Decoding Fast Fashion: Myths, Realities, and Progress towards Sustainability
By: Frankie Smith
If you are completely new to the concept of fast fashion, consider this your introduction. While this article won’t give you a rundown of what fast fashion is, how it works, or which brands in particular are denoted as fast fashion, it will provide some insight on some popular misconceptions about the issue, alongside showing what brands are doing to combat it.
Fast fashion has three major components: microtrends, sustainability, and ethical production. Fast fashion companies are known to go along with the quick cycling of trends, meaning that they often produce styles that are “on trend” during a short period, rather than timeless pieces. Sustainability is also a staunch indicator of whether or not a brand is considered a fast fashion company or not. A brand’s sustainability projection includes their percentage of recycled materials, CO2 emissions, and future sustainability goals. Third, ethical production, which entails worker safety, positive working environments, and fair wages, must be taken into consideration.
However, it can be unclear how to differentiate between fast fashion brands and sustainable companies. Consider this your guide for spotting the differences:
Fast Fashion Misconceptions
1. “Fast fashion is always cheap.”
When it comes to fast fashion, cheap brands like Shein and Forever 21 are the first examples that pop into mind. However, that's one of the most dangerous parts about fast fashion: it can hide behind high price tags (and good photography). Let’s compare Shein and Zara: most of Shein’s “going out tops” (ie. corsets, tanks, leather, or crop tops) range from $5 to $15. Whereas at Zara, the median price for similar tops is about $40. The importance of this distinction lies in the fact that Zara and Shein have similar production practices and models—both cycle trends impeccably fast and both generate a lot of textile waste.
2. “Fast fashion is always low quality.”
Due to the fast paced nature of microtrends, it is worth acknowledging that fast fashion is often low quality and cheaply made. Most of the time, this is how brands compensate for the quick design, manufacturing, and advertising processes that keep them in business. Don’t be fooled though, fast fashion brands often disguise themselves using incredibly good quality and “expensive feeling” materials. Aritzia is a major brand that fits under this category. They are beloved for their timelessness and long lasting material, yet they still fall under the category of fast fashion due to their trend-driven collections and inconclusive evidence regarding reduced CO2 emissions.
3. “Fast fashion only concerns issues surrounding climate change.”
Climate change is an integral part of the fast fashion industry with many fast fashion brands’ factories burning fossil fuels at an alarming rate in order to keep up with trends. However, fast fashion also concerns material waste, pollution, individuality, ethical production, child labor, and much more. The Good Trade, a lifestyle media brand with over 100 million readers, states that, “Fast fashion is harmful to the environment, garment workers, animals, and, ultimately, consumers’ wallets.”
4. “Luxury brands don’t participate in the same practices as fast fashion brands.”
Back when luxury fashion houses first came to be, they were the very opposite of fast fashion. Each individual bag, coat, necklace, etc. was produced from the finest materials under very ethical production including highly skilled, high-paid labor and often, the pieces were made to custom and order. However, the shift to fast fashion has led to cheaper brands being able to replicate designer styles and sell them for a fraction of the price. Luxury brands have responded to this by taking advantage of inexpensive international labor, monitoring and responding to micro trends, and collaborating with the very fast fashion brands that they previously tried to differentiate from.
5. “Participating in fast fashion is an individual problem.”
Just like other sustainability, political, and social issues, fast fashion is not an individual problem to solve. It is a practice ingrained in society that is hard to break free of. Many non-fast-fashion brands lack access to promotional advertising that would streamline their clothing to mass audiences. Therefore, it is hard to discover these small businesses, pushing people to continue feeding fast fashion corporations. In order to reduce the overall fast fashion indulgence, a big change must occur in the fashion world in order to break free of this unsustainable and unethical practice.
SPotting the differences between fast fashion and slow fashion
When trying to differentiate if a brand is “fast-fashion” or not, there are many things to consider. Answers can often be found through a simple Google search. Additionally, most big brands have a “sustainability” or “mission statement” section on their websites that detail their efforts and progress towards combating sustainability and ethical issues.
Here are a few questions to ask:
• Do they trend cycle fast?
• Do they have ethical production practices?
• Do they use cheap international labor or child labor?
• Do they use compostable or recyclable packaging?
• Do they detail any sustainability goals or initiatives?
However, it is worth nothing that sometimes these reports are just for show–to get environmental and social critics off the backs of major companies and brands. Websites such as Good On You look for the truth and real environmental progress of these brands. They have hundreds of detailed reports on brand’s sustainability which aim at helping their readers make more informed fashion choices.
Current Progress in Fast Fashion
The good news is that many well-known fast fashion brands have either started or made significant progress towards a more sustainable future. These new sustainability efforts include everything from material sourcing, to production, to customer use.
Urban Outfitters recently rebranded its sustainable fashion collection, Urban Renewal. Originally popularized by its patchy tie-dye crew necks, Urban Renewal has now expanded, allowing it to repurpose and recycle more textiles and materials. According to their website, “Urban Renewal was created to focus on repurposed, remade, and one-of-a-kind vintage goods and it’s a mission we continue to nurture today.” In 2023 alone, they have circulated over 50,000 pairs of denim, given new life to 66,000 flannels and 45,000 sweaters, and hand-picked over 7,000 one-of-a-kind vintage pieces.
Maintaining ethical production practices is one of the most important components of decreasing the impact of fast fashion, yet it's an issue that is often overlooked. Ethical production issues include wages, work environment, living standards, worker safety, and a positive work culture. It is also important to consider material sourcing, the projected garment output, and the location of manufacturing. Reformation, a popular high-end timeless brand, has started to step up towards these ethical standards. For example, according to their local manufacturing statement: “Over 50% of our cutting and sewing is done in Los Angeles and we manufacture many of our products in our own factory. All other garments are produced by responsible manufacturing partners here in the U.S. or abroad using our same sustainable standards and materials.”
As for transportation, Princess Polly has been a major force in incorporating sustainable shipping and packaging. Both their garment and shipping bags are made from 100% recycled plastic, which reportedly generates 74% less emissions than virgin plastic. Brands such as Edikted and Free People have either followed suit or aimed for the elimination of single-use plastic or incorporation of biodegradable packaging.
A large portion of fast fashion brands have also added sustainability sections to their websites which detail their current progress and future goals. The popular athletic brand Lululemon has impressive prospects: according to their website, they aim to “achieve at least 75 percent sustainable materials for [their] products,” “75% of the polyester [sourced] will be recycled content,” and “100 percent of cotton from more sustainable sources,” all by 2025. In addition, they plan to offer customers more options for reselling, repairing, and recycling Lululemon products.
The Bottom Line
The details of the fast fashion industry can be hard to keep up with. Some brands are constantly developing their sustainability practices, while some aren’t. When looking to shop more sustainably, the best bet is to invest money into small, local businesses. Beyond that, taking the time to ask questions about a brand’s manufacturing, worker treatment, material sourcing, and product output to discover if they are committed to being a slow fashion company. The most important takeaway, though, is to be patient regarding this issue. Fast fashion is a societally engrained problem that will be difficult to break out of. If enough individuals do their part, we can start on the journey towards reducing its negative effects.
