Fashion

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By Blazej Kupec
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Last modified April 22, 2022

What is Fast Fashion and How You Can Slow

it Down

• Fast fashion is a business of mass-producing cheap clothes that look expensive but
are in fact made not to last long. Many brands have perfected the model, most
notably Zara, H&M and Forever 21.
• Fast Fashion hurts the environment and people: the industry is the second biggest
polluter of water and is responsible for bad conditions in textile factories that are
mostly in Asia.
• The good news: it doesn’t take a lot of effort to become a sustainable fashionista.
The main rule is to buy better clothes and wear them longer. Learn what else you
can do in our guide that will take you away from fast fashion and towards greener
alternatives.
1. In summer 2019, an online fashion brand Misguided offered a black bikini set for a baffling
price of one pound. The retailer advertised the piece as one that “won’t break your bank,
but it may break the internet”. It has in fact gone viral, but probably not for the reasons
they’ve hoped for. A group of ethical shoppers first took to Twitter to voice concerns over
the unsustainability of a one-pound item, followed by a full-blown social media backlash.
Activist Venetia La Manna, for instance, posted this amusing video, explaining why people
really don’t need new and poorly made bikinis.
[Video online link]

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2. Misguided’s marketing blunder is the ultimate symbol of a throwaway culture known as fast
fashion – a massive industry of badly-made, cheap and disposable clothing that come at a
huge cost to the environment and people. Plug your nose and let’s take a closer look at this
big, stinking mess. There are some similarities in both the articles
Fast fashion model explained
3. The apparel business has changed entirely since our grandmas shopped for their teenage
clothes. Sixty years ago, clothing was mostly sold through department stores and big
retailers that would buy the items from local manufacturers. By the mid-1970s these
retailers established their own house brands and product designs to compete against the
producers. At the same time, more creative entrepreneurs, such as Amancio Ortega,
founder of Zara, also started outsourcing the production to low-cost countries and designing
cheaper versions of high-end fashion. But it wasn’t until the late 1990s that the fast fashion
model really took off. Fast fashion, characterized by its rapid production of inexpensive
clothing.
4. Fast fashion today is fuelled by cheap clothing sold at high volumes – and quickly. Zara, for
example, is able to design, produce and distribute clothes in just five weeks. They also make
sure to deliver a steady stream of new styles as their designers churn out around 20,000
designs each year. has significant environmental and societal effects. the environmental
impact is substantial.
5. Zara has perfected the model and made it highly profitable – its parent company Inditex
made 3,6 billion euro in net sales in 2019 alone. Many others have embraced the same
process and made it even more efficient. The one-pound bikini wizards at Misguided, for
instance, release up to a thousand new products each week. Fashion Nova, the flashy online
retailer of the Instagram age, needs two weeks tops to put freshly designed clothes onto the
shelves. Fast fashion is turning into ultrafast fashion.
“It’s important to have a lot of styles because our customers post so much online and
need new clothes. We don’t want girls showing up to the club in the same outfit. We
need 50 different denim jackets. Not just one.”
Richard Saghian, Fashion Nova’s CEO, said in one of the interviews.
Buy, wear it five times, throw it away and repeat
6. In the meantime, customers have become used to buying clothes for pocket money. Much
of BooHoo’s clothing is dirt cheap. They sell a sweater for £15 and leggings for £5, for
example. “The products are very, very cheap. The design is pretty attractive. And if you walk
into the store, I think, for a lot of consumers, it's virtually impossible to walk out empty-
handed,” explains Elizabeth Cline, an author of a book Overdressed: The Shockingly High
Cost of Cheap Fashion. with the fashion industry contributing to global emissions and
chemical usage.
7. Cline herself was obsessed with bargain shopping, having amassed 354 items of clothing,
some that she never wore. This model of buying clothes, wearing them a couple of times
and then quickly discarding them is rampant. One survey found that most respondents wear
an item only seven times on average. Some may even wear it just once, according to recent
research from the Fashion Revolution. Second, consumer behavior plays a crucial role, as
overconsumption leads to overflowing.
8. Clothes are so cheap that many online shoppers throw damaged or unwanted items away
rather than returning them. But even if they do send them back, retailers don’t necessarily
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 have the technology to handle this kind of goods. It’s usually cheaper to simply chuck
everything than to spend time sifting through returns. This means that returned clothes are
typically shipped to wholesalers or they end up directly in landfills. Brands would sometimes
even destroy unsold clothes intentionally in order not to “devalue brand” with discounts.
Burberry has done just that - between 2013 and 2018 they’ve burned more than £90m
worth of clothing and accessories. wardrobes. Lastly, while brands introduce sustainable
alternatives, critics argue that.
Landfill fashion and environmental consequences
9. Cheap clothes are made at a dizzying pace today. The industry produces north of 150 billion
clothes a year – almost 20 pieces for every human in the world. Over the last 15 years,
clothing production has doubled, yet we wear clothes only half as long. As we stuff our
wardrobes we also fill landfills - up to 85 percent of textiles end up on the junk pile. This
means that every second an equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is dumped. The
“landfill fashion” doesn’t come cheap: in 2015, the world threw away more than $450 billion
worth of clothes, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. addressing
overconsumption remains essential. Collective action is necessary to mitigate.
10. It then takes hundreds of years for the synthetic clothing – which the majority of our
wardrobe is made of - to break down. In the meantime, they decompose and emit
greenhouse gases. Altogether, the global fashion industry produces more CO2 than
international flights and shipping combined. If the business goes as usual, these emissions
could increase by more than 60 percent by 2030.
Fashion industry helped drain a lake
11. Fast fashion also creates great pressure on rivers and streams. Textile dyeing that is highly
toxic and potentially carcinogenic, for instance, is the world’s second-largest polluter of
water. Huge amounts of water also go into manufacturing fabrics, especially cotton - it takes
about 20,000 litres of water to produce one kilo of cotton, according to the World Wildlife
Fund. That amount is enough to make a t-shirt and a pair of jeans or for nearly six months of
water use for an average European. fast fashion’s effects on our planet.
12. An illustrative example of the destructive nature of the mass-produced cotton is the Aral
Sea - or what’s left of it. Cotton farming in the region used so much water from the two
rivers that formed the lake that the Aral Sea almost completely dried up. Once one of the
world’s four largest lakes, the Aral Sea is now little more than desert and a few small ponds–
as seen from the image below, comparing 1998 (left) and 2014.

