Global criticism of fast fashion waste, labor abuse and carbon emissions has done little to slow the industry. But the new law could change the flood of merchandise, such as a flower print jumper priced at $2.99, a child’s t-shirt or tank top for sale for $4.26, for example, for sale for $4.88.
The term “fast fashion,” which appeared in the 1990s alongside Zara, a European company selling runway-inspired styles at affordable prices, has come to define it as a way to wear and throw away trendy, low-cost clothing.
The business model is popular among shoppers and brands, keeping inventory low, predicting what customers want, and using a fast turnaround using a very flexible supply chain. The latest iteration is typical of the hugely successful Chinese e-commerce platform Shein and Temu.
Traditional retailers could offer 1,000 different styles a year, according to Sheng Lu, professor and graduate director of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware. Compare it with Zara and H&M, the first generation of first fashion brands that produce around 20,000 per year. He has won the label “super-fast fashion” and plays 1.5 million styles a year.
Clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014, an estimate by consulting firms, with the number of clothing purchased per person increasing by 60%.
(Thibault Camus/Applications)
McKinsey & Co is a consulting company that estimates it is worth $1.7 trillion in the global fashion industry. According to the company, clothing production doubled between 2000 and 2014, with the number of clothing purchased per person increasing by 60%. At the current pace, McKinsey forecasts clothing and footwear consumption to increase from 62 million tonnes in 2019 to 102 million tonnes in 2030. According to the Clean Clothing Campaign, “equivalent to over 500 billion additional T-shirts.”
With clothing prices plunged a few months ago, McKinsey reported that Shane’s products average priced at $14, $26 for H&M and $34 for Zara. McKinsey reports that less than 1% of fashion textiles are recycled, and three of the five clothing items are landfilled or burned annually.
But as fast fashion grows in popularity, there has been a backlash against it, as well as the rage of environmental groups, labor activists and lawmakers in Europe and the US. “The fast fashion debate is rapidly shifting from the traditional business side to the policy side,” says Lu.
Recent laws in some countries aim to curb the environmental impact of the fashion industry. The environmental impact of the fashion industry is estimated to exceed the greenhouse gas emissions that warm the planet, which combines international and maritime transport. McKinsey estimates that the fashion industry accounts for 3% to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, potentially increasing by 30% by 2030.
Dame Sall sorts and folds second-hand jeans imported from Italy in a warehouse in Dakar, Senegal. Second-hand T-shirts, jeans and dresses are stacked high on blocks along the bustling streets of Dakar’s Koroban district, where you will buy them for just a small portion of the original price.
(Jane Hearn/Applications)
France is leading efforts against fast fashion. In March, the House of Representatives approved a bill that would ban advertising such items and impose penalties on each clothing sold. France has also proposed a whole European union ban on the export of used clothing to discourage cheap goods coming into landfills overseas.
New York State Legislatures have written a bill that requires supply chains to be mapped and disclosed to conduct business within the state to avoid labour exploitation and environmental harm.
According to McKinsey’s 2024 Fashion Report, 87% of fashion executives surveyed believe sustainability regulations this year will have an impact on their businesses. “The game is changing,” Lou said. “These regulations and changing consumer behaviors really put pressure on these first fashion brands.”
Using predictive analytics to determine which clothing designs sell the most, Shein claims that its business model is no longer wasteful than traditional retailers because it produces as much as customers order.
Yet, the companies most associated with this phenomenon are trying to diversify their offerings to avoid labeling fast fashion and all its negative connotations.
The new third-party market allows Shein customers to find second-hand items on its site. A former first fashion pioneer, Zara has committed to moving to all sustainable organic or recycled materials by 2025, incorporating high quality and cost offerings in its product line.
However, the impact of fast fashion will not go away. This is exemplified by the global garment supply chain, which has been altered as traditional retailers adopt practices to improve their own speed and flexibility.
Before the advent of fast fashion, standard apparel took about two months to produce, according to Raymond Wong, a professor at the Graduate School of Logistics and Maritime at Hong Kong Institute of Technology. Currently, Fast Fashion can create items from concept to delivery within two weeks.
And there is also the lifecycle of clothing sold by retailers as production capacity is rising. While clothing collections have traditionally been seasonal, fast fashion brands can now launch at least one new collection a month, Wong said.
First fashion sellers Sheen and Tem have proven to be extremely popular in the US.
(Richard Drew/Applications)
And because it’s fast, brands learn and reward.
The profit margins for companies that adopt fast fashion are generally higher than traditional retailers, and Wong prioritizes sales volume and low-cost production. Maintaining sparse inventory also means that you don’t have to offer sudden discounts on unsold off-road products.
“This is the philosophy of fast fashion retailers. If you can put your items in the store a day in advance, there is more sales potential and odds,” Wong said.
A more flexible production cycle means that the brand is working with more vendors, manufacturers and suppliers than before. This makes it more difficult to assess the supply chain of violations in labor and environmental standards.
Sanchita Saxena, a professor in Berkeley, California who studies labor and clothing supply chains in Asia, said that while more brands are trying to improve sustainability, their cost expectations are challenging for suppliers.
The impact of fast fashion is “a terrible for workers, the cycles are very fast and the turnaround times are very fast, so there is no way for humans to produce the goods they need,” Saxena said. “But they’re getting incredible pressure to do that and they’re constantly pushing prices up.”
Despite concerns about the negative impact of the fast fashion and sustainability pledge, experts say only consumers will have no major impact on how the clothing supply chain adapts.
Clothing employees work at Arrival Fashion Limited, Bangladesh. Fast fashion critics have long warned consumers to stop treating clothing like disposable items.
(Mahmud Hossain Opu/Applications)
“Consumers have issued a statement that they want to buy more ethically and responsibly, but they don’t really show that on the scale they need to do their brand.”
Temu, a low-cost shopping app that gained popularity last year, was created by Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo and harnessed its price sensitivity among US consumers.
According to McKinsey, 40% of US consumers have been shopping at Shein or Temu for the past 12 months. Many survey respondents said they intend to buy more from these first fashion brands in the next two to three years.
“It would be a kind of chicken or egg situation. The brand said, “Well, because the consumers want it, we give it to them,” and the consumer said, “Well, the brands are doing this, so we’re buying it,” Saxena said. “Did this come first? I don’t know – but someone has to stop that cycle.”
Special correspondent Huiyee Chiew in Taipei, Taiwan contributed to this report.
