an independent investigation into the manufacturer and begun a relationship with the Ethical Trading Initiative. According to Neil Hackett (the supply chain director at Missguided), an office was opened in China to ensure better communication with the supplier; and efforts were made to ‘coach, guide and educate the supply chain’ instead of the easy option of cutting them off (Drapers 2018).

However the office in China has since closed but the CSR team elaborate their involvement with the Fast Forward initiative (Appendix D). The Fast Forward Initiative carry out audits across the globe to make sure factories are following policies, this allows increased transparency and communication between Missguided and their suppliers.

A recent investigation carried out by the researcher on the weeks of the 19th of October 2020 and the 16th of November 2020 reveals that on average, within the top 200 products in the ‘new in’ category on the Missguided website, 10.25% were labelled as ‘other materials’, with much of these products being ‘faux fur’ and ‘faux leather’ (Figure 2). It is arguable that the lack of details concerning the specific materials may be quite unsettling especially in reflection of the 2017 faux fur scandal.

When asked about materials being labelled as ‘other materials’ in an interview carried out by the researcher (Appendix D); the CSR team at Missguided responded by explaining that ‘Under the UK and EU footwear composition regulations/legislation you need only indicate leather, coated leather, textile or other materials. The CSR member further goes onto state that since the scandal in 2017 where only one product sold by Missguided was found to be real fur; Missguided ‘have put additional procedures in place’ which includes ‘internal team training and physical checking’ of ‘development samples and bulk deliveries’. This includes the procedure of testing the fur from the supplier by various different measures as outlined in Missguided’s animal welfare policy.

Fig 3

Fig 4

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Suppliers that are found to have supplied real fur are then imposed a fine of £5000 (Appendix D).

This form of punishment and thorough testing procedures suggests that Missguided take animal ethics seriously. Furthermore, Missguided do sell and use real leather, however the leather has to be the by product of the meat industry and not derived from alive, ‘wild caught, exotic or rare animals’.

All products containing real leather ‘must have this specified on the labelling’ (Appendix D).

Additionally, on average over the two weeks polyester made up 24.75% of the products, and mixed polyester (containing 50%> polyester) made up 58.75% of the top 200 stock (Figure 2). This supports the argument that Missguided is partially unethical because it is a known fact that Polyester is not only harmful for the environment, but also harmful to marine life and humans.

In 2011 ecologist Mark Brown published a study from his investigation of microfiber content in oceans across 18 sites worldwide, from 6 different continents. Brown discovered that ‘an important source of microplastic appears to be through sewage contaminated by fibres from washing clothes’.

This in turn harms marine life as the microfibers transfer ‘pollutants, monomers, and plasticadditives’ (Brown 2011). These harmful compounds then get passed up the food chain and are likely to end up in humans. Brown further developed his investigation and found that a single synthetic garment can produce more than 1900 fibres per wash. This suggests that not only is polyester unsustainable, but it also unsafe and unethical for marine and human life.

Most polyester is manufactured using antimony as a catalyst. Along with being a carcinogen, antimony is toxic to the heart, lungs, liver and skin (McDonough 2002). Although polyester production is legal there is a fairly hidden question on whether it should be.

In response to the researcher’s findings (Figure 2) the CSR team stated that from 2018 to 2019 there was an 8% decrease in polyester fibre usage in products sold by Missguided and that they are ‘aware of the work that the Microfibre Consortium are doing and look forward to the outcome of their research.’ Additionally Missguided’s RSL restrictions ‘meet or exceed the requirements set out in the EU REACH Regulations’ in which carcinogens are banned (Appendix D).

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Chapter 4: Have perceptions on Missguided changed in 2020?

In the first focus group the researcher carried out, 6 participants were questioned on their perceptions on Missguided in the past, and in this year. All participants were female between the ages of 20 and 25 (Appendix A).

3 of the participants were located in Manchester, the city where Missguided is based. Ikrah Ali touches upon the influence of Missguided in Manchester, particularly as a MMU student. She shares that Missguided was ‘promoted at freshers events…along side with a lot of fashion brands and there used to be sample sales as well’. Ikrah did feel influenced to purchase from Missguided over the past few years whilst seeing ‘girls around uni’ with ‘these big massive Missguided bags’. However recently she has been wondering ‘how are they able to sell their products for such low prices because they are still making a profit out of it, which is why they’ve been doing it for like the past two, three years’.

Furthermore because of the transition between being a full time student and interning or finding a graduate job; a few of the participants felt as if their clothing habits had become more quality orientated, which they felt Missguided wasn’t offering. Ikrah says that working at her placement influenced her to purchase clothes from a more ‘quality based’ over ‘trend based’ mentality and she hasn’t shopped at Missguided for this reason for over a year.

Madeline Turner a Fashion Branding and Merchandising student in Manchester, feels as if her perceptions on Missguided have changed this year. This has been due to the things seen ‘on the tele’ and the ‘media in terms of factories’ (Appendix A). However over the past few years she feels as if she has gained insight on to some of the detrimental effects of fast fashion through watching various documentaries that have been released, in regards to different brands.

This suggests that negative press concerning one fast fashion brand has a similar effect on the perception of another fast fashion brand. Correspondingly Tate Wolverson, a participant in the researchers second focus group (Appendix B), is describing a video of a fashion warehouse he saw from a documentary. Tate doesn’t seem to recall the exact brand claiming it must have been ‘Missguided or Boohoo or something’. This further confirms the argument that consumers often group together certain fast fashion brands, and their perceptions of them.

In support of this Ikrah Ali admits she ‘sort of separate(s) it out into two different sides of fast fashion’ from a ‘budget based’ perspective, with ‘Boohoo, Missguided and Pretty Little Thing’ being in one group and then brands such as ‘Urban Outfitters’ and ‘Zara’ in another.

To counteract the argument that perceptions have changed this year on Missguided; anonymous A states that ‘I’ve kinda stopped buying from Missguided a few years ago’ and is shopping more ‘thrifted clothes’. They believe that ‘it’s actually changed my life to buy more things that last better’ (Appendix A). Similarly, Lauren Talbot (the E Commerce assistant at Vintage brand Area Eighteen) stopped buying fast fashion all together since 2019. Lauren shares that she received a Missguided jumper as a Christmas present last year and decided to give it away because ‘the quality was not good’, compared to the vintage clothing she has purchased (Appendix B).

Nikhara Korpal has bought from Missguided ‘recently’. She has underlying concerns behind the manufacturing process but argues that ‘people are still influenced’ to purchase from Missguided, especially because of social media influencers (Appendix A).

To conclude the first focus group session, Saika expresses that ‘it probably is smarter to just to have a few things in the wardrobe that are more …wearable’ and by the end of the session reflects that

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she needs ‘to change and think about what would be better for the environment’ when it comes to her shopping habits. Although her perception on Missguided hasn’t changed this year, her general approach to a fast lifestyle has come under scrutiny. Saika holds the opinion that Covid-19 has had a positive impact in some sense as it has put a lot of ‘self-reflection’ on to people with the time spent in lockdown. She holds the opinion that ‘every aspect of your life is…rushed’ and ‘maniacal’ and that we need to ‘be more conscious of fast fashion but there needs to be other’ lifestyle changes too (Appendix A). In support of this opinion, author Trentmann states ‘people have been made to desire and buy things they do not want...people are overwhelmed with too many choices’...like a hamster on a wheel they are trapped in a spend/work/consume cycle’ (Tretmann 2016).

Although participant William has never shopped at Missguided; his perception on fast fashion in general has changed this year in response to the information on ‘social media’ that has become ‘readily available’. More so he actively discourages his family and friends to shy away from fast fashion and shop at more ‘sustainable and ethical’ brands (Appendix B). To further support the argument that perceptions on Missguided have changed the researcher conducted a survey across two Instagram accounts targeted at different followers and concluded that 68.2% of participants claimed their perceptions on Missguided had changed this year. In addition 35.75% said their changed perception was impacted by the Boohoo underpaid garment workers, in the news.

Figure 5 (Appendix F)

Figure 6 (Appendix F)

However as more people have been at home in lockdown, use of cell phones have increased with 44% of people in the UK saying that they have been on social media more (Statista 2020).

In correlation Boohoo announced a 45% increase in sales throughout March, April and May this year (Heskin 2020). With Missguided being a direct competitor of Boohoo it can be assumed that the brand saw a similar increase in sales. Business and technology student Ikrah feels ‘like a lot of fast fashion companies like Missguided are benefiting from Covid as well by pushing stuff like loungewear’(Appendix A). This suggests that consumer behaviour on Missguided may have increased this year and perceptions on the brand have stayed the same, or become more positive.

Although some participants found that social media influences them to purchase fast fashion, others explained that it educates them to stay away from brands like Missguided.

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Conclusion The aim of the dissertation research was to research, present and evaluate Missguided’s efforts into being ethical and to discover if perceptions on Missguided have changed in 2020.

Chapter 1 helps come to the conclusion that Missguided staff at the head office get treated exceptionally well. This conclusion has been brought through the analysation of the Channel 4 documentary Inside Missguided. However there is scepticism into the mental wellbeing of retail staff, which is disclosed through a primary evidence interview conducted by the researcher (Appendix C).

Further more although Missguided has several business partnerships in order to avoid garment worker exploitation; there is no first hand evidence provided on the documentary or online to showcase the worker’s conditions.

Moving on to the second chapter, it can be concluded that Missguided is quite transparent.

This is supported through the extensive and detailed information and factory list provided online. However there is little information shown regarding international workers conditions especially in regards to the risk factors associated with Covid-19 recently.

More so although Missguided claim to be encouraging the avoidance of garment disposal through their collaboration with the Regain app (Missguided 2020); there is primary evidence showing that behind the scenes of their retail stores, garments are thrown in the bin, with little consideration for the environment.

The researcher moves on to evaluate how ethical Missguided are in terms of Animals. The researcher has interviewed the Missguided CSR team that proudly claim that there has not been another case of real fur found in their stock since the 2017 mislabelling scandal. It has been discovered that the Missguided supply team take thorough testing procedures when it comes to sourcing faux furs. Furthermore they do not derive leather from exotic or rare animals, and leather is only sourced as a by product of meat (Appendix D).

In contrast to this, the extensive use of Polyester in their clothing can be a risk to marine animals. It has been made known that microfibres from Polyester have a tendency to enter oceans and therefore marine life and the food chain.

In regards to an ethical stand point it can be surmised that Missguided is an ethical brand on paper, that treat their workers at the head office with much respect. But in regards to the workers behind the scenes, and in terms of transparency there is still a lot of uncertainty.

Although Missguided have formed many progressive partnerships there is little information to suggest that this is genuine, and that policies are being followed through, especially by international manufacturers.

Finally any changing perceptions on Missguided in 2020 is discovered by the researcher through two focus groups and an online survey. The results show evidence that there has been a significant change in perception of Missguided this year in regards to news in the media. However this is subjective to the individuals personal efforts made to gain insight into the topic of fast fashion. Many individuals that have previously researched fast fashion extensively, stopped buying from brands like Missguided more than a year ago. More so participants often group together fast fashion brands in to clusters, and associate bad press with one online retailer to another one in a similar bracket.

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Recommendations and Future Studies One limitation of this project was that only one retail staff member of Missguided was interviewed. The experience of this person is not representative of the staff treatment of Missguided retail staff as a whole. Another limitation was that garment workers, working for Missguided both nationally and internationally were not interviewed. This would allow a more accurate conclusion to the question on how ethical Missguided is. In some respect it may be difficult to engage with garment workers in open conversation due to language barriers, restrictions and fear of risk.

Further more the researcher’s bias is to be taken into consideration. The researcher is a UK citizen who has had changing perceptions on fast fashion, following events occurring in the media in 2020. Media that affected the researcher’s mindsets were from Instagram as well as various news channels. The researcher has previously worked in retail and has a good understanding of fast fashion and currently interns for a Vintage fashion brand that claims to be sustainable. This may have also affected the researcher’s bias.

The foundations of this project could be used for the production of an originally creatively directed and styled campaign for an ethical fashion brand of choice. One of the many problems with fast fashion is the amount of garments disposed that can take many years to biodegrade. Further more mass production and the release of multiple collaborations and launches causes increased pressures on garment workers. Pre-owned clothing avoids the manufacturing process all together and instigates the reuse of existing garments.

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Harvard Referencing •Ahmad, T (2017). Channel 4 documentary. (Online) Available at: https://www.channel4.com/press/ news/undercover-britains-cheap-clothes-channel-4-dispatches (Accessed 07 Nov 2020).

In 2010 reporter Tazeen Ahmad exposed poor conditions in clothes factories located in Leicester. It was documented that he was paid a mere £3.50 which is illegal, to mark up zips on dresses that were being manufactured for Missguided.

•Brown, M (2011). Mark Brown study of microfibres in oceans across the globe. (Online) Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es201811s# (Accessed 06 Dec 2020).

Mark Brown’s investigation provided vital information on how a lot of the microfibres found in the ocean derive from washing Polyester. These microfibres are in turn harmful to marine life which is relevant to ethics.