Source: Wikipedia

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 The ugly world behind the label
13. In the regions of Uzbekistan that surround the remnants of the Aral Sea, millions of people
still pick up cotton each year by hand - many against their will. This kind of forced (and child)
labour is the darkest side of the garment industry as a lot of the business is built on the
exploitation of workers, particularly women in Asia. Many of them are harassed, abused
with few rights and not paid a sufficient living wage to survive. Sweatshop workers may
even earn as little as three cents per hour working up more than a hundred hours a week in
rooms with bad air quality and extreme heat. The conditions have been improving only
slowly and usually after accidents that put the fast fashion industry under the spotlight. One
such tragedy was the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh — an accident that killed more
than 1,100 people in 2013. There are some differences in both the articles fast
fashion rapidly produces inexpensive.
14. Garment production is not dirty and underpaid work only in Asia. Just recently, the New
York Times published a report on Fashion Nova, revealing that factories in Los Angeles were
under investigation for underpaying workers and owing them millions in wages. Boohoo has
also been accused of “modern slavery” when a UK sweatshop that made their clothes has
been exposed. garments following ever-changing trends. It dominates the market due to
factors like scale,
15. The fact is that fast fashion disproportionately favours retailers – as shown in this estimate
of a Zara jumper price breakdown made by a Swiss watchdog Public Eye. The textile factory
that actually makes the hoodie is paid only six percent of the retail price and almost three
times less than the amount of Zara’s profit.

