Fashion against Fascism: Working together against the spread of right-wing content

In recent months, hundreds of thousands of people in Germany have demonstrated against right-wing politics and racism. With the “Fashion against Fascism” initiative, Spread Group is also actively campaigning against the spread of far-right codes and ideologies.

Right-wing movements and right-wing extremism are on the rise (inter)nationally. Unfortunately, e-commerce platforms are also being used as central distribution channels by the far-right scene. This is not just about spreading inhumane symbols and ideologies. Sales also serve to finance political campaigns, which is exactly where the problem lies.

Together with the Hamburg association Laut gegen Nazis e. V. and Jung von Matt, Spread Group is supporting the “Fashion against Fascism” initiative in a move to curb the spread of right-wing ideas in the fashion industry.

Our self-image as an open e-commerce platform for designers goes hand in hand with a social responsibility towards our fellow people. We believe that the open and free exchange of ideas is the key to creativity, engagement, and self-expression. In order to handle this freedom responsibly, we have set standards for our community and ourselves. This means that we abide by the law and go beyond it – where trademark law is powerless – with the “Fashion against Fascism” initiative. Racism and other forms of discrimination have no place with us. This claim is a fundamental component of our community guidelines, in which we state that we do not accept illegal content, hate speech, pornography or the glorification of violence on our platform.

What does the “Fashion against Fascism” initiative stand for?

Taking the first step, Laut gegen Nazis e.V. and Jung von Matt used trademark law to take legal action against the dissemination of right-wing extremist content with the globally recognised “Recht gegen Rechts” campaign. Because not all right-wing abbreviations and codes can be recorded in this way, we are also working with Laut gegen Nazis e.V. to create the largest online database for recognising Nazi codes. The open-source initiative collects Nazi codes to actively prevent their distribution. The goal is to enable other online fashion platforms to recognise right-wing codes and keep them off their marketplaces. Want to find out more? Our Q&A gives you more insight.

What does the “Fashion against Fascism” initiative mean for our designers?

Designs with certain abbreviations or numbers may be rejected. It is also possible that designers may have published designs without realising that they are used as Nazi codes.

What can I do as a designer to prevent the spread of right-wing designs?
If you come across designs that violate our Community Standards, you can easily report them. You can find out how to do this here .

Now we’ve taken the first step! Let’s make online fashion portals safe spaces for everyone and report racist content where we see it. If you have any more questions about the initiative, feel free to write us a comment or visit our forum.