Is Dangerfield Fast Fashion? An Expert Breakdown!

Dangerfield, an Australian fashion brand founded in 1986, is perfect for those looking for vintage yet trendy clothes.

Their new Brunswick Street outlet has bohemian culture apparel, such as pinafores and tartan smocks, vegan overalls, jumpsuits, chain boots, rave pants, and gothic uppers.

They manufacture clothes mixed with contrasting personalities and tendencies. The brand is perfect to start and develop your real self.

They focus on producing clothes that are durable and long-lasting while taking as many sustainable and ethical practices into account as possible. For this reason, the brand is not considered fast fashion.  

Further details regarding the brand are mentioned later in this article.

Sustainability Rating: 4/10

Category: Clothing, accessories, footwear

For: Women, men, kids

Products: Dresses, corsets, harnesses, blouses, tops, skirts, shorts, pants, jumpsuits, knitwear, jackets, coats, overalls, shoes, jewellery, bags, socks, tights, sunglasses, belts, hats, scarves, bandanas, pet accessories, homewares

Style: Vintage, street style

Quality: High

Prices: $

Sizes: 2XS-2XL, 0-20 (US), 4-24 (UK), 32-52 (EU), 4-24 (AU)

Fabrics: Linen, cotton, polyester polyethylene, spandex, viscose, acetate, nylon, polyurethane, wool,

100% Organic: No

100% Vegan: No

Ethical & Fair: Yes

Recycling: Yes

Manufacturing country: Australia

Certifications: Insufficient information

Interpretation Of The Sustainability Score

Fashion brands scoring a sustainability score of 3 out of 10 are beginning to adopt sustainable practices and are conscious of the detrimental effects of the fashion industry.

However, they don't offer enough pertinent information to be regarded as sustainable nor do they have relevant certifications.

What Are The Sustainability Practices Of Dangerfield?

The brand believes in complying with environmental laws while sourcing its products. They also make sure their suppliers comply with these laws.

Factory X, the retailer of Dangerfield, does not source cotton from those regions where child labor is common and sustainability practices are not given importance.

For instance, they don’t source cotton from Uzbekistan because of their suspected use of child labor.

In 2019, their head office completely transformed. It started producing no net greenhouse gas emissions and replaced electricity use with renewable energy that had been verified.

Their energy usage is certified carbon neutral, and the electricity for their standalone stores and independent retail units is 100% carbon neutral. As a result, every year about thousands of tonnes of CO2 emissions are offset.

In accordance with the 2018 UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, Factory X has committed to analyzing a decarbonization pathway for its supply chain and is targeting a 30% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030.

This shows their sustainable approach, though they don’t have enough evidence to prove it.

What Are The Ethical Practices Of The Brand?

They claim to follow ethical rules whenever they source their products. They comply with labor rights, ethical and sustainable business tactics, and anti-corruption policies.

Their ethical practices include:

• Pleasant and safe work environment: Their employees are provided with health and safety training as well as a pleasant work environment. They also take steps to prevent their employees from any injury or accident.
• Associational freedom: They give their employees worker associations' and workers' rights to collective bargaining and to join unions or representative committees.
• No use of child or forced labor: They strictly prohibit using child labor. In fact, factory X expects manufacturers to take part in and contribute to policies and programs that allow any child found to be engaging in child labor to transition and continue receiving a top-notch education until they are no longer considered children.
• They also prohibit using forced or prison labor, and if any of their manufacturers are not complying with these laws, they immediately terminate their business deals with them.
• Reasonable wages: All their employees receive a clear explanation of their employment. For the purposes of an audit, written records of payments are also kept.
• They pay wages on a regular basis in accordance with industry or national standards. Any deductions that are not allowed by national legislation are not allowed without the worker's explicit written consent.
• Flexible working hours: It is forbidden by Factory X to make their employees overtime. In addition to operating in a way that supports decent and effective working hours and working conditions, suppliers are required to abide by all applicable rules and regulations regarding working hours.
• Discrimination-free work environment: Discrimination on the basis of religion, culture, race, gender, or age is not allowed in their company.
• Equal and fair treatment: Every employee is treated with dignity and respect. They don’t allow workplace harassment or any kind of abuse. 
• Ethical sourcing: They source their products from suppliers who are also ethical and fair. They strictly prohibit sourcing products from those countries where child labor is common.

However, they received a rating of 2.6 out of 5 on Glassdoor and 2.0 out of 5 on Indeed, where their ex and current employees have shared their reviews saying they have faced difficult and harsh work environments where management was not very supportive, while some of them have shared positive reviews.

What Are The Animal Welfare Policies Of The Brand?

Animal welfare policies make sure there is no use of exotic skin of animals or products obtained from endangered species.

Fashion brands working to be as sustainable and ethical as possible make sure they only source cruelty-free products.

Now, the brand claims to be responsible and ethical but they are not transparent about their animal welfare policies. 

Do They Give Back To The Community?

Giving back to the community does not only benefit those in need but it also helps fashion brands promote themselves and gain popularity.

Such brands donate to charities and non-profit organizations and engage in raising voices for good causes. However, Dangerfield has not been seen in any of such activities as there is insufficient information on their website.

Sources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMWm6LfQwTA 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CI1Ybzcbkf0 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1704858439594133/