How to slow down fashion

16. Fashion giants can be sluggish or unwilling to put sustainability at the heart of their
businesses. But, as consumers, we can use our spending power and vote for change by
slowing down our own fashion habits.

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17. Slow fashion is in fact a big and important thing right now. The idea is based on quality and
sustainability over cheap prices and new looks. Slow fashion prioritizes people and the
planet. It encourages consumers to buy more sustainable products with locally sourced
materials. In practice, this could mean buying second-hand, prioritizing natural materials
and However, it has significant environmental and social
Good examples of sustainable fashion
18. In the past decade, many labels have emerged with sustainability at their core. One such
brand is Bogdar, founded in 2015. All of its pieces are produced in the family-owned facility
in Bulgaria with organic viscose, sustainable and recycled fabrics and custom digital prints
that help reduce water waste and ink. Also, check out our friends at the London-based
Baukjen. are plastic-free, carbon net-neutral and zero waste. drawbacks, including resource
depletion, pollution, and labour exploitation. On the other hand,
19. Another brand that creates beautiful and sustainable fashion is HundHund. The Berlin-based
studio is focused on price transparency - for each product they’ll break down the costs so
that you know exactly what you are paying for. Also, another example we are proud to team
up with, is Paro Store - Sustainable and Ethical Clothing that features independent brands
'designed in a way that's better for people and the planet'.
20. As a side note: the “higher” prices of sustainable clothing only reflect the true cost of fair
wages without cutting corners to avoid environmental regulation. And besides, the higher
upfront cost might even save you money in the long run as sustainable pieces are by
definition also better made.

HundHund “radical transparency” price breakdown

Mend your own clothes

21.Slow fashion also rejects the idea that newer is better; so fix those holes and make clothes
last longer! The basic mending kit includes a needle, some thread, a pair of scissors and a bit

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 of persistence. You’ll also find a laundry list of online resources that’ll help you start, such as
this one. prioritizes ethical production, environmental care, and consumer awareness. It
focuses on
22. If do-it-yourself is not up your alley, you may want to try on-demand seamstress services –
one such provider is The Clothes Doctor that offers alterations, customisation and repairs.
They’ll pick up your clothing, take it to partner seamstresses and return it all nice and
repaired. It costs 15 pounds to fix a hole in the pocket or 17 pounds for zipper
replacements. The founder Lulu O’Connor hopes that “she will help spark a revolution
where clothes are fixed not binned”.
Repurpose your clothes
23.You can also give your under-loved or torn clothes a new life by repurposing them. The
possibilities are limited only by your imagination and include reusable tissues, grocery bags,
duvet covers and coin purses. quality, eco-friendly materials, fair labour practices, and
reducing waste.

