We all love to shop and the latest trends today are more affordable than ever. However, we don’t always think about who really made the cardigan we just purchased at Forever 21 for $15 or what happens to it after we throw it in the trash.
Today buying cheap comes with an even higher cost. Fashion brands are providing consumers with inexpensive products by exploiting the environment and people living in developing countries. But, what is fast fashion you may ask? Well, it’s a lot like fast food; its cheap, easy to find or purchase, and the products are not always of the best quality.
Fast fashion began in the early 1960s with the help of Spanish designer Amancio Ortega Gaona, who is also known as the former chairman of Inditex Fashion Group. Inditex Fashion Group is best known for its largest retailer Zara.
For a brand to be categorized as a fast fashion brand it must follow four models.
Fast fashion companies’ four major models include:
1. Vertical Integration: the company has full control of designing, manufacturing and selling its products.
2. Marketing research: the company receives feedback on the products produced. They conduct field research on what is trending and production is heavily based on what the consumer wants.
3. The designing and production process is fast: meaning companies mass-produce a single product in about five weeks.
4. Depend on outsourcing: fast fashion depends on cheap labor to mass produce the products.
Countries including but not limited to: Honduras, Bangladesh and China.
Fashion History: The Three Fashion Eras
- In the past clothing production was bespoke. In other words, clothing was custom made.
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The ready-to-wear clothing era then began when clothing was being produced in factories. At this time, clothing was being sold in standard sizes and in finished condition
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Lastly we’re in the fast fashion era in which clothing is mass produced to make trends available to consumers at a lower price.
The three main consequences that result from fast fashion include:
Environmental Effects
The clothing we purchase is so low quality we don’t keep clothes for long anymore. Excess amounts of clothing are wasteful and not being reused. As a result, it’s left to pile up in our landfills. The clothing is not disposable anymore.
Fast Facts:
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The fashion industry is now responsible for 10% of the carbon footprint
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Fashion is also the 2nd biggest polluter of water on the planet because of the dyes and chemicals used to give clothing its color
Exploitative Labor Conditions
Fast fashion depends heavily on outsourcing because it allows them to take advantage of workers in developing countries. These workers are paid low wages, which results in a bigger cash-out for the large corporation. With the low wages also come unsafe working conditions. Fast fashion brands are infamous for their exploitation of women and children in these developing countries. They force workers to handle dangerous chemicals and work extensive hours without breaks.
Stealing independent designers’ ideas
Another unethical aspect of fast fashion is the lack of credibility independent designers receive. Because fast fashion brands only care about satisfying the consumer, they tend to steal ideas from the runway to provide the average person the same look for a cheaper price. This brings about a culture within the industry that discredits designers and the work that they put into their pieces.
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