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Fast fashion is a relatively new phenomenon in the industry that causes extensive damage to the planet, exploits workers, and harms animals. Hither's why it's best to steer clear when you can.

A tragic reality check for fashion

Clothes shopping used to be an occasional event—something that happened a few times a year when the seasons changed or when we outgrew what we had. Only near 20 years ago, something changed. Clothes became cheaper, trend cycles sped upwardly, and shopping became a hobby. Enter fast fashion and the global chains that now dominate our high streets and online shopping . Merely what is fast fashion? Why is fast manner and then bad? And how exactly does information technology impact people, the planet, and animals?

It was all too good to exist true in the oughties. All these stores selling absurd, trendy clothing you could buy with your loose change, wear a handful of times, and then throw away. All of a sudden everyone could afford to dress like their favourite celebrity or wear the latest trends fresh from the catwalk.

Then in 2013, the earth had a reality bank check when the Rana Plaza clothing manufacturing complex in Bangladesh collapsed , killing over i,000 workers. That's when consumers really started questioning fast fashion and wondering at the true cost of those $5 t-shirts . If yous're reading this article, y'all might already exist aware of fast mode'southward dark side, but information technology's worth exploring how the manufacture got to this indicate—and how nosotros can help to modify it.

What is fast mode?

Fast fashion tin can be divers every bit cheap, trendy article of clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity civilisation and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand. The idea is to get the newest styles on the market every bit fast equally possible, so shoppers can snap them up while they are withal at the height of their popularity and and then, sadly, discard them after a few wears. Information technology plays into the idea that outfit repeating is a fashion faux pas and that if you want to stay relevant, yous accept to sport the latest looks as they happen. Information technology forms a primal part of the toxic arrangement of overproduction and consumption that has made mode i of the globe's largest polluters. Before we tin can get nearly changing it, let's take a look at the history.

How did fast fashion happen?

To sympathise how fast style came to exist, nosotros need to rewind a scrap. Earlier the 1800s, fashion was slow. You had to source your ain materials like wool or leather, prepare them, weave them, and and then make the clothes.

The Industrial Revolution introduced new technology—like the sewing auto. Clothes became easier, quicker, and cheaper to make. Dressmaking shops emerged to cater to the centre classes.

Many of these dressmaking shops used teams of garment workers or abode workers. Effectually this time, sweatshops emerged, along with some familiar prophylactic problems. The kickoff significant garment manufacturing plant disaster was when a fire bankrupt out in New York's Triangle Shirtwaist Manufacturing plant in 1911. It claimed the lives of 146 garment workers, many of whom were young female immigrants .

By the 1960s and 70s, young people were creating new trends, and wear became a form of personal expression, but there was notwithstanding a stardom between loftier way and high street.

In the late 1990s and 2000s, low-cost way reached a pinnacle. Online shopping took off, and fast-fashion retailers like H&Thou, Zara, and Topshop took over the loftier street. These brands took the looks and pattern elements from the top mode houses and reproduced them quickly and cheaply. With anybody at present able to store for on-tendency clothes whenever they wanted, information technology's piece of cake to understand how the phenomenon defenseless on.

How to spot a fast fashion brand

Some key factors are common to fast mode brands:

• Thousands of styles, which bear on on all the latest trends.
• Extremely short turnaround time betwixt when a trend or garment is seen on the catwalk or in celebrity media and when it hits the shelves.
• Offshore manufacturing where labour is the cheapest, with the use of workers on low wages without adequate rights or rubber and complex supply chains with poor visibility beyond the starting time tier.
• A limited quantity of a particular garment—this is an thought pioneered by Zara. With new stock arriving in store every few days, shoppers know if they don't buy something they like, they'll probably miss their chance.
• Cheap, low quality materials like polyester , causing clothes to degrade later just a few wears and get thrown away—not to mention the microfibre shedding issue.

Why is fast fashion bad?

Polluting our planet

Fast mode'southward impact on the planet is immense . The pressure to reduce costs and speed upwardly production time ways ecology corners are more than likely to be cutting. Fast fashion's negative touch includes its employ of cheap, toxic textile dyes—making the fashion industry the one of the largest polluters of make clean water globally, correct up there with agriculture. That's why Greenpeace has been pressuring brands to remove dangerous chemicals from their supply chains through its detoxing manner  campaigns through the years.

