According to Statista, the apparel market in Southeast Asia is projected to be valued US$51.4 billion in 2024. The middle class in the area is expected to increase even more, making up 65% of the population by 2030. For the next five years, the Southeast Asian fashion market is expected to grow at an average annual rate of 86.2%. However, the environment is deteriorating as a result of the region's insatiable appetite for fashion. The longest river in West Java, the Citarum, has been severely contaminated by textile factory waste, resulting in respiratory issues and contact dermatitis in the local population living near the river.
In addition to its negative effects on the environment, the fast fashion industry has come under fire for outsourcing its production to nations with subpar labor laws, like Cambodia, in an attempt to increase profits. Within the system of labor inspectorates in Cambodia, which consists of personnel assigned to uphold the country's labor laws, corruption is rife. Companies bribe officials $100 to $200 US to obtain reports stating they follow the law in order to avoid prosecution. However, since fast fashion is driven by consumer demands, consumers have the ability to “vote with their dollar” by purchasing fewer products from dishonest businesses. In response, companies like H&M are enhancing transparency by making their manufacturers and suppliers public. This enables the public to examine their business practices and notify them of any suspected supply chain malpractices.
Even though more openness contributes to better working conditions, there are still incidents of abuse and harassment of garment workers. Owing to these worries, the demand for sustainable fashion—that is, clothing made in an ethical and ecologically responsible way—started to increase in the area in the middle of the 2010s. Vietnam's Ministry of Trade and Industry set limits on the amount of formaldehyde—a skin irritant—that could be present in clothing dyes in a 2017 directive. There is an increasing need for sustainable natural materials and dyes due to worries about the effects of synthetic dye use on the environment and human health. The Hmong and other ethnic minorities who use indigo dye made from the indigo plant that grows in the Northern Vietnamese mountains are part of one sustainable option.
The process of extracting indigo dye is labor-intensive because the leaves must be harvested and allowed to ferment before the dye can be removed. Since the extraction process for indigo dye is more environmentally friendly, its use is growing despite its difficulty in obtaining.