Forever 21 Is No Longer Forever
September 11, 2019
Fashion retailer Forever 21 has reportedly been preparing for a potential bankruptcy filing. Reasons for their possible bankruptcy consist of, workforce, environment, lawsuits, and fashion issues.
Back in 2016, it was discovered by the Los Angeles Times that Forever 21’s clothes were being manufactured by workers in Southern California who were paid less than minimum wage, $4 dollars an hour to be exact. Stores like Forever 21 rely on selling the latest trends at very low-cost prices, and in order to do so, they rely on virtual slave labor to maintain their ability to sell cheap clothing.
The manufacturing process to create these inexpensive clothing items isn’t good for the environment either. More than 60 percent of fabric fibers are now synthetics, derived from fossil fuels and about 85 percent of textile waste in the United States goes to landfills. Consumers are becoming more conscious of the problems with fast fashion and are turning toward exporters focused more on enduring and sustainability. Shoppers are now purchasing clothing from thrifting stores or online innovation, websites such as Poshmark and Depop.
On the other hand, fashion-wise Forever 21 is no longer unique; it’s become a fashion trend following store. The items sold are basic items that make consumers no longer interested. When asked Veronica Hernandez said, “I don’t mind it closing down, I barely shop there anymore because the material is so cheap and everything has sayings on it.” The lack of consumption has lead Forever 21 to take any collaboration they could. A collaborator they worked with was the Cheetos company, creating shirts with Cheeto bag designs on them. Cheetos wasn’t the only company they partnered with; they also partnered with USPS. These collaborations were a sign of Forever 21 trying to escape bankruptcy by trying to catch any attention they could. However, as we can see from the filing for bankruptcy, it didn’t work.
Forever 21 was so committed to saving their company that they allegedly stole Ariana Grande’s image instead of paying her the price she set for a collaboration. This caused Ariana Grande to sue she claimed that the fashion retailer wanted to confuse customers into thinking Grande endorsed Forever 21. They did this by posting photos of Ariana Grande on its social media accounts and using a model that looked very similar to her.
Forever 21 is most likely to follow through with bankruptcy because of all the issues that have arisen for them.
Citations:
Forbes, V., & Sikes, D. (2018). Figure 2c from: Forbes V, Sikes D (2018) A survey of beetles (Coleoptera) from the tundra surrounding the Nunalleq archaeological site, Quinhagak, southwestern Alaska. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e22788. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.6.e22788. doi: 10.3897/bdj.6.e22788.figure2c
kailie hernandez • Nov 8, 2019 at 2:22 pm
En realidad nunca e ido a Forever 21 asi que no me afecta en absoluto si cierran la tienda. Aparte la mayoria de tiendas de ropa son en linea y ya no es necesario tener que ir hasta la tienda para obtener una prenda.
Diana • Nov 7, 2019 at 2:09 pm
i agree, Forever 21 it’s not the same as before. I remember when everyone went to shop there and it was the best but now the clothes are outdated. And its sad that they were paying workers 4 dollars per hour.
Daniella Orduna • Nov 7, 2019 at 2:01 pm
Forever 21 used to be one of my favorite stores. They used to have cute clothing, but now it isn’t the same.
Iridian De La Rosa • Nov 7, 2019 at 1:12 pm
I used to shop at Forever 21 and I was never aware of the very low amount of money being paid to the workers which honestly makes me not want to shop there anymore. Its so sad to see a company who I once used to shop at not be what I thought it used to be.
Emily • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:34 pm
At first I was surprised to hear that forever 21 stores are closing.I didn´t know that they were paying workers 4 dollars an hour!I Have noticed that forever 21 stores aren´t as popular as before.Now I know why.This article was very interesting and full of detail.
Alicia Moreno • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:29 pm
This article is informative and helpful in understanding why Forever 21 is going bankrupt. Before reading this article I was on the opposite side of things believing that Ariana Grande was trying to sue an affordable brand. Now that I am well informed I know that she does not want to be seen as a supporter of cheap labor factories.
Antonio • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:27 pm
instead of saying virtual you should say borderline, You should get rid of “on the otherhand” and just start by using “fashionwise, …” because it looks more messy when you do it the way you did. good article
Ashley Munguia • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:26 pm
I think that the fact forever 21 is closing is kinda bad because it has some cute shirts and affordable too especially people who cant afford good clothing. Every store has a down side but forever 21 can have some cute clothes for a cheap price and i think the fabric isnt that bad , but its a good topic because it really caught my attention.
Sentyacen • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:24 pm
At first I read the title and was sad that the store was closing down. Now that I know they were basically using slave labor, I am relieved at the fact that their stores are being closed. It´s honestly horrible what they were doing. I am never buying clothes there again!
Jose Rocha • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:23 pm
I never personally shopped at Forever 21 and this article gave me the impression that its a cheap alternative for clothing as well as the store being boring for quite a few. They should more details such as the workers perspective gaining $4 an hour, but other than that, it was great reading!
jose • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:23 pm
thats sad that they paid only 4 dollars an hour they to do something about how they get people like that we should help so they can get out from there
Josue Pulido • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:23 pm
I feel like I’ve always seen less and less of these stores around malls and such. I remember hearing about people going to shop there all the time, but it died down, and I guess I didn’t notice. Such a forgettable store.
Alisha Zazueta • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:22 pm
I find this crazy because Forever 21 is such a big company and knowing that they might file bankruptcy is pretty ridiculous. If they do this is for sure going to be all over social media.
Alberto Ramirez • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:21 pm
Yes, I Agree. Forever 21 has been falling down has a whole because their clothes are really outdated and cheap. Forever 21 really tried to stay on the map but it just created a whole problem for themselves. I never heard that they were paying their workers 4 dollars an hour until now, good detailed article.
Perla Bernal • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:19 pm
I have only been to Forever 21 a couple of times, but I have to say that their clothing was in fact better back then than it is now. Their clothing is trend following, and I’d love to hear what other people say about their downgrading company.
Frida Govea • Sep 20, 2019 at 2:17 pm
Forever 21 has always been a fast cheap alternative to many people but on the downside the fast cheap fabric ends up in most of our landfills. Next time you should add in more information about what will happen to the workers who used to work in the cheap labor factories. Other than that it really is an interesting topic
Alfredo Munoz • Sep 20, 2019 at 1:21 pm
Forever 21 Yo nunca comprado a Forever 21 o he estado allí, así que no puedo decir cuánto sé sobre la tienda. Lo que puedo decir es que si forever 21 se está cerrando sobre los todos casos de demanda, a mi no me importaría. También tengo una pregunta si el modelo se parecía a Ariana Grande, ¿podría haber sido una coincidencia?