Will fast fashion ever slow down?
Love Island swaps fast-fashion sponsors for eBay amid concerns about environmental impact of clothes waste

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
ITV’s Love Island is looking slightly different after returning to our screens for another summer of coupling up, breaking up and contestant challenges in the Mallorca villa.
Until now, the hit reality show has had a clear “type” when it comes to sponsors, opting for a range of fast-fashion brands, said Metro. But for season eight, contestants are being dressed in second-hand clothes, under a new sponsorship deal with eBay.
“As far as the world of sustainable fashion is concerned, this could be the biggest power couple to date,” according to the newspaper.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Around three millions viewers tuned in to watch each episode of season seven last summer. And during the eight-week run, online fashion sales “grew by more than a tenth”, reported industry news site InternetRetailing.
But with the focus now shifting to second-hand fashion, the sponsorship switch could have a significant impact on viewers’ shopping habits.
“Even if you don’t watch Love Island, this is a moment,” said The Guardian’s First Edition newsletter editor Archie Bland. If the switch “has any impact on the Love Island audience’s appetite for the low-pay, high-environmental-cost model” favoured by fast-fashion brands, it could be “an important one”.
More than 200 contestants have appeared on the show since it began in 2015, but Brett Staniland “was the first to reject its offer of free clothes” from the sponsors, said Vogue Business. The model and sustainable fashion advocate entered the villa last year “to challenge its relationship with fast fashion”.
In this episode of The Week’s podcast The Overview, Staniland explains why he thinks the eBay sponsorship deal may represent a moment of real change for the fashion industry.
So how did fashion get so fast in the first place, what are the consequences – and what next?
Find out with The Overview and guest experts Clare Press, presenter of The Wardrobe Crisis podcast and author of a book of the same name, and Aja Barber, author of Consumed: The Need for Collective Change: Colonialism, Climate Change and Consumerism.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
-
Government shutdown odds spike as House GOP hardliners thwart McCarthy, spending bills
Speed Read House Speaker Kevin McCarthy's caucus is in disarray, and the US is now hurtling toward an avoidable debacle
By Peter Weber Published
-
Firefighters save confused delivery robots
Tall Tales And other stories from the stranger side of life
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
'Rates have peaked'
Today's Newspapers A round-up of the headlines from the UK front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
‘Theatre of cruelty’: has the reality TV bubble burst?
Under the Radar A million fewer viewers watched the latest Love Island launch compared to last year
By Rebekah Evans Published
-
Soundbars to air fryers: the best refurbished Black Friday tech deals
The Week Recommends Buying second hand technology can be budget-friendly – and doesn’t necessarily mean compromising on quality
By Kate Samuelson Published
-
The Overview podcast: are plagiarism rows threatening the future of music?
podcast A growing number of chart-toppers have been accused of copying other artists’ work
By The Week Published
-
The Overview podcast: why are more books being banned?
podcast Hundreds of titles are disappearing from library shelves and syllabuses as the US culture wars escalate
By The Week Published
-
Love Island reviews: ‘stomach-churningly fascinating’ or just all at sea?
The Week Recommends Reality show lands zero star rating - but others argue it’s just what the doctor ordered for Covid-wearing nation
By The Week Staff Published
-
Is it ethical to watch Love Island?
In Depth Controversies surrounding reality TV show unlikely to dent its impressive ratings
By The Week Staff Published
-
Why Love Island stars are giving evidence to MPs
In Depth Former islanders will discuss race, gender and body image
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Mike Thalassitis death: why Love Island is under fire
In Depth Former contestants on the reality show claim ITV’s aftercare has not improved since death of Sophie Gradon
By The Week Staff Last updated