The dirty side of the fast-fashion business (rerun)

Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some of our top episodes from 2023. We can’t do this show without you and we still need your support. If you can, donate today to keep independent journalism going strong into 2024 and beyond. Give now to support Make Me Smart. Thank you so much for your generosity, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year.

It’s time to air out some of fast fashion’s dirty laundry. Recently, fast-fashion retailer Shein was in the headlines over a paid influencer trip to one of its factories in China. It’s also facing allegations that range from labor rights abuses to high levels of carbon emissions.

Sustainable-fashion writer Alden Wicker’s new book, “To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick” documents another gritty side of the industry: the toxic chemicals used to make the clothing many companies sell.

As it turns out, there aren’t many laws in the U.S. to prevent those chemicals from ending up in our clothes.

“It’s a pretty untenable situation that we’re putting this all on consumers who largely do not have a degree in chemistry to protect themselves from what we know are hazardous chemicals,” Wicker said.

On the show today, Wicker explains why harmful chemicals are in our clothing, how flight attendants became a breakthrough case for toxic clothing and how more regulation could help ensure safer practices in the fashion industry. Plus, what consumers can do to reduce their exposure.

Then, more on harmful chemicals: A recent study found a type of “forever chemical” is uncomfortably common in the U.S. water supply. And, the pending merger between Microsoft and Activision Blizzard got a big push forward from a federal judge this week. We’ll get into why the decision is a major blow to the Federal Trade Commission.

Later, a listener shares an adorable cartoon that has Kimberly Adams written all over it. Plus, this week’s answer to the Make Me Smart question is a lesson on the power of language.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

“Shein, the fast-fashion giant, hits roadblocks” from The Washington Post

“Are your clothes making you sick? The opaque world of chemicals in fashion” from The Guardian

“The incredible story of how hatmakers really did ‘go mad’ 300 years ago” from Business Insider

“Influencers are under fire for praising working conditions in Shein’s clothing factory despite abuse allegations” from NBC News

“Toxic Chemicals in Shein and Other Fast Fashion Clothing” from Insider

“What Is Prop 65? And Why Is There a Warning Label on This Thing I Bought?” from The New York Times

“How to remove PFAS — aka forever chemicals — from drinking water” from Vox

“Tap water study detects PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ across the US” from U.S. Geological Survey

“Microsoft Can Close Its $75 Billion Buy of Activision Blizzard, Judge Rules” from The Wall Street Journal

‘“USA Geography” Features Humorous Illustrations Of Each State” from Bored Panda

“The Slowdown” podcast from APM

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