Inexpensive textiles too increment fast way'southward bear upon. Polyester  is one of the most popular fabrics. It is derived from fossil fuels, contributes to global warming, and tin can shed microfibres that add to the increasing levels of plastic in our oceans when washed. But fifty-fifty "natural" fabrics can be a problem at the calibration fast fashion demands. Conventional cotton fiber  requires enormous quantities of water and pesticides in developing countries. This results in drought risks and creates extreme stress on h2o basins and contest for resources between companies and local communities.

The constant speed and demand mean increased stress on other ecology areas such as land immigration, biodiversity, and soil quality. The processing of leather as well impacts the surround, with 300kg of chemicals added to every 900kg of animal hides tanned.

The speed at which garments are produced also means that more and more clothes are disposed of by consumers, creating massive textile waste matter. According to some statistics, in Australia alone, more than than 500 meg kilos of unwanted article of clothing ends upwards in landfill every twelvemonth.

Exploiting workers

Likewise as the ecology cost of fast fashion, there's a human cost.

Fast fashion impacts garment workers  who piece of work in dangerous environments, for low wages, and without fundamental human rights. Farther downwardly the supply concatenation, the farmers may work with toxic chemicals and roughshod practices that tin can have devastating impacts on their physical and mental health, a plight highlighted by the documentary " The True Cost".

Harming animals

Animals are also impacted past fast fashion. In the wild, the toxic dyes and microfibres released in waterways are ingested by land and marine life akin through the nutrient chain to devastating effect. And when fauna products such as leather, fur, and even wool are used in manner directly, brute welfare is put at risk. As an case, numerous scandals reveal that real fur, including cat and dog fur, is often being passed off every bit faux fur to unknowing shoppers. The truth is that at that place is then much real fur being produced under terrible weather in fur farms that information technology'due south go cheaper to produce and buy than faux fur.

Coercing consumers

Finally, fast fashion can impact consumers themselves, encouraging a "throw-away" culture considering of both the congenital-in obsolescence of the products and the speed at which trends emerge. Fast fashion makes us believe nosotros need to store more and more to stay on summit of trends, creating a abiding sense of need and ultimate dissatisfaction. The trend has also been criticised on intellectual property grounds, with some designers alleging that retailers accept illegally mass-produced their designs.

Who are the big players?

Many retailers we know today as the fast way big players, like Zara or H&M , started as smaller shops in Europe around the 1950s. Technically, H&1000 is the oldest of the fast fashion giants , having opened as Hennes in Sweden in 1947, expanding to London in 1976, and soon, reaching the States in 2000.

Zara follows, which opened its first shop in Northern Spain in 1975 . When Zara landed in New York at the first of the 1990s, people showtime heard the term 'fast fashion'. Information technology was coined by the New York Times to describe Zara'due south mission to accept but 15 days for a garment to get from the blueprint stage to being sold in stores.

Other large names in fast fashion today include UNIQLO, GAP, Primark, and TopShop. While these brands were in one case seen as radically inexpensive disruptors, there are now even cheaper and faster alternatives like SHEIN, Missguided, Forever 21, Zaful, Boohoo, and Fashion Nova. These brands are known equally ultra fast fashion, a contempo miracle which is as bad as it sounds.

Is fast fashion going greenish?

As an increasing number of consumers telephone call out the true cost of the manner industry, and particularly fast fashion, we've seen a growing number of retailers innovate and then-chosen sustainable and ethical fashion initiatives such as in-store recycling schemes. These schemes allow customers to drib off unwanted items in "bins" in the brands' stores. But information technology'southward been highlighted that only 0.1% of all clothing collected by charities and have-back programs is recycled into new textile fibre.

The underlying issue with fast fashion is the speed at which it is produced, putting massive pressure on people and the environment. Recycling and small eco or vegan clothing ranges—when they are non but for greenwashing —are not enough to counter the throw-away culture, the waste, the strain on natural resources, and the myriad of other issues created by fast style. The whole organisation needs to exist changed.

Is fast fashion in decline?

Nosotros are starting to see some changes in the way industry. The anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse is now Fashion Revolution Calendar week , where people all over the world ask questions like, "Who made my clothes?" and "What's in my clothes?" Manner Revolution declares that "we don't want our clothes to exploit people or destroy our planet".

