Fast Fashion 101
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion is a term used to describe, cheap, trendy clothing, that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed.
What are some fast fashion brands?
H&M, Zara, Forever 21, Fashion Nova, Old Navy, Gap, etc.
Why are the effects of fast fashion?
This overproduction of clothing affects environmental ecosystems and human rights for people living in developing countries, like China, Bangladesh, and the Philippines, where the clothing factories are located. Fast fashion brands outsource their labor into developing countries to decrease their spending of labor and increase their net worth.
The poisonous chemicals from the factory that are used to make the clothing are disposed into the atmosphere and water ways resulting in many pollutants in the air, crops, and drinking water. The developing countries do not have laws for the standard working conditions, environmental waste, nor equal pay for the workers. The factory workers work for cents per hour, and they work longer hours than the typical, American forty hour work week to fulfill the demand of the fashion market.
Fast fashion utilizes trend replication, rapid production, and low quality materials in order to bring inexpensive styles to the public. Unfortunately, this results in harmful impacts to the environment, human well-being, and ultimately our wallets.
Brief History of Fast Fashion
The speed of production for clothing first began with the Industrial Revolution, as sewing machines and factory use emerged. The fabric restrictions and more functional styles that were made necessary by World War II led to an increase in standardized production for all clothing. After the war, mass production of clothing became more normalized and more familiar with middle class people.
In the 1960s, the demand for affordable clothing at low prices increased, thus leading fashion brands to outsource their factories to other countries for cheap labor and materials. More fast fashion brands to enter the fashion industry in the last decade due to the advances in technology, social media advertising, and shipping services. The latest styles and trends can be found more easily and quicker compared to a viral social media post versus a magazine. Millions of new fashion styles are shared on social media in seconds, which influences the millions of social media users to buy these styles instantly. Fashion Nova, Miss Guided, Boohoo, and Shein are a few fast fashion companies that have become popular from their Instagram posts and millions of followers. Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Cardi B have partnered with some of these brands, and their strong influence from fans has resulted in more demand for the clothes that they wear from fast fashion corporations.
“The True Cost” Documentary
The documentary, “The True Cost,” exposes fast fashion companies and their malpractices with human ethics and the environment. The documentary shows that the government is one of the contributors to the never ending cycle of fast fashion misbehaviors. Without authorization or affiliation, fast fashion brands carry no legal obligation to ensure decent working conditions and because unauthorized subcontractors are unregistered, they operate without government regulation and oversight, resulting in deteriorating work facilities where worker abuse runs rampant. The fast aspect of fast fashion comes from the speed of the workers in the clothing factories with overnight deadlines that must be met from the demand of the corporations and consumers. The large corporations have bargaining power between the factories. If one factory is unable to produce the quantity of clothing at their preferred rate and price, they will seek business with another factory that will. The governments in Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, and Malaysia and other developing countries highly value the business relationship with fast fashion corporations, and they support them because their business partnership helps their economy grow with more employment and business opportunities.
The government officials value the business with corporations more than the well being of their citizens, and they do not care about giving them fair wages, hours, and working conditions. Most factories contain many sewing machines, little space to move, nor air conditioning. The Rana Plaza factory in Dhaka collapsed in 2013 and killed over a thousand workers despite prior knowledge that there were cracks in the building earlier that day. Also, government officials do not give legal rights or time off during pregnancy for female factory workers. Some women, who work in the factories, bring their children to the chemical filled workplace if they do not have a babysitter. Women and their children are breathing in the chemicals, which results in health issues like respiratory and lung disease. The average amount of money that one makes in a day in a minimum wage job is about how much they are paid in a month. Bangladesh raised the minimum wage by more than 50 percent last week to 8,000 taka, which is $95.5 a month. With a small paycheck, it is difficult for them to afford living expenses for themselves and their families. Although factory workers protest for their rights, their demands remain ignored. There are millions of factory workers, and their position can be replaced quickly due to the lack of job opportunities.