•Channel 4 (2020). Inside Missguided documentary. (Online) Available at: https://www.channel4. com/programmes/inside-missguided-made-in-manchester/on-demand/70224-003 (Accessed 25 Nov 2020).

The Missguided documentary released in 2020 allowed observation of the working conditions in the head office as well as some insight into the supply chain.

•Hendriksz, V (2017). Responses to Missguided selling real fur as faux fur article. (Online) Available at: https://fashionunited.uk/news/fashion/responses-to-missguided-and-hof-selling-real-fur-asfaux/2017041124170 (Accessed 07 Nov 2020).

This article was helpful in outlining the scandal in 2017 where Missguided amongst other fast fashion brands were found to be selling real fur labelled as faux fur.

•Heskin. L (2020).Boohoo proudly announced an increase in sales of 45% during lockdown. (Online) Available at: https://www.image.ie/fashion/boohoo-fast-fashion-leicester-garment-workers-207724 (Accessed 12 Oct 2020).

Lauren Heskin a fashion journalist who researches and explores the mistreatment of workers in the UK in particular by Boohoo ltd. She states that’ Boohoo proudly announced a huge jump in sales during lockdown, ‘seeing a 45% increase through March, April and May’. This quantitative data provided an insight into the increase in online fast fashion purchases over lockdown.

•L. Cline, E. (2013) Overdressed: The shockingly high cost of cheap fashion. 2nd edn. USA: Penguin group The book follows the journey of a fast fashion consumer whose behaviours and attitudes change after uncovering first hand information on the working conditions and ethics behind the clothes she purchases.

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•Labour Behind The Label (2020). Boohoo and Covid-19: The people behind the profits report. (Online) Available at: https://labourbehindthelabel.net/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/LBL-Boohoo-WEB.pdf (Accessed 11 Oct 2020).

Labour Behind The Label are an organisation passionate about human slavery occurring in the UK. The Boohoo and Covid-19 report released in June 2020 highlights how garment workers linked to Boohoo ltd were mistreated. This mistreatment included ‘furlough fraud, low wages, modern slavery, illegal opening of factories during lockdown and illegal denial of wages’.

•Langton, K (2018). Drapers article: Retailers questioned by MP over mislabelled fake fur. (Online) Available at: https://www.drapersonline.com/news/retailers-questioned-by-mps-over-mislabelled-fake-fur (Accessed 07 Nov 2020).

This article informed the researcher further on Missguided’s previous scandal regarding animal ethics and transparency, as well as their motion moving forward from this serious issue.

•Matety, V (2020). The Sunday Times article on whistle-blower Matety. (Online) Available at: https://www. thetimes.co.uk/article/boohoos-sweatshop-suppliers-they-only-exploit-us-they-make-huge-profits-and-payus-peanuts-lwj7d8fg2 (Accessed 10 Oct. 2020).

Vidhathri Matety a journalist at The Sunday Times went undercover at a Leicester factory named Jaswal Fahion. He witnessed many shocking violations of the human rights such as illegal wages, unsanitary working conditions and lack of PPE, which he shares in this article.

•McDonough, W. & Braungart, M. (2002). Transforming the Textile Industry. Green@Work Magazine. [May/ June 2002 issue] quoted by Fiteni, B (Online) Available at: https://www.cancerincytes.org/could-our-wardrobe-contribute-to-cancer#:~:text=%E2%80%9CMost%20polyester%20is%20manufactured%20using,hot%20summer%20perspiration-invoking%20day (Accessed 08 Dec 2020).

This article was key in enlightening the researcher on factors and possible ethical issues regarding Polyester, the material which is used heavily by Missguided.

•McFall-Johnsen, M (2020). Article: These facts show how unsustainable the fashion industry is. (Online) Available at: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/01/fashion-industry-carbon-unsustainable-environment-pollution/ (Accessed 08 Nov 2020).

Junior reporter and science, business insider McFall provides statistical data in regards to some of the wasteful effects of fast fashion.

•Missguided (2020). CSR statement 2020. (Online) Available at: https://www.missguided.co.uk/csr (Accessed 07 Nov 2020).

The CSR statement provided extensive and detailed information consisting of a factory list, ethical/sustainability based partnerships, charitable partnerships, ethical strategies, future plans and international supplier percentages.

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•Statista (2020). Alexander Kunst article activities since staying at home due to pandemic. (Online) Available at: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1110483/activities-since-staying-at-home-due-to-the-covid-19-pandemic/ (Accessed 07 Dec 2020).

Quantitative, reliable data was derived from Statista to provide figures concerning a change in lockdown behaviours in the UK population.

•Trentmann, F. (2016) Empire of Things: How we became a world of consumers, from the fifteenth Century to the Twenty-first In his book Empire of Things Trentmann shares his experienced and thorough viewpoints on the history of consumption and how it has developed into the 21st Century.

•UHRP (2020). List of brands complicit to Uyghur forced labour. (Online) Available at: https://uhrp.org/ press-release/press-release-180-orgs-demand-apparel-brands-end-complicity-uyghur-forced-labour.html (Accessed 07 Dec 2020).

The Uyghur Human Rights Project provided a list consisting of fast fashion brands complicit to forced Uyghur labour happening in China at the moment. The UHRP regularly publishes reports and analytics to defend Uyghurs rights in hopes to promote human rights and democracy for Uyghurs. Forced labour has been a trending topic on the news this year and this information is relevant in regards to the investigation of changing perceptions on Missguided this year.

Image Referencing

Figure 2: Table consisting of the materials that the top 200 garments were made from, from Missguided’s ‘new in’, across 2 different weeks. Also includes average data from the 2 weeks.

Data collected by researcher

Figure 1: Missguided suppliers pie chart provided by the CSR team 2020

Figure 3: Image from Missguided’s animal welfare policiy provided by the CSR team to help identify real fur. Image showing the process of feeling fur and burning a small sample (Appendix D) Figure 4: Image from Missguided’s animal welfare policy showing additional means to identify real fur including the use of a pin (see Appendix D for more detail) Figure 5: Has news in 2020 changed your perception on Missguided? doghnut pie chart. 68.2% voted yes on the survey questionnaire. The question was answered by 192 people. (See Appendix F for more detail) Figure 6: Bar chart: Events that have affected perceptions on Missguided. The majority of participants voted for Chinese concentration camps 2020 (40.22%). This question was answered by 179 participants. (See Appendix F for more detail)

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Appendix A: Focus Group 1 Transcription

Participants: Moderator Nikhara K Ikrah A Madeline T Saika A Anon A Duration: 1 hour 5 minutes 49 seconds (Focus Group session begins)

Moderator: So hi everyone the time Is 7:07pm and the date is 17th of November 2020 Moderator: Proceeds to read out information sheet Moderator: Can everyone please just introduce yourself, just say your name?

Ikrah A : Um hi, my name’s Ikrah. I am a University student studying Business technology Moderator: Wonderful, who’s next?

Saika A: Hi I’m Saika, I recently graduated from Fashion Branding and Communication and now I am working in retail before finding a career job.

Moderator: That’s great. Who’s next?

Anon A: Hi my name’s Anon A and I’m a Psychology counselling and Psycho therapy graduate.

Moderator: That’s interesting. Who’s next?

Nikhara K: My name’s Nikhara and I recently graduated in Media and Communications and I’m working at BCU as a project officer.

Madeline T: Hi, my name’s Maddie and I am a Fashion Buying and merch student on placement year at N Brown.

Moderator: Thank you so much, so um the first question is How do you all feel generally about fast fashion?

Moderator: Ikrah would you like to start?

Ikrah A: Yeah sure so with fast fashion, I’m not gonna lie I sort of, I think, I sort of separate it out into two different sides of fast fashion. So I would separate it out to something more budget based. So like Boohoo, Missguided and Pretty Little Thing sort of where it’s like cheap cheerful clothing. And then I sort of have the other element which is more like Urban Outfitters, Zara and more like mainstream places which are also fast fashion but they sort of present it as a more- sort of like a more positive aspect of fast fashion rather than the negatives that ae associated with the word fast fashion.

Moderator: Does anyone have anything to add to that?

Anon A: Um I think recently it’s been seen as fast fashion has been seen as unethical, as like we’ve seen on Instagram and all those things. But like you said (referring to Ikrah) it’s all fashion to be honest, if we like look deep into it. It’s just because majority of people use it because probably we’re looking at the average of the world, we’ve got to think, most of us can afford fast fashion and not the high end stuff. So that’s why it’s becoming a topic because it’s like majority of the population is using it.

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Ikrah A: I feel like yeah, that’s another point. Fast fashion is just something that is accessible to the majority so it’s one of those things where it’s not an issue because most people- it appeals to most people. So it’s gonna always be popular no matter how ethical or unethical it is, because you always have the option, like you’re gonna shop from H&M and H&M is like is in quite a lot of countries like the US, the Middle East. So it’s just one of those things where they know people are gonna shop there because they are such big popular franchises.

Moderator: Yeah. Um so Nikhara, how do you feel about fast fashion?

Nikhara K: I agree with everything everyone said. It is just something that we’re all surrounded by really so we all follow the pages on social media um even on TV there’s adverts everywhere. So it’s literally just everywhere all the time.

Moderator: Yeah. Does anyone else have anything to add to that?

Madeline T: I’d probably say that it’s affected like the whole of the fashion industry in terms of how like the customer wants. It’s kind of increased demands where people are getting bored like a lot faster than what they used to.

Moderator: So do you think it’s related to short attention span? Do you think?

Madeline T: Yeah. I’d probably say it’s kind of people may need a lot um, more to get them captivated with the brand. I’d say that’s kind of like why the whole fast fashion thing has increased how much, I can’t think of the word…

Ikrah A: More like trends? Sort of like fashion trends.

Madeline T: Yeah!

Ikrah A: As soon as one trends there it’s like a popular thing, everyone replicates it and then by the time everyone’s replicated it. It’s moved on to something new.

Madeline T: Yeah. People are bored. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like literally, just like that. Then it’s also affecting other brands because we’re now programmed to be bored quite easily. So even if there not necessarily fast fashion, there’s still kind of a pressure there to create a shorter time frame.

Moderator: Saika what do you think?

Saika A: I mean I get everyone’s point with all the like fast fashion being accessible but at the same time like people say they want to kind of change that but then they’re running all of these adverts down our throat, which then. And they don’t really give us any other option in terms of any other brands or companies that don’t do fast fashion; like it’s more accessible. Everyone- not many people have the budget or income to you know have these, have these designer bags or stuff to even make that part of their working life. So, I mean it’s difficult. Obviously it’s harmful in a lot of ways but I guess it’s easy, and people just want easy at the end of the day. They just want something quick and easy because they don’t want to go out their way, when they can have it just like that.

Anon A: Not everyone can afford to Saika A: Yeah Anon A: go outside and get something that’s ethical.

Saika A: Yeah

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Anon A: They cant just drop 500 on a top, like we’ve got other responsibilities so. I think it’s- they put the blame on us. Like they put the blame on the public. Like you know everyone in the Congo or everyone in Bangladesh, that’s making our clothes, like we don’t even have the power to stop that (referring to underpaid wages). We don’t even have the knowledge to even think about can I buy something that’s more eco friendly or whatever it is. I think like you said (referring to Saika) it’s on adverts everywhere, it’s down our throats, they wanna put the blame on us but then at the same time can we do anything because at the end of the day we’re not the top 1% that can change all those relevant things or whatever it is.

Moderator: Yeah. So the next question is has your consumer behaviour towards Missguided changed at all during 2020?

Anon A: Can you repeat what you said, I couldn’t hear you?

Moderator: Yeah. Has your consumer behaviour towards Missguided changed at all during 2020? So In regards to maybe things you’ve seen in the news even the pandemic, Covid-19, lockdown um or things that are going on in the world right now? So has, has anything in 2020 changed your consumer behaviour towards Missguided or like how frequently you’ve purchased from them?

Ikrah A: I think this year has been very different for me because I can say that I have haven’t shopped from Missguided at all for like the past year and a half I’d say, so when I was in like the first two years of uni, whenever I went into uni,I like, I’d want to wear something new. I don’t wanna wear this outfit again and Missguided was one of those places where the quality wasn’t horrific for a few wears and they always had something new and something that was like sort of my style. So I used to shop quite a lot at Missguided but then it got to a point where like since leaving uni and the environment where sort of like Missguided was sort of like promoted at like freshers events along with a lot Fashion brands and there used to be sample sales as well. I feel like that’s one of the reasons why like you’d see girls around uni with like these big massive Missguided bags, and you’re like oh, I should check on Missguided because there’s probably going to be stuff on Missguided that I like if other people at uni have got stuff from there. Um and thenModerator: Would that relate to you more, because you study in Manchester and they’re obviously based in Manchester, so they’ve probably come in to visit your uni more?

Ikrah: Um yeah, I think that’s what they do for their sample sale, so I don’t think they do it at any other university besides Man Met so I think the Manchester University Of have access to the sample sales because of how it’s open to all, but they will host it at the Union. Um so they do, do quite a lot of events like that where they sell all of their samples for ridiculously low prices so you can get like a pair of jeans for a pound sometimes so it just opens up the question like, how are they able to sell their products for such low prices because they are still making a profit out of it, which is why they’ve been doing it for like the past two, three years. But the fact that they can offer to like just give away these items of clothing’s for such a low cost it does flag up quite a lot of questions.

