Fashion Under Trump: What’s Next for The Industry?

Graphic by Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez

It’s official. The votes are in. Donald Trump will once again be the President of the United States. This unexpected result has left almost every person, business and industry asking the same question: What’s next? 

For the fashion industry, another Trump presidency will have two major impacts: increased tariffs and less environmental regulation.

Throughout his campaign, Trump consistently boasted about his plan to hike tariffs up to 20% on imports from other countries and even as high as 60% on imports from China. He assured voters that these tariffs would only impact foreign countries and not affect consumer prices. Economists across the political spectrum agree that these promises are false, according to the BBC.

By increasing tariffs, consumer goods will see a significant price increase, especially for apparel. The fashion industry heavily relies on foreign production and with these tariffs, the low prices consumers have grown accustomed to are no longer realistic. 

Trump also claims this will focus efforts on American-made products, asserting that “The higher the tariff, the more likely it is that the company will come into the United States and build a factory in the United States.” However, it will be an expensive and long process to shift the entire fashion industry from overseas to domestic production, and consumers will likely suffer in the transition. 

In addition to the cost to consumers that another Trump presidency will bring, there is also the cost to the environment. The fashion industry, in its current state, is notably unsustainable. Fast fashion is as rampant as ever, and consumers consistently push for lower prices regardless of the harm it inflicts on labor and the environment. 

However, there was still hope for the future. The industry was starting to make strides towards a more sustainable way of producing and consuming apparel. With another four years under, someone who has repeatedly referred to the climate crisis as a “scam”, the progress is likely to be erased and the industry will sink even further into unsustainable practices that will create irreparable harm to the environment. 

With a lack of government regulation, it will be up to the companies themselves to keep sustainability in mind. Though the overall culture in the industry has started shifting towards sustainability, without any reinforcement from the government, companies will likely continue putting profits over the environment.

Given what Trump has said he plans to do with these next four years, in combination with his past actions, it appears that his presidency will bring higher apparel prices to consumers and increased environmental damage. With what is likely to be a chaotic time for the fashion industry coming soon, it is especially important now for fashion companies to consider the tradeoff between high profits in the meantime or a sustainable future for the industry.