"The Big Issues Facing Fashion in 2019", 16 January 2019

...While there is no way to predict which issues will rise to the surface in 2019, there are certainly ones that are festering, existing as whispers, or existing blatantly, and all are ready and ripe to be addressed.

FORCED AND TRAFFICKED LABOR

...working conditions and overworked, underpaid, and underage employees... are no doubt still issues, although what is coming to the surface is that a massive component in the fashion supply chain—mainly the tier 2 and tier 3 suppliers—consist of forced and trafficked labor.

RACE, CULTURE AND APPROPRIATION

...fashion bumbles blindly around issues of race and cultural sensitivity in a way that is awkwardly out of step with the times...

SUSTAINABILITY

It’s hardly a secret that fashion is one of the most polluting industries on the planet...millennials and the generations after are demanding imminent change in this arena and it shows in their spending habits...But this demand is slow to affect change among the global behemoths, who lack the agility to incorporate sustainable production efforts in any meaningful way. Which means pollution, waste and water wastage is still rampant and without widespread solutions in sight. 

SKILLED LABOR EXPLOITATION

... the exploitation of educated or skilled creatives... happens at all levels of experience and jobs—from stylists to photographers to makeup artists to journalists—and people are expected to work for free or for exchange of goods or even simply for the exposure...