Worn Out: How Our Clothes Cover Up Fashion's Sins

An insider's look at how the rise of "fast fashion" obstructs ethical shopping and fuels the abuse and neglect of garment workers



Ours is the era of fast fashion: a time of constantly changing, affordable styles for consumers of every stripe, with new clothing hitting the racks every season as social media-fueled tastes shift.


Worn Out examines the underside of our historic clothing binge and the fashion industry's fall from grace. Former InStyle senior news editor and seasoned journalist Alyssa Hardy's riveting work explores the lives of the millions of garment workers--mostly women of color--who toil in the fashion industry around the world--from LA-based sweatshop employees who experience sexual abuse while stitching clothes for H& M, Fashion Nova, and Levi's to "homeworkers" in Indonesia who are unknowingly given carcinogenic materials to work with. Worn Out exposes the fashion industry's fall from grace through celebrities whose endorsements obscure the exploitation behind marquee brands and interviews designers such as Mara Hoffman, whose business models are based on ethical production standards.


Like many of us, Hardy believes in the personal, political, and cultural place fashion has in our lives, from seed to sew to closet, and that it is still okay to indulge in its glitz and glamour. But the time has come, she argues, to force real change on an industry that prefers to keep its dark side behind the runway curtain. The perfect book for people who are passionate about clothing and style, Worn Out seeks to engage in a real conversation about who gets harmed by fast fashion--and offers real solutions for change.