Molly-Mae Hague – who starred in the 2019 series of ITV2 hit show Love Island – was recently appointed Creative Director of online fashion band PrettyLittleThing.

Although fans have been celebrating the new role given to the influencer and former Love Island star, not everyone has been jumping for joy.

With more than 6million followers across her social media channels, Molly-Mae has an impressionable audience full of fans who admire what she does, which has led to many people questioning her new role and the ethics surrounding it.

PrettyLittleThing is owned by the Boohoo Group, and is one of several fast-fashion online retailers that have come under fire due to allegations of suppliers underpaying staff.

Leicester is home to a hub of around 1,500 factories, of which a number supply Boohoo Group, which includes PrettyLittleThing.

The retail group became central to the garment factory scandal uncovered in Leicester after numerous investigations in previous years gained wide media attention in 2020, during the first national lockdown.

Last year Boohoo announced that they had cut ties with 64 Leicester suppliers, with plans to open its own factory in the city.

But another investigation earlier this year uncovered further claims related to the group, in which one factory worker said she was forced to pay back part of her minimum wage.

But as Molly-Mae gears up for her new role, social media users, activists and commentators are reminding people of the widely-reported exploitation that surrounds the brand, while many hope she will use her new position to address the reported problems, instead of just turning a blind eye.

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Gina Martin, an activist who changed the law on up-skirting, tweeted Molly-Mae directly, where she said: "Would love to see you use your new influence, leverage and power to push for your garment workers to be paid above a living wage! As CD workers are now your priority too. [In 2020, it was revealed @OfficialPLT paid their Leicester workers £3.50 p/hour which is slave labour.]"

Someone replied to Gina, defending Molly-Mae: "To be fair her title is ‘creative director’ and she will have no say whatsoever in what workers get paid. Direct your anger at the right people."

To which Gina replied: "I worked with creative directors for six years. She isn't a traditional creative director. She has more access, power, influence, leverage than any creative director. This isn't a typical situation. And everyone has a right to ask for workers to be paid, it's called advocacy."

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Other social media users have been critiquing Molly-Mae's new role, with another saying: "I understand the reflexive discomfort of seeing Britain’s biggest influencer becoming embedded in an exploitative fast fashion chain but I don’t understand what 'Holding Molly-Mae to account: a thread' is supposed to do or who it’s for? We already know who she is/what she does?"

A third commentator commented on the announcement: "I don’t think it’ll be easy to get a brand like PLT to change easily. They know what they’re doing, their conscience & the backlash against fast fashion hasn’t changed things. But if anyone has a shot it’s the powerhouse media savvy @mollymaehague. THAT would be inspirational."

This comes as Molly-Mae recently said that she would be just as successful as she is now, had she not appeared on Love Island, the ITV2 show that catapulted her to fame.

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