Moderator: So your, would you say um, that your consumer behaviour over the past few years has decreased?

Ikrah A: Um yeah I’d say, when I started working at my placement I did have to dress a bit more formal, so I was shopping a lot less at Missguided. It was I’d say smart/casual sort of thing so it sort of made me buy stuff that are more like quality based and stuff that’s sort of not as trend based stuff that I can sort of like wear all the time and it can still pass off as something sort of not as trendy and as fashionable more like practical and formal if that makes sense.

Moderator: So Maddie, has anything this year um affected your consumer behaviour towards Missguided?

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Madeline T: So I think definitely the things on the tele and like the media in terms of kind of the factories.

Um I think it was like a few years before 2020, I can’t remember what documentary it was but I did watch something, it was a similar vibe. I think it included like Boohoo as well. Um but I think it’s, I think I just started really didn’t want to support that kind of thing like how they have illegal workers and they have no worker rights. I think they don’t even charge like a low (high in terms of garment price) enough amount. Like if Primark can keep a little bit of transparency between their factories. I mean they’re not hardly very ethical but like they’ve tried to like improve on their ethics and sustainability whereas if like fast fashion can’t, then I think that says something.

Moderator: When you, when I went into Primark they had um like a sustainable section and even had clothing made out of recycled clothing, but Missguided don’t have that at all.

Madeline T: No, it’s like there not willing to, and even with the bad press, it’s kind of like they’re just not willing to change because whatever they’re doing is still working and I think until the demand goes like with Primark, like had a lot of boycotting a few years ago, um I just don’t think they’re going to change really.

Moderator: Yeah. That’s a wonderful answer. Does anybody else have anything else to add? Like has anything significant this year changed how much you purchased, or how frequently you purchased from Missguided?

Ikrah A: I feel like a lot of like fast fashion companies like Missguided are benefiting from Covid as well by pushing stuff like loungewear and more like sort of like outfits you wear at home like joggers and stuff, so you know for a fact that as soon as you open the app or once lockdown has sort of been announced, they’ll send you that email saying come shop our comfy loungewear or they’ll sort of use Covid as their sort of new marketing ploy to sort of get you to click in and sort of buy from them.

Moderator: Yeah, I definitely agree.

Anon A: I think everything has to do with like, I’m going to mention this a lot but I think capitalism and marketing, so whatever you choose to buy they’re going to make more money like regardless and as soon as we all boycott it or all are protesting don’t do it in Pakistan or something , like don’t make kids work in Pakistan or Bangladesh. They’re gonna move it to a different country. And we’re gonna forget about it until we remember that and we do that again. But it’s just like a formal- they don’t really care, anything they do is just to make us like temporarily like happy. Like just happy for a short amount of time or whatever it is. So yeah I’ve kinda stopped buying from Missguided a few years ago. I’m getting more like thrifted kind of clothes and stuff. But I think that was just personally just more of like my choice. It wasn’t because of the whole thing going on, because I understood why Uni students would go to Missguided and buy something because it is more affordable. Like I wouldn’t wanna say to someone don’t shop there cos like you can’t tell someone where there moneys gonna go right? Like who are we to say that you can’t shop there because there doing this and that, like yo I got a job that gives me £5 an hour, I can’t shop anywhere else. (inaudible) It’s just like capitalism and how they can please (the) average population of people.

Moderator: Yeah Ikarh A: Because they know they’re like such a big company that they’re going to be making the money regardless whether they are ethical or not ethical. Even though it is something that is brought, I’d say is more of a trend now to be ethical if they know that if they can sort of sweep it under the rug they will.

Anon A: It’s like vegan, like now everything’s vegan. They don’t care about vegans. They know Madeline T: Hmm what’s gonna sell.

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Anon A: - what’s going to sell. And they’re gonna be like wait, this is going to sell let’s do vegan makeup or whatever it is. And then they do that. Watch in like 20 years fast foods gonna be the trend, then everyone’s gonna make fast food places. But right now everyone’s making vegan places. Because they know what’s hip and cool right now, just they know what they’re doing.

Moderator: At the same time, I feel like not everyone um kind of was aware of the events and what’s been happening this year, um which is totally understandable. But um Saika and Nikhara, do you guys have you guys purchased from Missguided this year? (inaudible) Or has anything in the media changed your perception, do you feel like you um, has it really?

Saika A: I mean I have not really shopped there for a good for like a long time now anyways. I just-It just doesn’t appeal to me anyway and Its not something I would buy and wear but um I’m not really I don’t know.

Sorry.

Moderator: Do you feel like your style is different from that?

Saika A: Yeah, I think more so it’s just not my style. But I don’t know in terms of like oh what’s going on in the media , if to do with like Covid, that’s something that, I’ve not been doing online shopping only cos obviously recently, there’s a lot of place that haven’t been having work. Because obviously I was working in retail and they’ve you know laid me off till they open again. But I think that’s the only reason why – I wouldn’t even shop there anyways, but that’s the reason why I haven’t been online shopping. But in terms of like if you look at social media and things like that I think a lot of damage also goes to like influencers when they promote it, like I mean I’ve heard now, like you were saying how there’s a lot of like controversy with how they’re treating their workers and stuff but the influencers they have, either they don’t care or they don’t know. But I think there needs to be more voice in terms of that. Because if they knew, I’m sure half of them wouldn’t be promoting something like that, like there’s still to this day, people on Instagram are like promoting and wearing it, Missguided, Missguided. But if they’re doing all of this, I’m sure people would’ve would think twice about this.

Moderator: Yeah, Nikhara what about you?

Nikhara K: Um, well I have bought from there recently, but you could argue that it is fast fashion, so like if you’re looking for something you can just buy it and get it the next day. Um, I’m just trying to think of what else really. I think it’s just mainly the fast factor but I know it is wrong like the process behind it and stuff. But then it’s just like people are still influenced, um you know like the influencers are still selling it still. So then It’s like why are they still promoting it still when it’s wrong.

Ikrah A: With that, I feel like you as a consumer you should be able to buy what you want to buy. So that’s not an issue, I feel like the issue is at the organisational level where these organisations they should be the ones making the conscious effort to be ethical, but they’re just not. So it shouldn’t be the consumers fault. Because we, how are we to know the ins and outs of organisations, I guess when it comes to that that’s where it brings in the consumer element. Because that’s the only thing that’s going to impact change. But it’s got to the point where that is the only thing that can make a change. But it shouldn’t be if that makes sense. It should be an organisational decision from the get go like. We don’t wanna exploit, we don’t wanna do this, do that. But instead it’s not something that’s considered on such like huge mass production scales.

Moderator: Yeah. Also like, all of you guys may have been more impressionable when you were younger and more influenced by influencers that like purchased from Missguided. Would you say that’s true?

Anon A: Personally, I wouldn’t, but I understand that kids having social media and seeing all the celebrities on there. Because social media’s, like we’re all 20 plus right? So these 14 year olds, little boys and girls are just gonna, like social media’s so common now for them, like for us it was more like we kind of got it.

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(Time limit extended by Zoom) Anon A: What I was saying is like everyone is more impressionable, because we grew up with social media.

Like ours we kind of got it when we were like 12 or soemthing.

Ikrah A: See, I’m not gonna lie, if I see like a post and I see someone’s got something like a cute pair of sunglasses, and they’re tagged as Missguided. So I’d see the sunglasses and I’d be like oh my gosh they’re so cute, in my head I’d instantly think where are they from. And then, I feel like say for example they were Missguided only because of like the brand reputation it does sort of put me off a little bit but if I really wanted them, say for example I was going on holiday, really wanted those sunglasses. I’m not gonna like I would be more inclined to buy them. So It’s one of those things like if I sometimes do really want something, and I need it, well ‘need it’ being, my own personal sort of wants then I would get it. But most of the time like say for example if I wasn’t going on holiday and didn’t need the sunglasses, so I’d just be like no um there’s no point in me buying these because there sort of first of all don’t really like the brand that much and I feel like I wouldn’t get usage out of it as well, so what’s the point in investing into something if I’m not gonna wear it like at least a few times.

Moderator: Yeah. So what does the word ethical generally mean to all of you, like what words come to mind is it, it could be race, sustainability, environmental um environmental things, it could be literally anything?

Um. So what, what words come to your mind, when you think of the word ethical?

Madeline T: Conscious.

Anon A: Your moral compass, so yeah your conscious basically.

Madeline T: Snap Saika A: I would say like treating your workers fairly. Like equal pay, treating like -having breaks, lunches, treating them fairly regardless of their gender. Cos obviously some times, places they still have the pay gap, but. Yeah ethical that’s what I think.

Ikrah A: I’d go along the same lines, I’d say being ethical is doing something that you believe is right, not just for yourself but for others. So it’s just having that like that balance where everyone’s sort of treated fairly.

Nikhara K: Yeah, I was gonna say the same thing, is it right? Is it acceptable mainly?

Moderator: Do you guys all have a piece of paper and pen at hand?

Madeline T: Yeah (participants gather pen and paper apart from Anon A, who thinks of word in their head but is told by the moderator to keep the word the same) Moderator: If you can just take um, maybe like 20 seconds or something to- what one word comes to your mind when you think of Missguided?

Nikhara K: What did you say?

Moderator: (Repeats question) Moderator: Is everyone ready?

Madeline T: Yeah

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Moderator: Yeah? Orite so let’s do a countdown. Anon A, you can just say yours out loud, when I get to 5 or whatever. But yeah. 3, 2, 1 go.

Ikrah A: Sorry were me meant to reveal that at the same time?

Moderator: Yeah, lets do that again, Anon A just say yours out loud. (proceeds to repeat countdown) Anon A: Unethical Maddison T: Rip off Ikrah A: Yep, I’ve got unethical too Moderator: What did everyone else have sorry, I can’t see.

Nikhara K: I put clothes.

Moderator: Clothes; Saika what did you put?

(Saika unmutes microphone) Saika A: I put trendy, like following trends, they follow a lot of trends.

Moderator: Do you have a piece of aper that you can just hold it, because I might just screen shot it.

(Participants who have not already, write down the word) Moderator: Ikrah while we’re waiting, what was your word again?

Ikrah A: U unethical Moderator: Um. So what was the reason behind that?

Ikrah A: So, like I said, it all builds on the fact that fast fashion, it’s sort of like the rate these companies like are producing things for them just to be put into sale like a week or two weeks later and for like trends to be changed so fast it’s sort of like, it’s like a Kardashian will wear something and then two days later they’ve got a replica of it on like Missguided’s website, it just flags the whole question of like how quick they would have had to demand this from their suppliers.

Moderator: Sorry, can you all send me a picture, can you just write it down afterwards and send me a picture so it’s clearer. (participants agree) Sorry ikrah, you can carry on.

Ikrah A: Yeah so as I was saying it’s sort of like those things, If you look at the relationships they must have with their suppliers for them to be demanding such high changing things and I feel like it just further emphasises like on social media itself when there’s been all these issues with like suppliers not getting paid, working conditions being horrific, child labour and it’s all of those things. I know for a fact myself that when I buy something I don’t check the label to see where it’s from. The only time I ever notice is like if I’ve allready bought something and then I like wanna wash it, I just check sort of like what washing temperature it is and that’s when I sort of notice oh my gosh, this is made in Pakistan, this is made in India or this was made in like Bangladesh. xiii

And I feel like as consumer it’s something that we never check, and it’s something that we should be checking because that’s like, that’s sort of like a red flag isn’t it. If you see something like from a big brand like All Saints that’s made in India or Bangladesh it just asks that question like is this brand ethical? Or is there like is there something like that’s not as open that they’re not sort of communicating towards is this made under fair working conditions?

Moderator: Anon A, what was your answer?

Anon A: So I was gonna say, at first I was gonna say trend, um and that’s because everyone just follows the trend, whatever the trend is. But what ikrah was saying about the unethical thing, I was just thinking how because they’re such a big company if we’re all saying stop making clothes in Bangladesh and India then these people won’t have jobs and they’ll just be moving on to the next country. But then it’s that bit where it’s like we can, if we all stop shopping there, these kids don’t even have a job. And for them it’s like I don’t care I’m sewing this, like I need to make a living and feed myself or whatever it is and cos these companies are not going to make it ethical over there they’re just going to move on to another country so it’s just about these organisations.

Moderator: Yeah Anon A: Its’ not about the consumer, it’s about the organisation.

Moderator: Thank you for that. So Maddison what was your answer?

Madeline T: Um I put rip off. (laughs). Not in terms of like price obviously because I mean it’s not. But um, just in terms of how they rip off people’s designs and they rip off like their workers and they technically rip off the people that buy from them because in turn they’ve got kind of all of this badness behind it. Like how the clothes are made, so I’d probably just say that like I couldn’t think of another word.

Moderator: Yeah. I love that Madeline T: Taking advantage of things basically, to work for them Moderator: Yeah, Like not being original would you say?

Madeline T: Yeah, yeah.

Moderator: Okay. Saika, what was your answer?

