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SLOWING DOWN FASHION

Is fast fashion a thing of the past now that sustainability is on the rise?

Words by: Marie-Hélène Stavelot, RELUXABLE Founder & CEO

Fast fashion refers to a recent, popular, and potentially exploitative business strategy focused on mass-producing runway and high-fashion creations at low cost. Manufacturing clothes in such a way, using cheap components, such as artificial materials, and hence the low quality of the clothes results in a shorter life span and more waste. Therefore, fast fashion creates large quantities of garments in a short period of time. This increased waste creates an unsustainable vicious circle that significantly impacts the world we live in. After the oil sector, the fashion industry is said to be the world’s second greatest contributor to pollution. So as the fast fashion industry continues to expand, so does the environmental devastation it leaves in its wake. The fast fashion industry’s ethical, social, and sustainability challenges are well researched and documented, and they have only become worse in recent years. According to McKinsey’s research in 2016 by Remy, Speelman, and Swartz, the globe currently “uses more than 100 billion articles of apparel every year.”

Moreover, according to a UN article published in 2018, every year, the fashion industry as a whole is responsible for 92 million tonnes of garbage thrown in landfills. Such significantly high numbers and trends are starting to make consumers more aware of how their actions affect the planet. Many of whom are beginning to become more conscious about their spending and purchases. They are also demanding the brands they shop from to make sustainable and responsible choices while producing their products. Pressure by high-profile environmental activists like Greta Thunberg are further pushing consumers to make more rational choices.

Hence, large companies are making great strides in using recycled material in their offerings. Giant Spanish retailer Zara is the benchmark model for fast fashion. They are producing around 30.000 units of products a year which makes them part of the problem. But, with the rise of the sustainable movement, Zara owner Inditex decided to include green measures by making all his cotton, polyester, and linen sustainable by 2025.

Its competitor, H&M, also focuses on long-term solutions and aims to reduce its environmental impact. Those brands also ensure to recycle products further to avoid them ending up in landfills or being potential contributors to environmental damage. All of this together has started a movement of sustainability in the fashion world, which is garnering more and more attention globally.

Fast fashion brands are still popping up every day, like well-known names such as Fashion Nova or Chinese retailer, Shein, which are going viral thanks to the support of social media. But as, the number of socially responsible brands increases, we might see fast fashion trends slowing down. Many good indicators of these are seen now, such as the mushrooming of thrift stores and secondhand shops, promoting a healthy habit of recycling, or ‘upcycling’ already made clothes available in the market. Similarly, big-name brands are also slowly realizing the error of their ways and incorporating more fair practices in their business models, like labor rights and ethically sourced products and materials, with a focus on recyclability. However, a lot of this still hinges on consumer behavior and demand. The level to which both can alter.

If consumers keep demanding low quality, cheap clothing articles, fast fashion practices will continue, whereas if demand for fast fashion goes down and consumers keep up the pressure on brands becoming more sustainable and ethically responsive, we can see the industry finally changing for the better!