Try renting and swapping clothes

24. Renting clothes is not new, but the internet and smartphones made swapping or borrowing
fashion pieces possible on a much larger scale. Rent the Runway, for instance, has grown
into a multi-million business, offering a wide selection of occasion dresses that we typically
only use a couple of times per year. They offer hundreds of designer pieces, some starting at
just $30. By making conscious choices, we can support a more responsible fashion industry
that benefits both people and the planet.
25. Our friends at The Nuw Wardrobe are also doing a fantastic job with their app for renting
high quality, but under-loved pieces. Its founder Aisling Byrne explains that she has first
seen the devastating social and environmental impacts of the fashion industry when
volunteering in India and decided to do something about it.
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 Go for second-hand shops
26. The used-clothes market (vintage, thrift, second hand) is booming - it was worth 24 billion
dollars in the U.S. alone, 35 percent more than the fast fashion business. Pre-loved shopping
is expected to grow even faster as Generation Z adopts second-hand fashion more than
twice as fast as other age groups. By 2028, around 13 percent of the clothes in women’s
closets are likely to be second hand.
27. Sustainable fashionistas, look for your local thrift and second-hand shops, any bigger town
has at least one. For additional convenience, jump over to the online versions - here are a
few options you can try out:
• Flyp app platform connects people (with clothes to sell) with other users and
independent professional resellers.
• Vestiaire Collective is an online thrifting shop for vintage and high-end clothing and
accessories.
• Poshmark is a peer-to-peer thrifting website with an app that makes buying and
selling used clothes super easy.
Know your material
28. Another important element of sustainable fashion are eco-friendly textiles. There is a
laundry list of alternatives to mass-produced cotton or polyester. Recycled cotton, for
instance, reduces water and energy consumption and helps keep cotton clothes out of the
landfill. Linen is another natural fibre that requires minimal water and pesticides.
Production of Tencel, a light cellulose fabric made from wood pulp, also uses less energy
and water than cotton but keeps the softness and breathability. And if you feel frisky, you
may want to try out materials made of apples, pineapples, mushrooms (alternatives to
leather) or hemp, lotus and nettles instead of cotton.
Hold brands accountable
29. Sustainable fashion can be encapsulated as buying better clothes and wearing them longer.
But fixing the mess of fast fashion shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of consumers solely.
Grassroots movements and initiatives must be met by top-down action. We need
governments to step in with smart regulation, investment schemes for sustainable materials
and support programs for repair services. The British MPs, for instance, have already urged
the UK government to fix “fast fashion trend” and the European Parliament has set
ambitious recycling targets, including textile waste.
30. Social media activism also has its power to make brands more accountable. When the
pandemic hit and fast fashion factories shut down, for instance, thousands of garment
workers were left unpaid and out of work. The viral campaign #PayUp has been launched to
pressure companies into paying their dues and many have pledged to honour their
obligations.
31. There are many organizations doing great work in educating and empowering consumers.
Here are some of them that we encourage you to check out:
• Fashion Revolution
• Remake
• Fashion our Future
• Clean Clothes
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 • Centre for Sustainable Fashion
• Good On You
32. Here at Planet Care, we are also committed to minimizing the impact of fast fashion. We are
big advocates of mending our clothes, buying second-hand & sustainable fashion and
washing garments only when necessary. We are also on a mission to keep oceans clean
from microfibers, small plastic pieces that synthetic clothes (they make up the biggest part
of fast fashion) shed during washing. If you want to learn more, we welcome you to read
our blog on microfiber pollution and all the ways you can help stop it. Every action counts!

Eileen Fisher is considered one of the leaders in sustainable fashion.

Before you go, let's recap
What is fast fashion?
33. Fast fashion is a massive industry of badly made, cheap and disposable clothing. It is also
used to describe a business model that is based on replicating high fashion designs,
producing them in countries with cheaper labour and selling them at high-volume.
What is the problem with fast fashion?
34. The problems are both social and environmental. Fast fashion is the world’s second-largest
polluter of water and it produces more CO2 than international flights and shipping
combined. Garment workers that make items for fast fashion brands are also often
exploited, not paid a living wage and have to work in unsafe conditions.
What are fast fashion examples?
35. Zara is considered a pioneer of the fast fashion model. Many brands today have adopted a
similar model, such as Forever 21, Boohoo, Misguided, H&M.
How do you avoid fast fashion?
36. We encourage you to buy from certified sustainable brands that are especially transparent
with their materials and pricing. Wear clothes longer and think of how you can repurpose
them after the end of the garment’s lifecycle. Also, consider buying from second-hand shops

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and try borrowing special pieces that you would wear only a couple of times. Pressuring
brands through social media activism is another way how to make them accountable.

Blazej Kupec
Blazej writes about inspiring ideas and fascinating people who make our world a greener
place. A journalist by profession, Blazej can be found in Berlin, most likely in coworking
places or anywhere with Neapolitan pizza. When he is not writing, he’ll read history books
or collect old maps.

Copyright © PlanetCare

https://blog.planetcare.org/what-is-fast-fashion-and-how-you-can-slow-it-down/