HBO host, John Oliver, took a hard look at fast fashion companies like H&M, Forever 21 and Zara, which offer trendy clothes at rock-bottom prices that are made almost entirely overseas under conditions that are difficult to monitor.
He touches on the basics of what’s wrong in the fashion industry through humour. From the issues of cheap fashion through to labour exploitation and sweatshops, John makes it easy to understand and digest the top of the surface issues associated with the fashion industry.
What Is The John Oliver Effect?
In the second season of John Oliver’s late night talk show ‘Last Week Tonight’, he announced that he had officially started his own church: Our Lady of Perpetual Exemption. This entire (legally binding) sketch was written to target televangelists who found mega-churches in order to take in millions while being exempt from paying taxes. Oliver proved what little effort creating an organization like this requires and how easily fraud and corporate greed can take advantage of these platforms.
The way Oliver clearly portrays a very nuanced political problem with humour in just a 20-minute segment has led to what is now known as the “John Oliver Effect.” The term refers to the power of Oliver’s satirical commentary and the lasting effects his messages have on the country.
“He has a very inviting way of having us all take a look at issues around us with amusement, with sadness, with irony,” HBO programming president Michael Lombardo said in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. “But there’s no cynicism or judgment in it. His observations are always really acute and heartfelt.”
The “John Oliver Effect” can be seen in the numerous examples of Oliver affecting change in both legislation and national opinion. One of the most significant examples of the “John Oliver Effect” was during the net neutrality debate in 2014. The HBO host brought the term “net neutrality” into the cultural zeitgeist by explaining its significance to the common person in an interesting and understandable way.
Oliver used the rest of the segment to explain net neutrality in a way that connected with average people. After explaining its importance, he urged his viewers to flood the Federal Communication Commission with their opinions about the proposed bill. The FCC’s website crashed, after receiving so many messages at once. The FCC eventually voted to adopt net neutrality regulations, and many credit Oliver in making that happen.
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How Did Oliver Slam The World Of Fast Fashion?
Oliver also called out The Gap and Walmart for finding ways to make us forget about their child labour and unsafe factory violations. He called out the increasingly absurd commercials and pretending like they had no idea anything problematic was going on.
One of the biggest companies like The Gap although make comfy and cheap t-shirts for the consumers, it was not the case for the ones who make it. An investigation on the company revealed many disturbing news of child labour and low income labour into make these comfy-cheap t-shirts.
Oliver further encourage people to stop being blinded by low prices and think about the impact of fast fashion. He announced that he’ll be sending the cheapest lunches he could find, from completely unknown locations, to the heads of H&M, Walmart, The Gap, Joe Fresh and The Children’s Place on Monday to show them what poor supply chain management tastes like.
He concluded the segment by putting on a fashion show and at last yelled the phrase, “Eat this wagon of mystery chickens!” Keep in mind folks, trendy clothes are cheaper than ever. That sounds great for the people who buy them, but it’s horrible for the people who make them.
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