It’s Time That Love Island Broke Up With Fast Fashion – Before It’s Too Late

It’s the gig every fast fashion brand would kill for. As Love Island lands back on our screens after a year-and-a-half hiatus, contestants will once again be kitted out by ISAWITFIRST– and viewers invited to shop the outfits. A quick glance at the stats reveals why a partnership with the most-watched show of the summer is such a hot ticket: in previous years, the brand has seen a 67% increase in sales and 254% increase in Instagram followers (not to mention an immeasurable boost in name recognition). Shoppable reality TV is clearly a stroke of marketing genius… and a sustainable fashion nightmare.

Launched in 2017, I Saw It First is a relative newcomer, but its roots in the industry run deep. Founder Jamal Kamani is part of Manchester’s premier fast-fashion dynasty, having built up the Boohoo Group with his brother Mahmud (plus nephews Umar and Adam) before eventually selling his stake. Much like its predecessors, ISAWITFIRST hawks ultra-sexy, low-cost clothing that’s made for holidays, parties and posting on Instagram. With its endless product churn, questionable supply chains and over-familiar tone of voice that encourages over-purchasing (‘It’s Splurge Weekend!’, ‘Treat Yourself!’), the brand and its competitors make traditional high-street stores look like the good guys.

Where these online-only fast-fashion labels really trump the likes of H&M and Zara is in the minimal overhead costs that allow them to pump unholy amounts of cash into marketing. And their determination to reach their ‘influenceable’ target audience at every possible opportunity has resulted in a menage à trois between reality TV, social media and super-fast fashion, as brands sponsor hit shows and then offer six-figure contracts to the breakout stars in exchange for Instagram ads.

No one expects Love Island to be a beacon of righteousness, but its recent commitment to contestants’ mental health suggests producers are willing to make changes when pressure is applied. So, is it time now to call for the show to end its endorsement of single-use clothing and advocate for slower, more sustainable fashion?

In reality, the most sustainable clothes are the ones already in your wardrobe, and I’d imagine that the incoming islanders already have plenty of outfits they could bring along to the villa. But if the idea is for the show to make a statement, then that calls for a more inventive approach. An easy place to start would be swapping ‘shop the look’ for ‘borrow the look’ and partnering with a fashion-for-hire platform like Rotaro or Hurr. The outfits worn around the firepit and sold on ISAWITFIRST are not exactly everyday staples – rather the kind that are typically bought, photographed and then forgotten. Having the option to rent islanders’ outfits, rather than purchase them, would satiate any hunger for newness without adding to the waste stream.

Of course, not all items are made for sharing ¬– namely the swimsuits the islanders spend a good chunk of their time in. In this case, it’d be great to see the Love Island women in a sustainable, small-batch bikini brand, such as Peony, whose pieces are made from recycled fibres, or a more size-inclusive option like Ayla Swim. The retail price of a sustainably and ethically made swimsuit, which better reflects the costs of labour and manufacture, is admittedly several times more than one from ISAWITFIRST – so while the average Love Island viewer may not be able to afford five of them, the hope is they’d be encouraged to see a bikini as an investment for the long term, not just a single summer.

However, if Love Island truly wishes to atone for past sins, then perhaps it might adopt the most radical proposal of all: re-wearing. Each islander should be given a tight capsule wardrobe of pre-selected pieces for their entire time on the show – and have no choice but to recycle them. Want a new outfit for a hot date? You’ll have to get creative. Layer items, even swap with fellow islanders, but absolutely No New Clothes. Go a step further and have the contestants do their own laundry, devoting a fraction of their lounging hours to handwashing, steaming and stain-removing, or taking their clothes to get mended. It sounds dull and deceptively simple, but the act of repairing and re-wearing is one of the most effective ways to reduce the carbon emissions of our clothes and show respect for the people who made them.

Critiquing the environmental impact of a show that’s meant to be little more than light relief might seem naggish and po-faced. But Love Island has long been a conduit for conversations on serious subjects – consent, gaslighting, racism – and perhaps now its throwaway attitude to clothes can become a Twitter talking point. Fast fashion’s terrifying carbon footprint and recent ‘revelations’ about working conditions in Leicester may not have turned ITV off another lucrative brand partnership this time around – but they’re a growing concern for many of the young people who tune in. Let’s hope next season will provide all the sun, sex and antics we’ve come to expect from Love Island – just with clothes that are kinder to the planet.