Fast Fashion

Fast fashion, or instant fashion, describes a system of cheap and trendy clothing, replicating the latest high-fashion designs. Some familiar brand names representing this culture are H&M, Zara, and Forever21,...

“Fast” fashion provides consumers with inexpensive, instant, up-to-date clothes with numerous trendy collections every week or month. With this extraordinary pace of production, each of the goods does not require precision from the producers, nor premium or natural materials, which also explains their low prices. Not only satisfy customers’ beauty demands but also their budgets, fast fashion has pulled tons of consumers.

The Hastiness of Fast Fashion

High-end brands release about 5-6 collections a year, whereas fast fashion brands introduce about 50 “micro-seasons" a year, or one collection per week, resulting in tons of designs becoming outdated after a few weeks. Behind this continuous launching of collections is the dilemma of the customers: either buy them now or never. Since most of the products are cheap, most people would spend on them literally in a flash.

According to a documentary named “The True Cost” in 2015, around 80 billion new pieces of clothing are consumed globally every year, which is 400% more than the consumption twenty years ago.

With human nature, most people would only wear their clothes 1 - 2 times, and continue to be attracted to new designs in the upcoming collections. Eventually, they are trapped in this cycle with their money being wasted.

The Downside of Fast Fashion

On the positive side, fast fashion is undeniably affordable for most ages. They are usually complimented as eye-catching, and trendy, and some mimic the style of celebrities. With these traits, more and more shoppers catch their eyes on fast fashion brands, and thus recently they are produced massively following people's demands, giving them plenty of choices to make.

However, clothes are produced in a rush, they get outdated after a few wears, thus their damage to the environment is not small.

Environment

The appealing effects of these cheaply made pieces have led to a vast movement of overwhelming consumption and production, causing many of the clothes to end up in landfill. The takeaway is that some fast fashion brands use toxic chemicals, dyes, synthetic fabric, and low-quality materials for their goods, which may take hundreds of years to biodegrade. Not only does this pollute streams and oceans, but it also results in high carbon emissions.

Specifically, based on statistics published by the UNEP and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the fashion industry is responsible for 10% of annual global carbon emissions and about 20% of global wastewater comes from fabric dyeing and treatment.

Human Impact

Besides environmental damage, the health of people is also negatively affected.

Garment workers working in this industry are working hard with low wages. Their workplaces are exposed to harmful chemicals, which are linked to several types of cancer and respiratory illnesses.

In some countries, children become the victim of labor exploitation, following the growing fast fashion industry.

Psychological Dangers

Fast fashion creates a culture where clothes are not meant to last or meant to be valuable, thus causing more people to ignore the values of clothes. Every time a collection is launched, someone’s desires are triggered.

Many people deal with impulse buying as they are led beyond their shopping limit. They might even suffer from anxiety, addiction, and never-ending demand, which distract them from spending wisely.

Should Fast Fashion Be Supported?

Despite all that has been discussed, fast fashion cannot be blamed for all the flaws, as it is made to satisfy the beauty demand of those who could not afford the luxuries. However, its impact on nature is too apparent.

In general, fast fashion can be supported to an appropriate extent, and fast fashion brands need to make efforts to minimize waste. It is also crucial that shoppers could learn to spend money wisely, on things that hold value.

References

Stanton, A. August 2. What Is Fast Fashion, Anyway?. The Good Trade. https://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/what-is-fast-fashion

Maria, D. 2018, August 18. How Fast-Fashion is Affecting our Mental Health. The Natural Novelist. https://naturalnovelist.com/fast-fashion-mental-health/#:~:text=Environmental%20%26%20Mental%20Impacts%20of%20Fast%2DFashion&text=It%20can%20even%20cause%20depression,for%20many%20which%20is%20understandable.

https://glowtk.blogspot.com/2020/06/fast-fashion.html

The True Cost. Directed by Andrew Morgan, 2015

2019, September 23. How Much Do Our Wardrobes Cost To The Environment. The World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio-ambiente