Even if the term is new to you, we are all familiar with fast fashion. Fast fashion refers to the trendy garments that are available at low prices, soon after the original designer items hit the runway.
Because of the internet, manufacturers see new designs immediately they are released. The manufacturers have their patternmakers produce similar styles to the runway designs, and they rush the garments into production, generally using fabrics that are already on hand. This means that new fashions take very little time–sometimes only a few days) to be available to regular consumers. Before the internet, it took months for designs to be in stores, and often many designs were never available for purchase by the average clothes shopper. Fast fashion has changed all that.
But as with everything, there are good aspects and bad. Here’s a look at them:
Pros
- It’s fast and you can be on trend without waiting for designer ideas to trickle down to the mainstream mid-quality retailers.
- It’s usually relatively inexpensive so you can afford to follow fads and not worry whether or not you will be stuck wearing something out of style just because it cost so much that you can’t afford to buy something current.
- Because of its low cost and easy availability, trying out a strange new style is fairly low risk.
- The increase worldwide of garment production and sales means more jobs.
Cons
- The amount of garments that get discarded and thrown into landfills has increased exponentially and this is harmful to the environment.
- The quantity of garments manufactured in the world has increased so much that pollution from the manufacturing process has increased as well.
- Fast fashion garments are usually made of cheap fabrics, using careless or low quality workmanship, so if you turn out to really like the item, it is likely to fall apart quickly, before you are tired of it.
- The factories producing fast fashion are usually located in third world countries, where employment standards are low and workers often treated poorly.
Our Conclusion:
Weigh the pros and cons according to your own priorities. Do your own research and make a decision.
p.s Who sells fast fashion? Walmart, H & M, Giant Tiger, Joe Fresh, Zara are a few retailers.