Missguided Is a Perfect Example of How Much Fast Fashion Can Get Away With
Despite devastating testimony from unpaid workers, and hundreds of unfulfilled orders, the company lives on.
For years, Missguided has been one of the top fast fashion brands in the world. They dress celebrities, throw over-the-top runway shows and parties, and strangely, they even had a reality show. But these things may not have been indicators of success — but rather a brand whose image was more important than the business or the people who keep it running.
According to The Guardian, in May, the police showed up at the brand's Manchester headquarters after Missguided failed to pay suppliers. In a follow-up to the news, the outlet also spoke to garment workers in Pakistan who said they have been working without pay for months and cannot feed their families. Nadeem Siddique, the owner of the Bismillah Clothing factory, which supplies thousands of garments to Missguided, told The Guardian,. "[In the past few months] we have shipped hundreds of thousands of pieces of clothing that they ordered, and thousands more are stuck in our storerooms and port to be shipped. We have not got a single dollar for these clothes. We have no other option than to fire workers."
As of this month, Missguided seems to have circumvented its debts despite the near bankruptcy. After being purchased by a holding company that changed the brand name (at least on the business side), customers and factories are left in the lurch. The suppliers to which the former company owed money likely won't receive it, and customers who purchased before June 16 aren't eligible for a refund, according to the brand's own admission. Missguided will be fine, though, as it navigates its next chapter free from the burden of millions of suppliers.
Right now, if you log on to the brand's website, a huge banner touting 80% off sales greets you. On Twitter, customers are posting about getting hundreds of dollars worth of clothing for less than $50. Just this week, people are posting photos highlighting piles of boxes that came from the brand, despite the massive PR crisis that has taken place. It's clear that even with calls for them to pay suppliers, news stories calling attention to starving workers, and dozens of comments from angry customers, the Missguided trend machine will keep churning.
Of course, Missguided is not the first fast fashion brand to have a scenario like this take place. Whether it's bankruptcy (Forever21 filed for Chapter 11 in 2019) or wage theft with suppliers (reports have indicated this behavior from several brands like Boohoo and Uniqlo), this behavior is built into the DNA of fast fashion. It's always about image and price. It's never about fashion or workers. It simply doesn't matter to some consumers and influencers as long as they can get a cheap trend or a paycheck and the brand knows that. They will persist as long as they can push through the noise with marketing and sales.
That being said, there are ways to make changes and get workers paid. Several petitions have been circulated through organizations like Labour Behind the Label. Some activists have also flooded the comment sections of the brand’s Instagram to call attention to the issues. It’s not a surefire way to make a change, but as we’ve seen with Victoria”s Secret, who recently paid back owed wages after social pressure, sometimes the noise is loud enough to make a change.
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This Stuff is a newsletter by me! fashion journalist, Alyssa Hardy. Three times a week, I unpack the ways our clothes impact the world through news, essays, interviews and more. Subscribe for free here and follow me on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
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