Saika A: So I put trendy only because I feel like in terms of other brands where they have like high street/high end, they always kinda mock them and copy them, and they make it into a trend. And try to make everyone else who can’t afford the more expensive products, to obviously buy into their brands and trends. So that’s what I put.

Moderator: Thank you. So NikharaIkrah A: I think fake also feeds into that a little bit so.

Saika A: Yeah Ikrah A: It offers that alternative to like trend, you can like Prada sort of shaped bags but they just won’t be Prada but it’s just the price difference is just so much more accessible. Like that’s just it people are gonna initially gonna think I’m gonna get this because it’s like this.

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Moderator: Yeah. So Nikhara what was your word, was it clothes?

Nikhara K: Yeah clothes, because I associate the brand with clothes so that’s what they make. So just a simple one.

Moderator: Orite cool. Um, So if you could get out your piece of paper again. So if you can just write down on a scale of 1-10 how ethical would you rate Missguided, from your knowledge?

Ikrah A: Are we all going to show it at the same time, I’m guessing.

Moderator: So has everyone got it?

(Inaudible) Moderator: Is everyone ready?

Ikrah A: Yep Moderator: Okay, so if everyone could reveal that in 3,2,1 go.

Ikrah A: 4 Moderator: Saika, what’s yours sorry?

Madeline T: I just put 1 Moderator: What does that say Saika? (microphone muted) Anon A: Saika’s one said 20% Moderator: Oh 20%?

Ikrah A: So 2 Moderator: Um so Ikrah, what was yours? Was it 1?

Ikrah A: No I did a 4 Moderator: Oh Okay so what’s your reasoning behind that?

Ikrah A: So I guess my reasoning behind that is, because I tried to think of it on a larger organisational point, so I’d say they are unethical with their like factory workers and manufacturing but they within the actual organisation itself they do have elements of like work ethic. So it’s like Missguided, they’ve got their offices in Manchester and it’s like umm and, I think it was Missguided but I feel like they’re one of the companies that when you actually work for them they do have a lot of employee benefits for the actual employees. I think they sort of like do social wellbeing events where they bring cookies into the office and like the workers can get their nails done on one day and I think on Valentines day and stuff like that there’ll be like roses for the workers and stuff so. I’d say that’s pretty ethical because they are sort of like encouraging and sort of treating their employees well. I understand it’s not all employees which is why I’d give it a 4 because I’d say it’s a small minority of employees that are getting that sort of like treatment and I think that’s mainly because of laws and regulations and these are the designers as well so they are treated well because the business relies on them a lot more than manufacturers. Because like Anon A said, they can just go to another country where the manufacturing rates going to be inexpensive and low cost as well so that’s why I kept it as 4 because I feel like a majority of the business is unethical but they do have certain aspects that are obviously working well for them especially like based on the actual company itself and the Manchester office and stuff like that.

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Moderator: Thank you so much. Nikhara what was your answer?

Nikhara K: So mine was the same, 4 again. Following on what Ikrah said. I’d just say it’s the same with the whole process with the manufacturing mainly it’s that what’s scored it lower. With, like if you did go and work there you would feel comfortable and everything. Um it’s mainly just behind the scenes and the actually making of the clothing.

Moderator: Wonderful. Saika what was your answer?

Saika A: So I put down 20% only because I didn’t know all the in depth things that are actually going on. And also with the ethical standards I don’t think, we think this much of it but at the end of the day there’s so much that we might not even know, and I don’t know. It’s hard to measure ethics, in terms of us, people that are outside the company. Obviously people that are inside the company know of a lot more. Because we don’t know exactly what’s going on, in terms of different countries as well like for example, like you said here would be a lot easier and better if you worked here but if you were working in the warehouses in a different country then it would be a lot more harder on you and it’s different, like it can be measured differently, but.

Moderator: Yep, thank you. Maddie what did you put down?

Madeline T: I put 1 but to be fair I agree with some of the points made before, like about the workers um like in the head office. I do like agree with, because I don’t know if anyone else watched that Manchester, not Manchester, it was Missguided, like Inside Missguided documentary, on like Channel 4? Um and like everyone was pretty happy to be there. They did like treat their workers well like so, I would maybe change that to a 2, but the only reason why I did give it a 1, is because I was trying to think of any way they’ve shown ethics, and I literally couldn’t. Apart from um, obviously now you’ve now made the point about the head office and I’ve just not based that necessarily on the factories but also what they’ve done for the fashion industry in general. Like fast fashion and the pressure that’s putting on the like environment and so not only kind of people ethics but there’s also has an impact on environmental ethics like landfill. I think they introduced the whole wear once and never again kind of think. Like wear It for Instagram and then bin it, just because it’s so cheap.

Um so I would definitely say, obviously it isn’t just Missguided, I’d say that’s kinda of a fast fashion thing as a whole. And the fact that there isn’t really any thought into where their clothes are coming from like on the documentary ‘Inside Missguided’ which isn’t necessarily, or wasn’t necessarily done to paint them in a bad light like at all. But they literally did not care, what was needed to be done to get the clothes there at the right time. So I think that kind of attitude of not caring and like it’s kind of by any means necessary has had like a larger affect not only on kind of like individuals that say work in the factories but the industry like as a whole.

Moderator: Yeah. Anon A, you also said 1 didn’t you?

Anon A: Yeah I think I the reason why I said 1 was, um because I get that it’s cheap for everyone. So I think that’s a good thing I guess, cos obviously everyone can afford it and get it. And like the workers getting treated because like obviously in Manchester getting jobs because of it. But then it doesn’t outweigh the fact that the environmental issues and then, them exploiting kids around the world. Just because we’re okay doesn’t mean it’s okay. That Is happening over there right? And then you have all that, and then I keep mentioning capitalism and how no matter what they’re just gonna get there way with it and make more of their money on that. And I think that’s just like every billionaire company to be honest. They’re just gonna get away with it so, like and like what Saika said, like we don’t know what else they are doing to be honest. We’re only seeing what they wanna show us. So there’s a lot of more unethical stuff that has gone through that all these billionaire companies are doing, it’s not just Missguided.

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Ikrah A: Do you not feel like with social media now a days that’s where, these big corporations are getting caught out so like when they cancel their contracts with all these factories or they requested garments to be made but didn’t pay for them. And it was the actual like people that who were sort of involved in that process that didn’t happen to them directly, but they were the ones that sort of brought this to life, if that makes sense? Do you not feel like with social media now that it’s sort of, we are exposed to a lot more? Obviously we won’t be exposed to everything but as a consumer we have that means of sort of like where if something is really really wrong, it is sort of like pushed to the forefront of social media.

Anon A: But then it’s forgotten about, because like we said it’s just a trend and there’s then something else next week that people are going to be worried about, and then they’re going to be worried about something else. Like we’re just so, we just like instant gratification, and like just quick fixes, and we just want this and then we’re gonna forget about it and post this on our stories but we’re gonna forget about it. It just becomes that cycle. That’s why when I don’t believe it’s the consumers that are wrong in that, it is the upper like organisations. By posting loads of adverts on Instagram and stuff and like if you’ve watched social dilemma, you can see that whatever’s posted on adverts plays on your emotions and as much as you don’t think about it, if you are seeing um bad things, about fast fashion or whatever it is, it’s just gonna be in your head. Or if you keep seeing the adverts popping up it’s gonna be in your head, and they know what they’re doing, they know that’s a way to get people to shop with them.

Moderator: Following on from that, um often when it comes to fashion or any business it’s about supply and demand, so do you think if consumers try and change maybe their mindset or their behaviours um. Do you think that can help in terms of ethics um? Like how important do you think it is for consumers to shop more consciously, to maybe shop less or invest in sustainable clothing in the future. Because sustainable clothing can cost more but if you think about it, with Missguided you might get like £20 clothes for £100. Um but do people wear it again and again, maybe not? Whereas with sustainable clothing you might be able to get a whole tracksuit for £100 but someone might wear that multiple times. So slow fashion can be seen as an investment, so how important do you think it is for consumers to change their behaviours in the future?

Anon A: Can I say something? Personally I think it’s actually changed my life to buy more things that last better so I stopped shopping at Primark and like Missguided and stuff just because after I started getting a job I thought okay, let me get good quality pair of trousers, good quality pair of tops or whatever it is, and it might cost a bit more but it was lasting a lot longer like I could wear it for the year and it wasn’t get ruined, but with Missguided and Boohoo I was wearing it once and it would get ruined. Um so I think in the long run you save more money. But then I don’t want to be ignorant to think that everyone has that possibility to you know get clothes that will cost £100. Because people need to spread out their money sometimes especially when we’re young, like we can’t spend £100 straightaway.

Moderator: What brands do you shop from, or do you like thrift? Cos you said they’re more expensive?

Anon A: That’s a, I wouldn’t say it’s more like expensive, I just thought about quality instead.

Ikrah A: Same I’m a lot more quality focused as well like so yeah I would happily pay like £100 for a hoodie, if I knew that hoodie- the quality’s not gonna get compromised after a few washes. So it’s like I said I stopped shopping at Missguided over a year ago and now places I shop at are a lot more expensive than Missguided.

But I still feel like they fit into the element of fast fashion. So um All Saints is my example last time, I think a few of their garments are made in Pakistan, India. Even brands like Nike who, they are fast fashion. I would say they are more like luxurious. But from Missguided sort of like pricing to Nike pricing, where a pair of leggings can cost you £50. It’ll still be like their products can still be made in Pakistan, their products will still be made-so I feel like with me the whole process of fast fashion, I thought like Urban Outfitters as well. I can go to Urban Outfitters and buy 100% cotton jeans and I’d be thinking to myself like wow these are 100% cotton or they’ll say something like recycled or um I don’t think they do say ethically sourced per say. But I do think as soon as you see something that’s like 100% cotton they sort of make it a lot more like, they brand it a lot more like airy, and like eco friendly and stuff so you’d think that it’s ethical but in reality it’s not really it’s just the way they branded the items that they’re selling.

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Moderator: I think Urban Outfitters recently have introduced a pre worn section, sometimes I will see it.

Ikrah A: Yeah but like I said I feel like that’s within Urban Outfitters themselves. They still stock Nike they still stock sort of these other fast fashion brands but because they’ve got that market of like people who are more inclined to, it’s like me, it’s like how I said, I saw the 100% cotton and I thought awh these are going to be good quality jeans so I’m gonna buy these, I don’t care how much they cost per say so it’s one of those things where, Urban Outfitters targets such a huge audience. Like it doesn’t just target people who are into like mainstream fashion items, it targets like everyone because that’s what business’ want to do especially like bigger, global business’. So it’s just the way they brand and market stuff. So they try to sort of like paint over it so you think that aw yeah this is gonna be good, this is environmentally friendly, this is this. But then it sort of, just doesn’t sort of defy from the fact that they do sort of have elements of the business itself which are unethical.

Moderator: Yeah, so Nikhara and Saika, um you might want me to repeat the question but how important do you think it is for consumers to shop more consciously, or to shop less, or to invest in sustainable clothing in the future? How important do you think that is?

Saika A: Um, I think, obviously I think, Maddie touched on it when she said about the landfills and things like that, if they shopped more ethically and were more mindful in terms of when buying things then places like the landfill wouldn’t be so corrupt with all of these clothes that don’t need to be there and are just polluting the earth and it’s just creating all of this other habit that can be easily go in a different way, so I think if they were to- even just save up like. You know like a lot of things, like I think with me, like Anon A was saying they would save money and then buy one or would by a couple of things; but I think still like me I would prefer buying a bunch of things because I know that I like having different things to wear and it probably is smarter to just to have a few things in the wardrobe that are more like wearable. But like I think that’s just my own mentality on that and I need to change and think about what would be better for the environment and not just things that I wanna wear and be different wearing cos I think places like Instagram, I think a lot of people wanna wear something different. Like if they wanna post something, it’s not going to be something that they’ve already worn. Because they’re like Oh my God, I’ve already worn that, I don’t want everyone to see that I’ve already worn it. So I think people should obviously stop that mentality and everything isn’t just oh-something new, something different. So. Ikrah A: I feel like, the question that you asked, it’s one of those things where, people-there are people in the world that exist that will solely buy ethical clothes and it’s like the older generation, so like my dad for example, he’d buy like his Ralph Lauren, his Timberland, and be like I had these shoes for 5 years. And he’ll always sort of be like yeah the qualities always better than like fast fashion. But I feel like fast fashion is something that is like sort of forced into us from like, it’s part of like our generation trends, it’s something like you can’t avoid, you can’t- say for example you did want something ethical, can you even think of- can any of us even think of a brand that is solely ethical? No because we’re taught-like the only brands we’re actually exposed to are the fast fashion industry brands if that makes sense. So there will be a percentage of people in the world that will solely buy ethical, there will be a percentage that concentrates on quality but it’s just the target audience for people who want fast fashion is just so huge, and it’s just something that you feel that you don’t have any other options for. If that makes sense so it’s just something that’s just always there, it’s like subconscious.

Social media has impacted, everyone uses social media, it’s like a huge percentage, it’s so popular because it’s the majority, and I feel like we as a, our age group and being female fit into that sort of majority population, sort of quota where that’s all we see and that’s sort of like what we’ve been targeted to see.