Millennials and Gen Zers—the drivers of the future economy—may not have caught the fast manner bug. Some take argued that this generation has "grown too clever for mindless consumerism, forcing producers to become more ethical, more inclusive, and more liberal" . However, ultra fast fashion brands like SHEIN are selling more than than always, and these immature shoppers are their target marketplace.

At that place is likewise a growing interest in moving towards a more than round textile production model, reusing materials wherever and whenever possible. In 2018, both Faddy Commonwealth of australia  and Elle UK dedicated entire magazine issues to sustainable fashion, a trend being taken up each year by more and more big names.

What can nosotros exercise?

At Good On You, we love this quote by British designer Vivienne Westwood, " buy less, choose well, make it terminal ."

Buying Less is the first step—try to fall back in love with the apparel you lot already own by styling them differently or fifty-fifty "flipping" them. Why non plough those erstwhile jeans into some trendy unhemmed shorts , or give that baggy sometime jumper new life by turning it into a ingather ? Creating a capsule wardrobe  is also worth because on your ethical mode journey.

Choose Well is the 2nd step, and choosing a high-quality garment fabricated of eco-friendly fabric is essential here. At that place are pros and cons to all fibre types, as seen in our ultimate guide to vesture materials, only there is a helpful nautical chart at the end to refer to when purchasing. Choosing well could besides hateful committing to shopping your cupboard showtime, simply shopping 2d mitt , or supporting more sustainable brands like those beneath.

Finally, we should Get in Last and look after our apparel by following the care instructions, wearing them until they are worn out , mending them wherever possible, then responsibly recycling them  at the very end of their life.

Larn almost fast fashion's sustainable alternative, slow way

Here are some of our favourite brands giving fast manner the flick and embodying a slow, round,  more sustainable way of wearing:

Whimsy + Row

Whimsy + Row is an eco-conscious lifestyle brand born out of a love for quality goods and sustainable practices. Since 2014, its mission has been to provide ease and elegance for the modern, sustainable woman. Whimsy + Row utilises deadstock material, and by limiting each garment to brusque runs, the make likewise reduces packaging waste and takes care of precious water resources. Notice most products in XS-Twoscore.

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Shop Whimsy + Row.

Store Whimsy + Row @ Earthkind.

Afends

Afends is an Australia-based way brand leading the manner in organic hemp fashion, using renewable energy in its supply concatenation to reduce its climate touch. You can discover the full range in sizes XS-Xl.

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Store Afends.

Outland Denim

Outland Denim makes premium denim jeans and clothes, and offers upstanding employment opportunities for women rescued from human trafficking in Cambodia. This Australian make was founded every bit an avenue for the training and employment of women who have experienced sex trafficking. Observe virtually of the brand's range in US sizes 22-34.

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Shop Outland Denim.

Yep Friends

Yes Friends is a United kingdom-based fashion brand that creates sustainable, ethical, and affordable wear for everyone. Yep Friends' t-shirts cost less than £4 to make and the brand just charges £7.99. Using large scale product and directly to consumer margins means Yes Friends tin can charge yous an affordable price for a sustainable and ethical t-shirt. Find the tees in sizes 2XS to 2XL.

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Shop Yep Friends.

studio JUX

Amsterdam based studio JUX designs fairtrade and sustainable dress and jewellery with its own factory in Kathmandu, focusing on women empowerment projects. Find about products in sizes 34 to 42 for women and S to XL for men.

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Store studio JUX.

Harvest & Manufacturing plant

Harvest & Manufacturing plant pieces are grown, milled, and sewn exclusively in the The states, supporting American organic cotton farmers and local sewing communities. The brand makes basics for anybody, ever ensuring they are non dyed or bleached, greatly reducing the apply of h2o, energy, and dye materials. Fifty-fifty better, by cultivating different varieties of cotton, the brand is able to eternalize biodiversity, which is essential for ensuring healthy ecosystems and keeping our planet resilient in the confront of climatic change. Shop the range in sizes S-40.

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Store Harvest & Mill.

Shop Harvest & Mill @ Rêve en Vert.

Editor'southward notation

Images via Unsplash, Mode Revolution, and the brands mentioned. Good On You publishes the world's most comprehensive ratings of fashion brands' impact on people, the planet, and animals. Utilise our directory to search thousands of rated brands. Nosotros may earn a commission on sales made using our offering codes or affiliate links.

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