Fast fashion is a reality that we all live with, to the point that it is changing our consumer habits and our social reality. This term refers to fashion for immediate consumption.

It is based on rapid launch, with numerous short-lived collections and very low prices that encourage continued replacement. Thus, it is a fashion phenomenon of instant consumption, at minimal prices, with questionable quality, and based on completely current designs.

If you want to know what consequences this type of fashion has and how to change it, keep reading.

What factors characterize fast fashion?

In this type of fashion, the main materials used are polyester and cotton, especially the former. This is a plastic resin derived from petroleum that allows production at minimal costs. On the other hand, it is quite polluting.

Regarding the procedures applied, we are committed to fast and very flexible production. The objective is to shorten production times and costs as much as possible. To do this, manual processes are used in precarious working conditions, carried out in the most unprotected countries in the world.

Pros and Cons of fast fashion

Nothing succeeds if it does not offer something good. It is logical to think that a global phenomenon like this provides its customers with some type of satisfaction or benefit. However, the truth is that the disadvantages and drawbacks that come with it far outweigh those positive aspects. Let’s see them below.

Pros

The positive part of this fashion production and marketing system is reflected in these attributes:

Fashion trends have been democratized: One or two weeks after the designs triumph on the catwalks, they are now available in these types of stores at prices accessible to everyone.

Fashion globalization: These chains have stores in almost any major city in the world: and the new products reach every corner.

Personal satisfaction: The user continually wears new clothes and feels happy when dressing in the latest fashion. It is a satisfaction that is more apparent than true, but it fulfills a certain emotional function.

Recommended Read: Conscious Consumption: How to Shop With Purpose

Cons

On the other hand, the less good aspects of fast fashion are abundant and more than significant.

We list them below:

Plagiarism and break-on innovation: The big brands and the best designers make a notable effort to create original, creative, and engaging proposals. Within a few days, these distinctive garments are practically cloned by fast fashion chains and marketed around the world at minimal prices. In the long term, those original creators will no longer have any interest in doing such meticulous work.

Disposable image: If the clothes barely last seven uses, it means that the style is temporary and transitory. It is more complicated, therefore, to develop one’s own image and maintain it over time, because trends vary at a dizzying pace.

Higher overall cost: It is true that these clothes are bought at very affordable prices. But, we are buying a lot more clothes than before. If you crunch the numbers, you may find that you’re spending significantly more now than you did with the previous approach. In addition, there are additional social and environmental costs whose payment affects us all indirectly.

Discrimination and labor abuses: Most companies that are committed to fast fashion produce their textiles in countries with precarious working conditions. Currently, there are about 40 million workers in the textile sector in the world, the vast majority of them women and minorities. They work in inhumane conditions and earn about two dollars a day. This approach, therefore, involves abuses, social differences, and labor exploitation.

Serious damage to the planet: So much textile production entails a large consumption of energy and productive resources, as well as raw materials. Furthermore, those clothes that we only use seven times end up in the trash and, consequently, increase the waste and pollution we throw into our planet. In this way, our planet is being badly mistreated and will be seriously affected if we do not act.

Promotes compulsive consumption: Faced with this type of fashion we become mere buyers.

It is in our hands to start the change towards a more just and sustainable world. And you, what are you going to do about it?

Check out: Fast Fashion Explained and How It Impacts Retail Manufacturing