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Moderator: Yeah, so I think we’re slowly coming to the end, um so finally Nikhara what do you think, do you have anything to add to that?

Nikhara k: Um so I’d say with sustainability, it’s a lot more popular now and it’s becoming like a trend within itself so like ASOS are selling sustainable range, so it is important and I think for climate change as well, um it’s just important to wear sustainable clothes just so you could save on the environment for the future. Um I know some brands like H&M if you give in your clothes that they will recycle them and stuff so I think that is important and then you get a voucher back from that so it’s kind of good to see that they’re incorporating sustainability within their brand as well.

Moderator: Yeah, In response to that- this is the final question, would you think Missguided; because you all kind of rated Missguided 4 or less on how ethical it is. What do you think Missguided can do in the future to become um more ethical, or do you think Missguided should just go?

Madeline T: Slow down on production and have more transparency on their supply chain and where their things are coming from, I think.

Ikrah A: See I feel like for Missguided for example if they started manufacturing within the UK, rather than in all these third world countries, where they’re getting lower rates, I’d say at the current way that trends are going it’ll be the only way for them to survive unless they do somehow manage to curate and withhold a ethical agreement with these manufacturers in all these other countries, but I feel like with fast fashion – Moderator: I think they do have ethical agreements and policies with the international suppliers, as well as ones in Leicester butIkrah A: But they’d be differentModerator: -manufacturers don’t always follow policies.

Ikrah A: But like, It’s like, it’s different in the fact that say for example paying the minimum living wage here, it’s probably different to the minimum living wage in India, if that makes sense so. It’s just having that sort of moral compass which I don’t think they have, but it’s like if you think about it fast fashion, like Missguided brands like Missguided, Boohoo have only been around for the past 4 years or so. I don’t know if that’s from like where they started or what, but I feel like for them to survive and for them to sort of like stay in the loop of being popular big organisations, that teenagers or their target audience shops at they would need to go to some meet in the middle, because everything is based on trends so fast fashion as an industry has been increasingly popular but there will be a time where that sort of dies down whether that’s 5 or 10 years and if they do want to sort of remain competitive and still survive as a business they need to do something to change that.

Moderator: Thank you, so Saika what do you think? What can Missguided do to be more ethical in the future?

Saika A: Um, just be more mindful the way they treat their staff. Be obviously their breaks and their wages need to obviously be different. And also a bit of a segway but I think in terms of like the ethics of this before like and I think a lot of people like that work 9-5 and are really, really busy all the time. It’s hard to Maintain an ethical lifestyle because there’s so much going on so before that happens, for a lot of people, there needs to be a more- there needs to be a change in the way we think about things not everything needs to be fast, fast, fast. . Like, It’s not just fashion that is fast fashion, like loads everything, like every aspect of your life is like, going to work, rushing, like everything is rushed and before I think fast fashion needs to happen I think you literally, I think, it’s good- it’s kind of good that Covid, in a different kind of sense but, with Covid happening now,

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I think it’s definitely put a lot of like self reflection on to people because it’s almost made them think of not just what they buy and they wear but what they actually you know what they kind of read and what they kind of do to themselves, because at the end of the day everything is so maniacal all the time, you need to make sure to obviously make time for yourself and figure out what you want to do. So I think a lot of-yeah it makes sense for people to kind of want to do, be more conscious of fast fashion but there needs to be other things, other changes, I think.

Moderator: Yeah. I really like that. So you feel as if Covid 19 and the pandemic like forced people to reflect more and just think about slowing down?

Saika A: Yeah, yeah Moderator: Right, thank you. Nikhara?

Nikhara K: Yeah so it’s mainly for the time really I think for the workers- are going to be under pressure constantly um and it’s not gonna be nice for them is it, if someone is like you need to this now, nagging them to do it; and they’re also working long hours as well so I think that just definitely needs to be changed and the pay again.

Moderator: Yep. Thank you. Anon A finally what do you think?

Anon A: Yeah um. Just the pay increase, it doesn’t have to be necessarily in the UK, but the pay increase in the other countries that are making the clothes. And like having-we’ve seen the conditions as well like where they work, they don’t have air con and it’s not safe and the ceilings falling and whatever it is. So safety measures where they are working needs to be put in place and they also need to get sick pays just like us, they need to get their minimum wage and whatever it is just like us, just like that. And um like we said like everything is like all companies would be rated 4 and under, just like our laptops and our phones. Everything’s fast like even our phones we get them straight away. The new I phone comes out every other month or whatever it is.

So they know that people- it’s like we all just got ADHD after getting social media. Like we all love fast things.

And um there’s studies that have shown that children now that, are getting ADHD because of how like fast everything is like coming.

Moderator: Do you feel like us as consumers need to control our desires more?

Anon A: I guess so. I don’t know. I thinkIkrah A: But do you not think that’s like the organisations fault though because they’re tryna like, it’s like Apple and Iphones is the good example because you know for a fact that pre releases in September and by October I can buy my phone, do you get what I mean. So it’s like I’ve always had an I phone and it’s just one of those things whereas, and I’ve always tended to go for the newest I phone whereas this year, is the only year where I’m like no I refuse to buy into the I phone 12 pro. I don’t need it, my phone works completely fine now, whereas, I feel like that’s more of a conscious decision from myself whereas if it was me a year ago I would be like oh yeah, I know I want it so I’m gonna get it type of thing. So you know things are, things now are being built and are being made and created to last for a shorter amount of time period because there’s always gonna be something new, there’s always gonna be a substitution, there’s always gonna be an improved version of it that you can get.

Anon A: A big, big problem with the fashion industry, cos we’re talking about fashion- this like goes out to any company but just fashion related- If one person stops, or if one big company decides right, let’s do everything like this way. Um then we all get happy and we’re all gonna shop there and then all the other companies are gonna have to follow. Um so if they do, do that, they can start like a trend within whatever their competition. It’s kinda like makeup, as soon as everyone wanted Vegan makeup, everyone went Vegan with their makeup now.

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You won’t see makeup brands that are like harmful to animals anymore. So I think that’s what fashion needs to do. Once one person, one big company makes that change, everyone’s gonna follow that because they know that’s the root that societies taken was on, but like I said they don’t really care about the people, it’s more about what looks good on the paper, what looks good on Instagram.

Moderator: Yeah, I understand what you’re saying and you’ve all given really great answers today. Thank you so much for giving your time and I will be sending you all a debrief form, and if you have any more questions please feel free to email me, and does anyone have any other comments that they’d like to make, before this ends?

Moderator: No? Orite. Thank you so much, it’s been really helpful and yeah thank you, email me if you’ve got any questions.

(Focus Group session ends)

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Appendix B: Focus Group 2 Transcription Participants Tate Wolverson Thomas Evans William James Patrick Ashe Lauren R Talbot Duration 32 minutes 44 seconds Focus Group Session Begins Moderator: So the date is the 23rd of November 2020 and the time is 5:07 pm and now I’m just going to read out the information sheet. (proceeds to read out Information sheet) Moderator: First of all please can you all just introduce yourself and your job title, like your internship or job title?

Laren T: Take it away guys Thomas E: Who’s going first?

Tate W: Okay so I’m Tate Wolverson and I’m applying to go to Uni. Moderator: Who’s next?

Tate W: Handing it over to Tom Thomas E: I’m Tom and I run Area Eighteen which is a vintage fashion brand.

Moderator: Thank you.

Lauren T: I am Lauren and I work for Tom’s fashion brand as the E-commerce assistant.

William A: I’m Will and I’m an intern at Area Eighteen and also a barman.

Moderator: Thank you. So the first question is how do you all feel generally about fast fashion?

Moderator: Tom, would you like to start since you’re the head of a vintage brand, you may have a strong opinion?

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Thomas E: How do I feel about fast fashion in general? Um I think it’s an industry that’s very um that is very exploitative- if that’s the word, um and. Yeah it’s a very exploitative industry, um, both works against the planet and the people it’s not a very sustainable model for people in general.

Moderator: Thank you Lauren T: I agree with Tom, um I actually stopped buying from fast fashion last Christmas, and before buying from any brand I always check up on it on a site called Good On You, which will tell you- which will give you a rating out of five on how ethically it is. And I always tend to find that fast fashion brands um, often score very very um, because of the effects they have on the planet, um the fact that there clothes, um, are made quickly and not efficiently. And they’re extremely wasteful because they’ve got a consistently changing level of stock, um and they, the way they treat their workers is not great; like they don’t look into worker wellbeing and fair pay. Um unless they’ve received some sort of pressure um from the public.

Moderator: Thank you.

William A: Yeah, I agree with all of that as well, and then on top of that a lot of fast fashion brands copy from small independent artists and designers and steal ideas so as far as I’m concerned I associate it all with all those bad things. I’ve moved away from shopping (fast fashion), and I try not to at all if I can.

Tate W: Yeah, pretty much the same, I think this year, well I stopped buying fast fashion- it’s been about a year but it wasn’t until this year that I really started looking into a little bit more, kind of figuring out for myself why it was bad and what it does. I think unless you do that research yourself you’re not gonna know, because even I think that, a lot of brands are now doing, I think it’s called green washing. I think it is? Which is where they’ll have like a range where it’s like this is our ethical range or our conscious range and it really more or less isn’t. It’s just- I mean I’ve not done much research on that but it just seems like you’re trying to appeal to this kind of, like people like us.

Where it’s like you’re actually still exploiting people because you’re making us believe that you’re doing something good by buying you’re ethical range, when really it’s not. It’s still the same thing.

Moderator: Yeah, so have you guys purchased from Missguided or any fast fashion brands this year, and has your behaviour towards fast fashion brands or Missguided changed at all this year, and was it anything in the media or what was it that impacted that?

Thomas E: I haven’t bought fast fashion since literally I was about 19, 19/20. So my opinions on fast fashion has been like that for a long time. Um but this year there’s been a lot of stuff in the news about um how not so much Missguided, but Boohoo I think, but I think they’re the same sort of thing anyway, um about how much they pay their workers cos it’s something like, even in this country it’s something like £3 an hour in some of their factories. And they were made to work in, like, during like the Corona virus pandemic, which is not vibes. Um yeah so that kind of, if I wasn’t against fast fashion anyways, that is kind of like the last thing.

Lauren T: Yeah, I definitely agree, I have not personally bought from these brands, however, um I was given a Missguided jumper as a gift from a friend and found that in comparison to the other clothes which I tend to buy which our usually vintage items, um the quality was not good, um I ended up giving it away again, um to a charity um and I was very curious on aforementioned Good

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On You, who said that it’s um a brand to be avoided, um they are one of the most along side Boohoo and Primark, they are the, one of the most, wasteful brands based in the UK, um their slogan revolves around empowering women, however there is a 49% pay gap between the male and female staff, favouring the men and men are more inclined to be promoted um and additionally to that it claims not to use- they claim not to use muzzled sheep, um they do not have prime sourced leather so leather normally is sort of used as outside of the meat industry and is taken so as not to be wasteful. Um and claim that they do not use real fur, however in 2017 a string of high streets brands including Primark, New Look, all the sort of fast fashion monsters that are out there on the high-street including Missguided and Boohoo um used real fur pom poms to accessorise their clothing. Um which was massively kept under wraps, and I think if more people knew that, they definitely wouldn’t buy. But just in my opinion there are better brands out there and it’s a lot more worthwhile spending your money, however cheap these items of clothing may be. Um it’s uch better to save up £40 instead of getting 4 pairs of poor quality jeans, get one pair of jeans that will last you 3 years and you’re paying into a much better industry.

Tate W: Yeah, um, Lauren’s got all the facts there. Um. Just a little note on that like the same with me I don’t shop fast fashion and I haven’t for about a year but whenever I’ve gone into charity shops and vintage things like that um, when I am sort of looking through I’ll find something where I’ll like that and pick it up, I’ll feel it , I automatically know that this is from a fast fashion place and I’ll look and the quality will be terrible and it will be Missguided or Top shop or New Look or H&M or something a long those lines and, I, I try not to buy them now cos even the label of that fashion brand makes me kind of feel a bit sick. So I would rather find a label that I don’t know, if I don’t know where it’s from then usually I’d be more inclined to buy it. Oh this is a ore vintage item and you know, not to say it’s more ethical but if you’re buying it from a charity shop, I’d rather spend the money on buying something that’s going to last me a longer time than buy 4 of the same thing within a few months.

William A: So I haven’t, I stopped buying fast fashion I think about a year, ooh, just under a year ago. But like as the information became more readily available I became more aware of the impact because I feel like in the last few years social media’s pushed it ad everyone’s been able to access it and see, so like once I started reading on it I moved away from it. I’ve never shopped at Missguidded but I used to shop at ASOS a lot and I find it so easy to fall into but I’ve actively tried to move away from that just because I’m so aware of the impact it has and I actively try to push people around me like my family members or my friends to like move away from fast fashion brands just because it’s so easy to be aware of what’s going on so and it’s so, it’s easy to move on to more sustainable and ethical brands especially with how many there are at the moment.

Moderator: Was there any particular social media platform that influenced your decision, um or just all of them in general?

