Projects
According to clothing impact waste in the US over the last 20 years, the amount of clothing being manufactured has doubled since 2000. The majority of customers have become more focused on whether the price is cheap, rather than the lifelong value or the quality of the product. Fashion retailers like Zara, H&M, and Shein take advantage of this by rapidly producing trendy clothing and selling them at affordable prices. Though mass production is more effective it has negative impacts. For example, Poor labor conditions, water population, and clothes often ended up burning in landfills. We can use Buddhist beliefs to stop fast fashion and the effects it brings. By understanding the 4 noble truths, lack projects, reverse cherishing, and Ecodhrma. We can get rid of suffering which will rid ideas like cravings and attachment. Which will help others and the environment in the long run.
As a successful company, Hershey has many strengths; their values, and beliefs being one of their strengths. These values were originally rooted in the founder Milton Hershey. Milton Hershey took pride in his values. He had a vision of making chocolate accessible to everyone. No matter what social class the person came from. At Hershey, the company promotes togetherness, and integrity, caring for its employees, making quality products, and making a difference through its products, while caring for its employees, customers, earth, and communities. These values are what sets Hershey apart from its competitors. The Hershey Company believes in caring for their employees, customers, communities, and the planet, helping children succeed, making the best quality products, and producing affordable snacks for everyone. Another strength Hershey has is its diverse portfolio of products. Hershey is the number one chocolate producer in America. This is partially because of their versatile portfolio of different and unique products such as Hershey’s Kisses, Reese’s peanut butter cups, Twizzlers, KitKat, and more. In the past, Hershey entered the grocery goods market by producing baking products, bubble gum, mint, nuts, cookies, syrup, and even popcorn. Hershey is known for its strong marketing strategy. Their strategies are based on strong product innovation, derived, and the high quality of the products. Through this market strategy, Hershey used four interconnected strategies: growth by capturing more snacking occasions, profitable and sustainable international expansion, operating with best-in-class capabilities and partnerships, and investing in people and communities. An example of Hershey's investing in the people and community is when Hershey signed the cocoa forest initiative against deforestation. By investing in ending deforestation Hershey earned several fair trade certifications. These marketing strategies have led to a boom in performance financially. In 1915 Hershey opened Chocolate World, a museum and exhibit about the company and their products. In 2017 Hershey’s revenue increased from $7,515 to $8149 million and their net income increased from $782 million to $1278 million in 2020.
Not only does fast fashion greatly impact the environment but it also affects the factory workers. In clothing impact waste in the US over the last 20 years, Wanger talks about how often it is hard to find adults to work in clothing factories so often they hire children to work with the heavy and dangerous machinery. “Many of the wages these factory workers earn are below the poverty level, and cannot support the worker’s families. Countries such as Vietnam and Cambodia, which manufacture many popular brands today, pay their employees as little as $175 a month “To fulfill ourselves desires for new clothes and trends, other people are being mistreated to achieve this. To fix this we can participate in Reverse self cherishing. Reverse self-cherishing is when we choose to cherish other beings instead of ourselves. by partaking in reverse self-cherishing, we will be able to monitor our self-cherishing thoughts and desires. David Loy states, “I cannot get rid of the self but can realize it’s empty”(ecodharma, pg. 4 ). Once we realize that our desires are empty fillers, we will be able to open our eyes and see the world as it is.
in conclusion, by understanding Buddhist beliefs and philosophies like the 4 noble truths, lack projects, and Reverse cherishing. we can further understand the effects of fast fashion, and by doing so we can further help ourselves and the environment around us.
Work Cited
Wagner, M. (2022, May 3). Impact of clothing waste in the US over the last 20 years. ArcGIS StoryMaps. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/a312b15d6c0e466d98e0a22d5aef5113
Loy, David. Ecodharma. Simon and Schuster, 29 Jan. 2019.