The Cheap, the Trendy, and the Secrets they Hide

Discussing the Highs and Lows of Fast Fashion

Fast Fashion. Most have heard the phrase by now, but few realize the implications that come with it. As described by the blog Good on You, fast fashion is: “...cheap, trendy clothing, that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed.” Sounds like a great deal, right? Wrong.

The fast fashion dynasty has only truly grown in popularity over the last twenty or so years. However, this worldwide industry has been slowly developing since the Industrial Revolution.

Samuel Slater is credited with being the Father of the American Industrial Revolution. An English immigrant, Slater moved to Pawtucket, Rhode Island in 1793, where he opened the first cotton mill in the United States. The mass production of cotton, (an industry developed through slave labour) along with the introduction of factories to the US economy began a new era of production and development.

Cotton mills made way for clothing factories, where the recently invented sewing machine could be used in full effect. Before the world of mass production, clothing was made by tailors or family members for one specific person at a time. However, as factories sprang up across America, clothing could be produced rapidly by multiple employees, for multiple clients. These factories became more and more popular as consumer demand grew within the upper-middle class. Despite the newfound pleasure of mass produced clothing, those in the lower class were struggling, toiling away in factories to keep up with high demand.

Clothing was produced year round at a relatively moderate speed until the 1960s. This changed when young people began to take their own liberties with how they dressed. Until the 60s, clothing for most everyone was simply a necessity; people needed protection from the elements, and clothing provided. However, young people began to see clothing as an outward expression of their own personalities. How someone dressed became a part of who they are, and to some it became their whole identity. This newfound sense of expression caused trends to spring up; everyone wanted to be looking their best all year long. This spurred companies to begin mass producing ‘by season’ at a price point the average person could afford. And thus, the road was paved for our current age of fast fashion.

In the 90s, a new revolution occurred; the age of the internet. The internet has brought us many things, such as cat videos and memes. However, one of the most revolutionary concepts brought about by the internet was online shopping. People could buy whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it.

By the early 2000s, shopping via instant gratification had caused a tidal wave of consumer demand, especially for clothing. Brands such as H&M and Zara began advertising an “ocean of clothing”. Every two weeks, the stores would cycle out whatever was on the floor and replace it with completely new pieces; this made shoppers panic. People would buy tons of clothing as quickly as possible in order to stay on top of trends. Stores would remind shoppers, buy it before it's out of style! This new marketing strategy grew consumer demand exponentially, and the world of fashion would never be the same. It was around this time that the term fast fashion was coined.

So how did these big name brands manage to sell so much clothing so quickly? The answer: the clothing was cheap. These brands were not producing clothing of high quality, but consumers didn’t seem to mind. The clothing would last a few months and then would need to be replaced. Hypothetically speaking, this business model should have failed ages ago. Unfortunately, when it comes to consumerism, quantity seems to beat quality every time. Shoppers didn’t mind replacing their clothing so frequently because it was so cheap! This methodology has driven fast fashion for the last twenty years, but only recently have people begun to question it.

Shoppers never questioned where their $5 t-shirt came from, how it was made, or why it was so cheap. That is, until the Rana Plaza clothing manufacturing building collapsed in Bangladesh in 2013. Over 1,000 workers were killed and several others were injured as a result of this tragedy. These workers had been producing clothing for fast fashion brands in unsafe working conditions, just like so many others around the world.

A documentary titled “The True Cost” was released in 2015, and covered some of the tragedies and secrets hidden just beneath the surface of fast fashion. Author and journalist Lucy Siegle commented on the actual price of cheap clothing, stating: “Fast fashion isn’t free. Someone, somewhere is paying.”

Along with violating human rights in the workplace, fast fashion is also a leading polluter of the environment. Clothing produced by fast fashion brands is of cheap quality, and is often thrown out shortly after it reaches its prime. In fact, 85% of clothing ends up in landfills, and most clothing cannot decompose because it is made from synthetic fabric. Many clothing pieces also contain harmful toxins and dyes. These toxins seep into and contaminate water both in the factories where the clothing is produced, and at home where the clothing is washed. If these statistics aren’t bleak enough already, the fashion industry consumes more fuel than both the aviation and shipping industries combined.

Environmentalists, humanitarians, and even some consumers are calling for the end of fast fashion. Social media has only aided in highlighting the injustices faced by the workers in manufacturing plants, as well as the detrimental effects that fast fashion has on the planet.

The boycotting of fast fashion has led to demands of returning to slow fashion. Slow fashion encourages sustainably sourced materials, ethical and sustainable production, as well as fewer styles released per year in order to prevent clothing waste. Many brands have gained popularity for their sustainable practices, with Reformation being one of the most popular. However, even slow fashion has its flaws.

Sustainable brands can be very expensive, as it is not easy to mass produce in a sustainable manner. The prices of sustainability reflect the cost of sourcing, manufacturing, and producing the clothing sold. This presents a challenge to many hoping to convert to slow fashion, as purchasing garments at such a high cost might be unattainable. Luckily, several other alternatives to fast fashion exist. Many have turned to thrift/charity stores, online thrifting, hand-me-downs or clothing exchanges.

If fast fashion has proved one thing, it’s that everything has a cost. It is our responsibility to be mindful consumers in order to protect our environment and our fellow humans.

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By: Sophia Krause

July 8, 2020

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