William A: Er for me a lot of it was Instagram and then a lot of different Twitter things, like people sharing stuff on Twitter and ten it goes on to Instagram. I feel like once it’s on one thing it kind of spreads across them all but most of my information was through Instagram.

Lauren T: Er yeah that’s the same with me through sort of my job and the different things I explored from my job as a non fast fashion brand um I started following a company called ‘sustainably’ that has a slideshow with all the facts about fast fashion, urm so initially it was using Good On You urm but um I think Instagram has really sort of helped me solidify my beliefs in that. Because even now

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it’s sort of coming out with day to day news, things that happen every day, every week, um that shows that fast fashion is not a people orientated industry it’s a capitalist orientated industry.

Moderator: Yeah, so what do you think makes a brand ethical?

Tate W: I think sorry, a brand that has nothing to hide literally won’t hide anything, they will tell you exactly who made it, how much they were paid, where it was sourced from, they will literally have receipts, it will be traceable you will able to see how ethical it is because if I was an ethical brand and I didn’t have anything to hide, I’d say you know here’s all my information. Um I think what makes it ethical is obviously the workers, how their lifestyle is. I did a lot of research, maybe not a lot, but I did some research into some sweatshops and just the conditions are horrific, and the way that I think it was something ridiculous, like 90 hours or something a week, yeah something insane, you would never, a normal person would never work that, so I don’t know why they’re expected to, um. So what makes it ethical for me would definitely be the working conditions.

Moderator: Anyone else?

Lauren T: I would definitely expect a brand in 2020 to be contributing something towards keeping the environment, um especially their local environment safe. Um to cut out waste, um to again like you said pay quality, gender equality. I feel like they’re very basic expectations that we have considering that it is 2020 and we’ve all seen the um impact social media can have um so I wanna see a lot more sort of reasonably and carefully sourced materials and like you said about green washing Tate, I think that’s totally unfair because it’s essentially holding out a hand, take the money from certain people but putting it back into the same bucket, but so for ethical reasons I think that, if they’re going to have that sort of green wash then why not make it business wide, because I would be a lot more inclined to um go to Primark and get something if I knew they were using ethically sourced cotton um and that the, the um workers were getting paid properly and um that it was a business that founds itself on equality.

Thomas E: Um, I think for a brand to be ethical they have to they have to come from, their process has be like human driven, so like, that covers like everything they do. Down to like how much water pollution they, that they’re contributing to the environment because that sort of thing also impacts us on a wider scale as well, so I think it’s more than just, those are the things like firstly treating their workers fairly, making sure they’re paid fairly, they’re working in, working in fair- good conditions; um down to like the product they sell. If the product isn’t sustainable, if the product is made, is made not to last or their marketing is like quite in the way that encourages their customers to constantly buy, like Missguided are awful for this sort of thing like. I read something today, it was like, um, a product from Missguided or something like that is literally, I think it’s worn 5 times and lasts for 35 days. That, you can’t, you can’t have a brand that’s ethical, um when they sell products like that. And I think going back to what Tate said about like the green washing think, it’s definitely, it’s a part of a model, that’s not, that’s not green at all. So it’s like having a business that’s 5% green by having a conscious collection, but the rest of what you’re doing is completely unethical, so ur yeah.

Tate W: Just to add on from what, I don’t know if it was you that showed me a video? And I don’t know if it was Missguded? It was somewhere like Missguided or Boohoo or something. And it was a warehouse, it was during lockdown it was showing all of the orders and the wide scale.

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Thomas E: Um hmm. Yeah I think it wasTate W: Was it Boohoo?

Thomas E: Yeah Tate W: And just the amount of, cos it’s not just the clothes, you’ve got to think about all the packaging. So you imagine you order something from Missguided, Boohoo, ASOS; they all come in biodegradable packaging, which still takes a long time, doesn’t matter if it’s biodegradable- it takes ages. Um, and it’ll come in a packaging but then each individual item is also packaged, it’s also wrapped with labels, with stickers with things that do not need to be on there. So even if you’ve ordered a sustainable item of clothing, everything else that goes into making it, everything else it’s wrapped in for it to get to you, just really isn’t ethical or sustainable so when you think about the 1 or 2 items that you bought. Okay fair enough, that may not seem like a lot, but of you look at the warehouse, I’m gonna say, I’m even gonna go to the extremes and say millions of things that, which I was quite shocked to be honest and that’s just one factory out of however many in the world.

William A: mm, yeah, definitely. For me with sustainable business’ I think it’s like a lot of people kind of, especially with how information there is at the moment, and how much is being pushed people like expecting perfection from business’. Like they need to be able to do everything perfectly. Like but I think in order for a business to be ethical they kind of have to be translucent with their audience and cos of the way societies been built, it’s difficult for them to be perfect from the get go. So I think business’ need to be able to show that they’re actively pursuing more ethical means and that they’re trying to find better solutions and there has to be action behind what they’re saying. They have to be completely open with their audience and who they’re trying to sell to. I think that’s the best way to help business’ even ones that are unethical, if they wanted to move that way, just like communicating with their audience and looking for better ways to be open I think that’s the best way for them to go about it, instead of them being exposed and everyone jumping on them and kind of tearing it apart but then obviously there are like cases where it’s never gonna change and that’s where it becomes an issue and goes to the extreme which is, at the moment a lot of fast fashion brands are at that extreme.

Moderator: Yeah, um, thank you. So the next question is can you all please take around 15 seconds to write down on a piece of paper what one word comes to your mind when you think of Missguided and then we’re gonna reveal it at the same time.

Thomas E: Flippin ell, umm.

Moderator: Is everyone done?

Thomas E: Uhmm Moderator: Okay, so if you’d like to reveal that in 3, 2, 1.

Moderator: Oh my God, I knew.

Lauren T & Tate W: Yess

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Moderator: Tom, what did you put?

Thomas E: Fake Moderator: Okay.

Lauren T: I love. I love this.

Moderator: Can you all please afterwards just take a picture of your piece of paper and send it to me as a photo. Orite, thank you. And if you can all just kind of explain your thinking behind your word that would be great.

William A: Yeah sure so I put unsustainable and I think that’s pretty obvious with the way they’re going and how much waste they make through water waste, through plastic waste through clothing waste, how they don’t pay their workers correctly, how they take advantage of resources, dry resources, it’s completely unsustainable like; whilst at the moment they may be able to get away with this, but overtime it’s going to completely fail, it’s going to be a short term thing they won’t be able to hold, and the damage it’s going to create is ridiculous for the small purpose it holds for just pumping out clothes, ripping off small designers like so that’s why I put unsustainable.

Lauren T: Tate, would you like to cover trash.

Tate W: (laughs). So I wrote trash as kind of an umbrella of many, many things. When I think of brands such as Missguided, the word trash just instantly comes to mind in the quality of clothes, the company its self in terms of the whole ethical side- sustainability, to me it just seems tacky and cheap and when I think of brands like Missguided, I think of those really disgusting like plastic puffer coats with the big fake fur- the hoods.

And that’s the kind of image I have and that repulses me and, I just think that they are a very awful company, I don’t know if, is it, mm, is Missguided owned by Arcadia? Or something like that?

Thomas E: I don’t think so.

Moderator: I know it’s owned by Nittin Passi, I don’t think it’s owned by a bigger organisation.

Thomas E: Arcadia is, is it Phillip Green? I feel like it’s Phillip Green.

Tate W: I know Arcadia, owns lie Top shop and stuff but I don’t know if Missguided is in it.

Thomas E: I don’t think so.

Lauren T: Phillip Green owns the more high street ones like Top shop, New Look, that sort of thing. I think Primarks in there.

Moderator: Yeah, so I think we’ve got about 8 minutes left, last time it extended it for some reason, but I don’t think it’ll do it this time. But yeah if you can just quickly say what each of your reasoning was that would be great?

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Thomas E: I wrote fake because Missguided’s branding is literally pink and unicorns and fairies and whatever else it is, and it’s all this like, it’s all this bubblegum pop kind of like energy and it’s just, I just can like see right through it. Especially I think Maheen, you said something about their messaging being about empowering women but it’s just, it’s just so fluffy you can’t be empowering women if 90% of the garment workers that they’re using they are underpaying are women and people of colour it’s just, it’s just bullshit. Their whole, their whole model is fake and fluffy.

Moderator: Yeah. So if you could get out your piece of paper again and write down on a scale of 1-10 how ethical do you think Missguided is?

Tate W: 1 being the least?

Moderator: Yeah.

William A: Are we showing them all the same time?

Moderator: Yes please. Is everyone ready?

Tate W: Yep Moderator: Okay. If you could reveal that in 3, 2, 1.

Moderator: Has everyone put 1?

Lauren T: Yeah Moderator: If you could say in one sentence what was the reasoning behind that.

Lauren T: They don’t even try.

Moderator: They don’t even what sorry?

Lauren T: They don’t even try to be ethical.

Moderator: Oh, okay.

Lauren T: So that’s why I put 1.

Thomas E: Their model literally works against people and the planet.

Tate W: I’ve not ever seen them brand anything or try anything that even looks remotely ethical or sustainable. It’s not been put on social media.

William A: I think a lot of the information that’s been made public about fast fashion has like explained why I put 1.

Moderator: Okay, so the final question is what do you think Missguided can do in the future to be more ethical?

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Lauren T: Shut down. (laughter) Lauren T: Honestly just starting fresh, and urm distancing themselves from that fast fashion model is probably the only way they’re going to do it cos while they’re working in such a, in a model that so much favours capitalism and discards the needs of the planet and people that work for them and even the needs of potential customers, I don’t think it’s ever gonna work. So I think they’d need a whole rebrand, urm and to completely change their entire core values because it would just never work to be ethical in such a money hungry environment.

William A: Yeah, I completely agree. I think they’d have to rebrand from a fast fashion and completely move away from that, because that in itself, no matter which company it is, adopting the ideology of the fast fashion brand, it’s the most impossible to meet or compete against other fast fashion brands without going down those routes that are really unethical because there the easiest way to get clothes out quickly and constantly have new stuff that people are gonna buy. But it’s always the most unethical ways to get there and underpaying makes the most money to try and more and more and it’s like a vicious cycle so regardless of the company I’d say they just have to abandon the fast fashion model and move towards slow fashion or completely rebrand.

Tate W: I think theThomas E: YeahTate W: Sorry go on.

Thomas E: I think the speed at which fast fashion operates it would be very difficult for them to even consider um, like making a switch. I don’t even think like them trying to be transparent and explaining where they are currently at and a bid to switch over would even work, they would like the others have said, just have to abandon ship and kind of and start again with a different model.

Tate W: What I, before they even do anything, even if they were to re rebrand or even consider going into a slow fashion brand. I think the first thing they would have to do is have a conversation with everyone that is involved in their company and their consumers, the first thing they do would be surveys, conversations talking about how they could change their company around, if they even wanted to.

Moderator: Orite, so that was the final question. Thank you so much for your time, you have been of great value. I will be sending you all a debrief form and please do email me if you have any questions and before this ends does anyone have any last comments they’d like to make?

Lauren T: Thanks guys. That’s it.

Tate W: I do want to ask. When you said on a scale between 1-10 what do we think, do you have the actual number of that or is that just a?

Moderator: What do you mean, as in?

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Appendix B: Focus Group 2 Transcription Tate W : As in when you asked to write down the number Moderator: Yeah Tate W: Was that just for you or is there an actual number for how ethical they are?

Moderator: Um. I don’t know, I might have to look into that if there is a rating but yeah I just wanted to see what you guys wold say in comparison to my other focus group. Um so yeah. Does anyone else have any questions?

Lauren T: On Good On You, it’s it’s 2 out of 10.

Moderator: What did you say sorry?

Lauren T: On the site that I used to check it on Good On You, they’re rating is 2 out of 10, and 2 and 1 are basically under the umbrella of avoid. I think because they’re not technically doing anything criminal, which I totally disagree with, they are doing, I think it is criminal. Um, it’s a, they can’t get shut down by law which is why I don’t think it’s a 1. It’s a 2 out of 10, so 1 out of 5 essentially.

Moderator: Yeah I think I need to look into that website, so thank you for including that.

Thomas E: Maheen do you have everything you need? Do you have any other questions?

Moderator: No that’s everything, I think it’s going to stop anyways.

(Focus group session ends)

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Appendix C: Missguided ex retail staff member interview

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Appendix D: Missguided CSR team members Interview Q1. A lot of the leather products sold on the Missguided website are labelled as ‘other materials.’ What are these products made from may I ask?

A. I assume this question is in relation to footwear? Under the UK and EU footwear composition regulations/ legislation you need only indicate leather, coated leather, textile or other materials Q2. How do Missguided expect customers to trust that these items do not derive from animals when the materials of faux leather are labelled as ‘other materials’; especially since some faux fur items sold by Missguided, were exposed as being real fur in 2017?

A. We are a fur free retailer but did have an issue in early 2017, where one of the footwear style had some real fur mixed with artificial fur. The style was removed from sale immediately after the issue was brought to our attention. Since then we have put additional procedures in place with our supply base to avoid real fur entering our supply chain. We also have a due diligence system in place to monitor the implementation of our fur free policy which includes internal team training and physical checking of both development samples and bulk deliveries upon receipt at our DC. I am pleased to state that at this time no such further instances of the use of real fur have been found.

