Fast Fashion: Understanding Its Impact on Retail Manufacturing and Beyond

Fast fashion is more than a buzzword-it's a worldwide phenomenon reshaping the production, consumption, and attitude toward clothes. It refers to the fast production of fashionable, affordable clothing items that closely resemble high-fashion designs. Since fast fashion shortens the entire life cycle of a garment, from design and production to distribution, this latest fashion reaches the shopping floors of stores almost directly after the catwalk shows or when it appears on celebrities' bodies.

While fast fashion caters to the excitement of always being in fashion and never priced out, the cost runs deep to the working class, the environment, and traditional retailers.

What is fast fashion?

Fast fashion is about bringing the latest trends to the market. Companies in this line of business operate on a model of quick turnover; they introduce new collections regularly to attract customers. While traditional clothing lines come out with new collections every season (fall, winter, spring, and summer), fast fashion companies have up to 52 micro-seasons a year-that's a new collection every week.

This industry came into existence to satisfy the demand of affordable and fashionable clothing. Fashion that took months to trickle down from the runway to retail stores now shows up within weeks. The fast fashion brands that top the popularity list include Zara, H&M, and Forever 21, who thrive by mastering the art of speed, cost-cutting, and trend replication.

The Evolution of Fast Fashion

Clothing was a long-term investment in the old days. People saved money to buy durable and high-quality items, usually tailored for years. The style-conscious people followed trends by reading magazines and going to see fashion shows months ahead of time.

However, everything changed in the late 20th century. Clothing shopping was no longer a chore in the 1990s. Mall culture and increased discretionary income among younger consumers propelled demand for cheap, trendy clothing. Fast fashion filled the gap.

Innovations in SCM have fueled the industry. Fast fashion brands are using leading-edge technology to make it faster, cheaper, and more responsive than ever before. That is a form of category management, linking the manufacturer and consumer in a tight feedback loop: consumers want the latest trends, and fast fashion provides them almost immediately.

The Leaders of Fast Fashion

Several brands take a lead in fast fashion and include:

Zara

A Spanish retailer and subsidiary of Inditex, Zara has often been considered the start of fast fashion. Their very efficient supply chain permits them to develop, produce and sell a new garment over a period of two or four weeks. Zara keeps much of its production close to its headquarters in A Coruña, Spain, which allows it to keep a tight control over its operations and respond quickly to emerging trends. It produces over 11,000 designs annually, far surpassing the industry average of 2,000 to 4,000.

H&M

The other major player is the Sweden-based Hennes & Mauritz, or H&M in short, which was launched in 1947. There are over 4,200 stores spread across 76 countries. H&M does not have any factories of its own and, therefore relies on an independent network of suppliers that manufacture its apparel. It ensures control of the production process by using high-tech IT systems-based production offices to monitor its inventory and liaise with the suppliers.

Other significant fast fashion companies are UNIQLO, Forever 21, Primark, Fashion Nova, and Topshop, and many more which increase the weight of the sector.

Benefits and Drawbacks of Fast Fashion

Fast fashion has opened a very complicated debate as the model carries the availability of benefits along with deep drawbacks.

Advantages

Affordability and Access

Fast fashion enables the latest fashion to reach the masses. Consumers no longer need to break the bank to look fashionable; this balances the scale between the high-income and low-income consumer.

Quick Turnaround for Consumers

It can allow mass production and distribution of new designs for those who are always aiming to wear in fashion. A new trend that flashes across the internet or across a television screen is, by virtue of it, soon going to be available to physically walk into a nearby shop and buy.

Advantages to Retail Profits

The constant release of new products encourages frequent store visits. Retailers benefit from increased foot traffic and higher sales as customers return regularly to browse the latest collections.

Disadvantages

Environmental Damage

Fast fashion is one of the most polluting industries. Most synthetic materials like polyester used by the industry are non-biodegradable and release microplastics when they are washed into the waterways. Textile dyeing causes 20% of wastewater in the entire world, while the entire industry produces over 10% of the carbon emissions produced globally.

Waste and Over-Consumption

Fast fashion encourages a culture of disposability, whereby clothing is discarded after only a few wears. In most cases, the clothes are cheaply made and fall apart quickly, thus resulting in massive waste in textiles.

Exploitation of Labor

Many fast fashion companies obtain their products from producers in developing countries where labor laws are either non-existent or weakly implemented. Workers work under hazardous conditions and are subjected to extended hours of work and minimal wage. Moreover, subcontracting does not leave room for blaming anyone since no one is to blame except the individual worker who receives the subcontract.

Intellectual Property Issues

Designers also blame fast fashion companies for copying. Companies are known to copy designs by great designers without permission in bulk.

Effects of Fast Fashion on Environment

• The environmental impact of fast fashion is alarming. Some sobering statistics to mull over:
• The fashion industry consumes 93 billion cubic meters of water each year.
• A single pair of jeans requires as much as 3,781 litres of water to make-about the amount one person would drink over three years.
• About 500,000 tons of microplastics end up in the oceans through synthetic clothing every year; harming marine life.
• It is estimated that fashion contributes more than 10 per cent of global carbon emission and plays a significant part in causing climate change.

Welcome to Slow Fashion: The Sustainable Alternative

In response to the environmental and ethical concerns over fast fashion, a movement called slow fashion has been picking up speed. The term was coined by sustainability consultant Kate Fletcher in 2008. Slow fashion is about mindful consumption, durability, and eco-friendly practices. It's all about quality over quantity: invest in something that lasts, rather than disposable trends.

Slow fashion advocates the use of environmentally friendly materials, ethical labor, and innovative production methods such as recycled materials and 3D printing.

Conclusion

Fast fashion has transformed the retail industry through low-cost access to new styles and huge revenues for companies. It is correct that fast fashion is bringing about adverse effects on the environment, labor conditions, and consumer behavior that should not be overlooked.

The future of fashion will thus call for a balance between affordability and sustainability once the industry recognizes the costs of growth. Alongside second-hand shopping, slow fashion brands, and buying less, consumers are becoming increasingly aware of these issues and have begun seeking sustainable alternatives.