Fast fashion is ‘fast’ in a number of senses: the changes in fashion are fast, the rate of production is fast; the customer’s decision to purchase is fast; delivery is fast; and garments are worn fast – usually only a few times before being discarded.
The rise of fast fashion has had devastating consequences, from its reliance on plastic fabrics and its enormous carbon footprint to its erosion of workers’ rights.
In this article we explain what we mean when we say ‘fast fashion’ and why it is so bad for people and the planet.
France to ban fast fashion
In March 2024, the French parliament approved a bill that targets fast fashion and ultra-fast fashion sold by online retail giants such as Shein and Temu to counter the fast fashion industry's environmental impact. It makes France the first country in the world legislating to limit the excesses of ultra fast fashion.
It will ban the advertising of certain ultra-fast-fashion companies – and penalise low cost items with a surcharge of €5 (£4.20) an item from 2025, rising to €10 by 2030, to cover their environmental impact. The bill would also mandate that fast fashion retailers include an item's reuse, repair, recycling and environmental impact near the product's price.
The bill states: "This evolution of the apparel sector towards ephemeral fashion, combining increased volumes and low prices, is influencing consumer buying habits by creating buying impulses and a constant need for renewal, which is not without environmental, social and economic consequences."
France will apply criteria such as volumes of clothes produced and turnover speed of new collections in determining what constitutes fast fashion.
“Shein offers 900 times more products than a traditional French brand,” it states, adding that the brand releases more than 7,200 new models of clothing per day, with a total of 470,000 different products available overall.
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion is widely considered to be low-quality apparel produced rapidly to follow current trends in the industry and sold at rock-bottom prices. Although the monetary cost is low, textile workers and the environment are paying a high price. Fast fashion is cheap because workers are not paid adequately. Clothes are poorly made, widely purchased, rarely worn and quickly thrown away.
Fast changing trends
Fashion brands have long used new styles and lower prices to attract customers, but previously brands would plan new ranges many months, even years, in advance. The pace of change was relatively slow and there were fewer products on offer. In comparison, fast fashion is focused on responding to ever-changing consumer tastes as quickly as possible.
For example, in the BBC’s 2020 ‘Breaking Fashion’ show we see Manchester-based fast fashion company, In the Style, reproducing a bodysuit worn by Kylie Jenner. The company manages to have the piece designed, manufactured and on sale within 10 days of the piece first being worn publicly by the celebrity.
The rise of fast fashion is intertwined with social media and celebrity/influencer culture. A celebrity posts a photo wearing a new outfit, and their followers want it, so fast fashion brands rush to be the first to provide it. Fast fashion brands often target young people - so called Gen Zs -, who have been brought up amongst social media and influencer culture.
Of course, the flow of causality is not that simple: fast fashion brands are not simply reacting to consumer demand, they are also creating it. But the essential point is that these brands operate on the basis of constantly producing new lines of clothes to meet the insatiable and ever-changing consumer demand for all things new.