Attached: • Animal welfare policy and Faux fur vs real fur- knowing the difference Q3. In addition to Missguided’s partnerships with organisations such as ETI and increased policies; what efforts have been taken personally as a brand to ensure suppliers meet the policy requirements? It is a known fact that policies alone are not enough to ensure an ethical work environment. In the past policies have been broken by manufacturers and suppliers linked to Missguided.

A. We will start by explaining internal structure, before touching onto some memberships, collaboration is key.

Governance: We have a corporate social responsibility governance board in place chaired by our CEO and attended by our Chief Operating Officer, Chief Trading Officer, alongside our head of sourcing & product technology, buying, people team and CSR manager. We meet on a quarterly basis to review risks, our due diligence and actions. Close inter-departmental working is essential for implementation of our standards & policies including modern slavery policy.

Supplier onboarding process: All new suppliers manufacturing Missguided labelled merchandise to be declared and risk assessed prior to onboarding. A factory cannot be onboarded without authorisation from CSR department.

Risk assessment: Reports provided prior to onboarding are reviewed for non-compliances and graded on internal grading matrix which provides guidance for further actions Auditing process: Globally we only accept audits which fulfil the requirements of the ETI base code (SMETA / BSCI / SA8000 audits).

Self assessment questionnaires (SAQ) We historically accepted SAQ (Self Assessment questionnaires) from small number of suppliers outside the UK, which are being replaced with third party audits from April 2021 UK: We only accept Fast Forward audits. TRN (The Reassurance Network), a team of on the ground specialists who have been instrumental in the development and deployment of the Fast Forward programme in the UK (a programme that has identified widespread examples of exploitation), they support us with the specialised Fast Forward audits in UK. Audit companies: Companies conducting audits have to be ASPCA approved. All SMETA audit audits must now (from June 2020) be carried out by an APSCA member firm and an RA (Registered Auditor). Our preferred audit companies are o Verisio Ltd / Bureau Veritas / Intertek Testing Services / SGS Group Management Ltd / TUV SUD Product Service GmbH / TUV Rheinland /UL LLC / TRN (The Reassurance Network)

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Modern slavery statement: we issue an annual modern slavery statement in which we detail risks, actions, progress report and future commitments, link to our statement on main website for reference https://missguided.a.bigcontent.io/v1/static/modern_slavery_statement_2020_final Memberships • ETI (Ethical trading initiative) is a tripartite (companies, trade union, NGOs) multi-stakeholder organisation aiming at protecting the right of workers in supply chains and improving labour conditions. Our ethical objectives are based on ETI base code which in turn aligns with internationally recognised standards of ILO (International Labour Organisation) https://www.ethicaltrade.org/about-eti. Under our terms of membership, we have to report on our activities and provide evidence to back up our claims in the report.

The report is reviewed by ETI and civil society organisations and feedback provided to us. We need to address the feedback in our latest report and show improvement on a yearly basis.

As members of ETI, we are also active participants in the ETI: o o

Modern slavery group Multi stakeholder group on Uyghur workers

• BRC (British Retail Consortium) as members of BRC, we are part of o Ethical labour group We have actively worked with BRC, their members to lobby government for introduction of fit to trade licensing scheme for UK textile sector, a letter which was supported by 90 organisations (including approx. 50 serving MP’s) We also work closely with them to feedback into various activities e.g. modern slavery act review, single enforcement body We were one of the 20 major retailers who helped to fund and develop the BRC’s Climate Action Roadmap, the aim of the roadmap is to tackle the causes of climate change with the ultimate aim of carbon neutrality by 2040 (10 years ahead of the government’s target which aligns with the Paris Agreement on Climate change), the roadmap was launched in November and has the support of over 60 retail brands: https://brc.org.uk/media/676312/climateactionroadmap_final_rgb_updated.pdf • HIGG index This year we completed our fist submission of the HIGG Brand Retail Module, the BRM allows us to track, measure, and share our sustainability progress: https://apparelcoalition.org/higg-brand-tool/ • GLAA Public Private Protocol We are signatories to GLAA Public Private Protocol, wherein signatories including brands and central enforcement agencies work together to eradicate slavery and exploitation in supply chain • Fast Forward In the UK, we are now part of the multi brand initiative, Fast Forward. The assessment, approach and methodology of the programme has proven its ability to delve deeply into a supplier’s business management systems and employee records to identify issues. This assessment and any subsequent remediation which may be identified is mandatory for engagement with Missguided, however we continue to use the SMETA/ BSCI audit methodology globally. Following the audit, we work with our suppliers and factories to complete a remediation programme with agreed timelines.

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All our UK manufacturers will go through a Fast Forward workshop and training to understand the requirements of the programme. Being a member of Fast Forward allows us to build honest and open dialogue with our UK factories and create long term sustainable partnerships.

As part of our membership of the Fast Forward audit programme, we operate a confidential multilingual worker hotline, available to all workers in our UK supply chain. This hotline seeks to empower workers by allowing them to report issues through an anonymous mechanism. In turn, we can support workers in our supply chain better We also provide online resources to supplier in form of dedicated website for further help and support of suppliers and factories The details of our other memberships can be found on our CSR webpage from our main website, link to webpage for easy navigation - https://www.missguided.co.uk/csr Q4. Who are your suppliers in the UK, and how regularly are they visited by persons from Missguided for investigation?

A. We source our own brand products from 179 Tier 1 factories, across 12 countries. The data on our existing factories is collected and collated through our risk assessment reports and this list is updated twice a year.

Globally - New suppliers must declare the factories where they intend to manufacture our products, and be able to provide a satisfactory social audit, before they can be engaged. Our global social audit programme is managed through a software developed by Verisio and they provide administrative services to help us manage this on a global basis. Missguided recognise a number of audit providers including SGS, BV, MTS Global, Intertek and TRN. Verisio do not undertake any of our social audits themselves, to ensure there is no conflict of interest.

For UK specific, we now accept only Fast Forward audit as the only valid audit to make decisions on onboarding of new factories, all existing factories (tier 1 &2) are going through Fast Forward audit programme.

To maintain independence of programme all audits are conducted by The Reassurance Network (TRN) – who have a team of on the ground specialists and have been instrumental in the development and deployment of the Fast Forward programme in the UK (a programme that has identified widespread examples of exploitation), they support us with specialised Fast Forward audits in UK, with a team of 44 specialists, located in China, South Asia, Turkey, Europe and Africa. They provide services ranging from policy development to risk assessments relating to Migrant Workers and Modern Slavery. They have been particularly effective at picking up specific examples of forced and bonded labour across several sourcing regions and have also become experts in assessing modern slavery risks relating to labour providers. The Reassurance Network is currently the only company qualified to carry out audits to the Clearview standard; a voluntary standard for labour providers that includes in-depth assessment of responsible recruitment practices We have CSR Manager who will visit factories to carry out regular checks in UK, liaise with global suppliers for closing non-compliances and putting remediation plan in place with help of third party, ensuring audits are within validity period and engage global suppliers.

Any whistleblowing call is followed up with actions recorded to closure.

We struggle to onboard new factories in UK because of practices widely reported in media, we have seen decline in our factory base from 80 to 15 since 2017.

We have also signed The Transparency Pledge To see the full list of our Tier 1 factories please click here or this list can be found on our CSR webpage

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Q5. What percentage of your manufacturers are international, and how often does your team at Missguided personally visit the international suppliers, for health and safety/wage theft inspections?

A. Number of global factories

Our top 3 sourcing countries are China, Pakistan, UK. We visited Pakistan to meet suppliers and look at factories in March 2020, we have plan to visit more countries, carry out checks and speak to workers but these have been pushed back because of lockdown however our audit programme is still in operation and carrying on as normal.

Q6. I understand after the fur scandal in 2017, an office was opened in the South of China to ensure closer communication with the Chinese suppliers. Is this office still running and has it been successful in ensuring supplier transparency with China in particular?

A. The office in China has since closed and we are working directly with suppliers and factories. We have done lot of work on transparency in collaboration with other retailers, brands sourcing out of China, e.g. sharing of common factories and issues to get more leverage.

Q7. A reliable source recently disclosed that Covid-19 caused a lot of factories to shut down temporarily as manufacturing was put on hold. Clothing orders from British suppliers were also halted and cancelled, which lead to an increase in wage theft, unemployment and payment delays in Bangladesh. The laws abroad are not as supportive to the vulnerable as they are in England. How has Covid-19 and the pandemic affected Missguided’s relationship with suppliers nationally and internationally? And what is Missguided doing at the moment to support any garment workers that may be more vulnerable than usual through these difficult times?

A. We have worked with our global suppliers and factories throughout the pandemic to support them to the best of our ability. At the start of the crisis, for a brief period we paused incoming orders while we assessed our logistics capabilities and put measures in place to ensure the safety of our colleagues. We only resumed intake when we were sure we adhered to government Covid-secure guidelines in full.

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Orders: We worked with suppliers to ensure that we did not have to cancel any orders completed or in production. Some of the styles were restyled (where fabric had already been bought). Only a few orders where fabric had not been purchased/ prepared were cancelled and this was in full discussion and with agreement from suppliers.

Supplier payments: We neither withheld supplier payments nor were any forced discounts levied on suppliers for any goods prepared or delivered. All goods delivered have been paid for and the price agreed on contracts was honoured with all our global suppliers.

Supplier terms (payment days) were temporarily reduced on several accounts where suppliers were becoming financially over-extended. Missguided also contributed towards the increase in freight costs where the cost of transportation became prohibitively high.

Sourcing territories: We have maintained communications with our global suppliers to understand the measures being imposed by their respective governments.

Guidelines We issued a full set of guidelines with regards to the implementation of a Covid 19 strategy for manufacturers to safeguard their workforce and supported them with PPE supplies where required.

Our top 3 sourcing territories: China: We maintained a continuous dialogue and received updates from factories as to the ongoing situation and provided support where necessary.

UK: At the point of UK national lockdown, all our UK manufacturers took the decision to close whilst they evaluated the situation and investigated how they could restructure their operations to be able to manufacture with social distancing measures in place. Missguided supported these moves fully – there was no pressure or coercion on our UK supply base in relation to their decision to close, or with regards to delivery dates for contracted goods. We regularly visited / held online walk-throughs in factories to check the precautions taken.

Pakistan: All our factories were given permission to remain open by the local authority, following visits made to assess the extent of their Covid-D secure practices and Covid19 procedures. We visited Pakistan in March to see the factories before UK lockdown was introduced.

Voluntary effort: Missguided ran a charity T shirt campaign for the NHS, we donated PPE including hand sanitiser, to our suppliers in the UK , we secured and donated PPE for our warehouse colleagues (our warehouse is owned and run by a third party logistics company, not Missguided) and we have also engaged and made donations on a local level to health care workers within our immediate community in Manchester.

Supply chain workers: We actively monitored our global factories to ensure wage payments have been paid in accordance with contractual agreement, national laws, collective agreements, and any prevailing income-support.

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Second lockdown - We have again made set of guidance (Covid secure workplace) and sent on first day of lockdown to help and support factories, these guidelines were similar to followed within our HO We continue to visit suppliers and hold online meetings with them.

Q8. As a staff member of Missguided, do you personally feel as if you are treated in an ethical manner; and what are some staff benefits that you receive?

25 days holiday plus BH Buy and Sell Holiday Scheme Pension Contribution Company Bonus Staff discount, Sample Sales Membership for Retail Credit Union and Retail Trust Discount or cashback on 1000+ retailers 4pm Friday finish Q9. Do you believe Missguided’s head office employs a fairly racially diverse staff? From watching ‘Inside Missguided’, the range of staff members that have been shown in day to day practices, as well as in larger events and get togethers look in majority Caucasian?

A.There were many of our diverse colleagues featured on the TV programme and we embrace all facets of diversity, just as we do in our marketing.

We’ve actually worked hard to ensure our team is reflective of the country as a whole - around 15 per cent of the Missguided team have a BAME background, roughly on a par with the population in England & Wales.

In the coming years we want to go further to boost this key measure so it better reflects the specific diversity of the population of Manchester and we have plans, such as apprenticeship programmes, in place to help us do that.

We also need to point out that out founder and CEO Nitin Passi is of Asian heritage.

Q10.What affect do you think this may have on a coloured person(s), that may want to work for Missguided in the future?

A. N/A – See above Q11. Is there a code of conduct and policies in place for stages before manufacturing (where the raw materials are derived from); and are the worker conditions at these fields/fabric manufacturing locations regularly monitored personally by Missguided?

We have mapped our tier 1 factories globally and tier 2 in UK with target of making tier 2 public April 2021 on our website. Our code of conduct and policies apply to all supply chain.

If we are made aware of any allegation of mistreatment of worker through our memberships, collaboration we will take action to address within our sphere of influence.

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Q12. I recently conducted research over two random weeks in October and November 2020, underlining what the top 200 products from the ‘new in’ Missguided selection were made of in terms of materials. I found that on average over the 2 weeks, products that were made of 50-100% Polyester made up of 58.75% of the products.

