Fast Fashion – ‘clothes that are made and sold cheaply, so that people can buy new clothes more often’
Fast Fashion is fundamentally characterised by cheap garments being made quickly, and this is usually accompanied by exploitative labour practices and unsustainable raw material sourcing. Growth for fast fashion companies comes from encouraging greater clothing turnover by enticing price-sensitive consumers with ever cheaper products and/or playing into their need to wear the latest trends. Hence, the fast fashion business model is inherently linked to over-production for growth. This has engendered a “take-make-dispose” attitude, which has further negative consequences on the world’s natural capital, thus increasing the risk of financial materiality for those companies that are poor stewards of these resources. In contrast, sustainable apparel requires more thought at the design phase, is often more expensive and is directly tied to the concept of consumers buying less.
Interested in learning more?
How and why did Fast Fashion emerge and what are the issues associated with low cost on trend clothing? We visit not-for-profit Fashion Enter and learn about their challenge to the Fast Fashion business model. Download the full viewpoint to discover more.