Polyester is quite the controversial material. It is a well known fact that when washed Polyester releases a lot more microfibers compared to other materials, these microfibers then enter and harm marine life, and in turn can harm humans also when marine life is digested. More so, Polyester can take up to 200 years to degrade. Furthermore there has been some research conducted that suggests that Polyester possibly causes cancers when worn. This is all quite disturbing.

My question is, whether Missguided is looking into more sustainable fabrics to replace the current fabrics with that are not so sustainable/safe?

A. In 2019 Polyester made up 59% of our fibre usage, this was a reduction of 8% from 2018.

We use a mix of spun and filament polyester, although not members we are aware of the work that the Microfibre Consortium are doing and look forward to the outcome of their research.

Please can you provide your source material for the claims that Polyester possibly causes cancers?

Carcinogens are banned or restricted by chemical legislation/regulations, Missguided has a Restricted Substances List (RSL) to ensure compliance with the most stringent chemical legislation/regulations which are in place in the territories where our brand is represented and our restrictions meet or exceed the requirements set out in the EU REACH Regulations and California Proposition 65 Legislation, which form the basis of our RSL. This list is contained within our Supplier Directory, and a copy of this document is provided to any new supplier before we sign with them an agreement to supply. All our suppliers are aware that they need to work within the terms as laid down, including adhering to the restrictions of our RSL and we have a due diligence testing programme in place, which is run in conjunction

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with our nominated testing partner MTS, to regularly test products that we sell to ensure compliance.

We are currently working on a list of sustainability flags to enable us to categorise and capture the sustainability attributes of our products.

Q13. My final question for you is, how effective do you think it would be if Missguided were to have a preowned section on their website, where used Missguided clothes are sold at a discounted price? This could possibly also be linked to Missguided’s own Depop page. It is a common opinion that fast fashion clothing is only to be worn once, and many people on Instagram feel ashamed when posting the same outfit more than once. Often clothes are worn a couple of times by the consumer. Do you feel as if this would be a progressive strategy?

A. This could be very effective; we have seen other brands roll out schemes already. We are scoping preowned and it could happen in the future.

In terms of items being worn once we do not design, intend or consider our products to be disposable.

Our benchmark quality sits above our immediate competitors, we have recently worked on product improvement programmes to reduce pilling on some of our large volume lines to increase the longevity of the products.

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Appendix E: Nazma Akter Interview Due to the long distance there was internet connection problems during the beginning and end of interview recording.

Date: 01/12/2020 Time: 10:01 am Duration: 20 minutes Interviewer: I really liked what you have to say at the Fashion roundtable, it was really interesting. Did you read the information sheet?

Nazma A: I read something, but you can ask me the question, it will be good for me.

Interviewer: Okay. Yeah that’s fine. Okay um so can you please start off by introducing yourself and stating whether you would like to remain anonymous for the dissertation?

Interviewer: For, for when I write my dissertation, am I okay to mention your name, or did you want to remain anonymous?

Nazma A: Yes, Um. Thank you my name is Nazma, I am the president of the Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation and the founder and executive director of this foundation. I started to work in the garments factory at the age of 11 with my mother and I am tried to work in Bangladesh for women empowerment in the garment sector and other sector, so we’re trying to make them able to leadership position, how to negotiation, how to bargaining, how to deal their er good industry relations, what is their duties, what is their responsibilities, how they are treated with the factories, in the communities, with their families, societies and many other issues. Yes you can record it and you can mention your name where ever you want to. No problem.

Interviewer: Okay, thank you so much. Um can you briefly touch upon the effect of Covid-19 on garment worker’s lives in Bangladesh, briefly?

Nazma A: Covid-19 affected in Bangladesh, you know this is the garment industry, this business is a global supply chain business. Business from UK, business from Europe, Business from here. Different country and different reason, so it mostly depend on the international market and their demand and supply. Covid-19 it affect like, when they lost their, when they especially in the fashion brand and retailer, they can holding suspension and cancellation the order and then the factory was laid off and retraced the workers and they when they’re asking for the discount then the workers in average salary they got 40/65/35% discount. So many area is challenging and many area is (inaudible), and you know in the garment sector mostly it’s workwomen workers and it’s affect their life and livelihood and all the holding, discount, suspension, cancellation the order, it’s affect to this workers and especially women workers lives and livelihood. They’re life was threatened and number of workers lost their jobs, and they couldn’t get the proper compensation and benefit. Er in Bangladesh more than 40% of female are single mother, their husband left. These are the, they are also risks and factors from their family because they couldn’t get proper food and education and house because the life the Bangladesh women cost is very expensive and they need to pay their house and surviving. A number of pregnant womans they lost their job, um and they lost their income and the pregnant women didn’t get their, um didn’t get their er maternity protection benefit and who worked in the factory they didn’t get proper compensation and it’s also threat by the local

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(inaudible) also it’s affected in their rural economy because the garment workers set no shelter, no income, no savings so they went to country side and they were depending their parents or whoever in there so it’s not nice and it’s not only the pandemic, also in Bangladesh we have 2, 3 kind of pandemic like Corona, there was a big cyclone and also we had like flood and rain. Many things are, because decline of (inaudible) affected us very much. And the workers, even the you know that most of the factory when the brand were asking for the order, they need to add the shipment, they need to work and that time also the workers had problem about the social distance- safety at the work place. Some factory may do, like many factory, like small/medium factory that doesn’t have much space, so um we don’t have any social protection and employment benefit system.

So especially it affect or the whole (inaudible) and the all the loser part are affected- the womens workers.

But you know that proceed goes to the big brand retailer and the supplier, but the loser part, the (inaudible) factor are going to womens workers and also gender violence increasing at the work place and also their home and many workers who lost their job, the same factory when they go for new job , who used to get like 5000 taka salary (£43.92) after that they got salary maybe around 4000 taka (£35.14). So they’re also um decrease-declining their wages because you know lot of um demand and supplies list so deepen on the demand and supply, it’s also risk, um not nice because we couldn’t see anything goes very happy and happy way for the workers.

Interviewer: Yeah, thank you. So do you have any knowledge on how garment workers are being treated by factories working particularly with Missguided, and did you want me to read out the factory names again? (has been sent previously through email).

Nazma A: No I do not want to write the factory name, no, it’s not will be good. Because you know their working with the different supplier and different umm-differentInterviewer: Companies?

Nazma A: Different workplace so it’s a risk. To protect the factory name. But the working condition, because you know most of the fashion brand still they’re monitoring and evaluation their CSR team through visitor liaise with the Zoom or other apps, but they never ever visit the factory, they are monitoring everything by the online.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Nazma A: But our worker, 100%, working there. If the workers are not working there it’s store will be closed.

(Inaudible). If the persons are not working they will not get profit. This pandemic, the CEO or the big boss has to be in the factory, even the supplier should be In the factory but we found that, we found that err nobodies coming in person and physically presenting and asking the workers what’s going on and how to do, how not to do. So you know it’s very risk factor, and risk things going on, but nobodies care about the workers, nobodies care about the womens workers. And as you know that the workers and the factories like cheap labour or cheap labour forces and low price, you know this is the big challenge and these are the key issues we need to be think and we need to be work and question of the dignity when you’re not giving the fair wages or living wages but how you think the workers lives and livelihood will be changed, because the system is not advocate, the system is not make helpful for the workers. So it’s a very difficult thing and no wages is make them very poor and vulnerable situation and its affect also their children, future education, food, nutrition and most of all female workers after 40/45 years old and they, they automatically retire people (inaudible) who are high protection, which are not sufficient food, no drinking water, haven’t had

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sufficient sleep, drinking and available food. So that is everything make them old and tired and they cannot work so this is also injustice you know. The 60 years old people should work, or 62 is now legal age but our workers they are youth energy finish within their 40 years. So this kind of issue is need to be address, and you know it’s modern slavery and cooperate colonise, used to be the colonise with the land, but now their colonise with the like British and other company with the capitalism. So that’s the newly globalisation and future of the automation also declining women job, it’s this kind of issue need to be addressed globally, we don’t want to be slave, we don’t want to be hunger and we don’t have any protection we don’t- we’re not safe. So, also in Bangladesh we don’t have any social protection system like what UK has and unemployment benefit like this kind of things. You know.

Interviewer: Yeah. So what do you think consumers in Western countries can do to help?

Nazma A: I think the Western country like UK, they need be reform the new law because you know the world workers are has, anything they are asking for their rights in any facilities or any things and that time workers are, when they raise their voice protest them, then they say they are blacklisted, they lost their job, nobodies listening them, and then send them to prison or a lot of abuse has happened, but the corporate like Rana Plaza that happened, the brand were not accountable, responsible they are violating the rules and regulation and also like so called bankruptcy , they are also not giving the suppliers and payment, there is no law, or there is no penalty, or there is no legal charges against them also. Even supplier are so powerful because they are in the business, they’re in the parliament, they’re in the politics. Like Donald Trump, system is all over the world. So the power is not equally distributed, systemic change has not and the system needs to be changed, and we need to reform new law how to be accountable and make penalty or legal charges also the company.

Interviewer: Yeah Nazma A: And also important issue the worker should get their profit share, not only the brand and supplier to get the too much profit, too much people want too much profit so that is why also it is happened.

Interviewer: Yeah, thank you. Fast fashion brands often have quite extensive policies and code of conducts, do you think these are not enough?

Nazma A: No because if they are not ensuring the living ways, if they are not ensuring the freedom of association, collective bargaining, er and that kind of things. Also of course they have to be accountable they have to be responsible and they have to be care about the workers welfare and wellbeing and they have to think they are not in worker, they are not a charity they should be think they are the human resource and they have part of the business, and they have value, they have to be give the profit. This kind of approach and appreciation needed.

Interviewer: Yeah, so do you believe that if consumers in Western countries, if they shopped less frequently or more consciously, do you think that will help the situation? Do you think one of the problems may be mass production?

(Repeats question due to long distance internet connection problems)

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Nazma A: No, I do not think it will be the solution. The consumer should buy and they have to ask and continue keep them to make sure the things are er, with the workers rights should be ensure because you know brand they are now working in Bangladesh, tomorrow in the Pakistan, they are (inaudible) India, it’ll be wherever. But you know they are not resolve the problem, they are not giving the solution, they are creating more exploitation in one country to other country and they split the exploitations. So that is why, how the consumer can make them accountable if some Bangladeshi worker, how they have to get their basic fundamental rights and business (inaudible), and what are the basic need, like food, clothing, housing, health, education er recreation and savings. These are five, six basic issues, how they have to ensure. And gender violence er also one of the key issues. So this kind of thing they have to be doing. Because they’re stop buying or, it’s not the right approach.

Interviewer: Yeah, So are you familiar with the brand Missguided?

(Disrupted connection) Nazma A: Missguided by company?

Interviewer: It’s a fast fashion brand, are you familiar with it?

Nazma A: Yeah because you know. I’m not familiar with that. But can you explain me what is that?

Interviewer: It’s basically a fast fashion brand in the UK and some of it, some of it, some of the fast fashion brands that are quite similar are like Boohoo have been under scrutiny recently for not paying their workers properly in the factories in the UK. (Inaudible). So I was just wondering if you had any (inaudible).

Nazma A: I don’t get clear what you are saying, but for my understanding what you wanted to mean, maybe I get some thought because it’s broken your talk. Yes because you know, of course they are also misguided and er manipulating also people they do care about this they do that, but in responsibility maybe they are doing some (inaudible) education or some charity. And they can show we do this for the garment workers, we do for that for garment workers, but in the long run or reality it’s not affected workers life and livelihood because they are not paying their wages appropriately, they are not giving everything. And many company doesn’t believe the freedom of association they’re voice because you know, even the people who are working in the CSR team in the retailer fashion brand, they are also not very much active on the worker’s issues because they always speak, always talking about the especially the local people and the business people who you know is a poor country like Bangladesh, the women’s got the job, it’s a blessing for them, it’s a privilege, at least they can earn some money. You know this kind of er emotional thing is also misguided and it’s also manipulating people, so because you know this of course yeah, Bangladesh doesn’t have much business, but business came and business should be, um, run by the prospective of the human rights issues also. So it’s also many cases it’s not happened. So of course it seems like that because as long as the workers are not getting their basic fundamental rights and fundamental issues, it’s also obviously the problem and difficulties.

Interviewer: Yeah, thank you so much. And before I end is there anything else that you would like to add?

Nazma A: No I (inaudible), that you know how that we can make better, you know if the er country like Bangladesh, if all the exploitation, abuse, manipulation, misguided, cheating, not giving proper fare, share and not respect gender; so this kind of things is not fairly treated and it’s not good governance and how the corporate are misguided from the globally and locally it need to be stop, it need to be change that is why we need to work together, we need to be collaboration, we need to fight for that (inaudible). Especially the government and the union and the society. That is my request, how we can come under one umbrella and defend our rights.

Interviewer: Yeah, okay well thank you so much, I am going to stop recording now.

(Interview ends)

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Appendix F: Quantitative questionnaire Survey questions

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Survey answers

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