Where did fast fashion come from?
The birth of online shopping in the 90s meant that fast fashion retailers like H&M, Zara and Topshop became the most convenient place to find trendy clothing. They were able to reproduce popular elements from the runway quickly and cheaply.
Now with social media, the turnaround time is even less with brands like Shein creating Tik Tok trends that only last a few days!
So, how do we identify what makes a brand fast fashion?
They have thousands of styles with all the latest trends
Extremely short turnaround time from when the garment is seen on a celebrity to the shelves
Offshore manufacturing where labour is the cheapest, with workers on low wages without adequate rights or safety measures
There’s a limited quality of a garment - shoppers know that if they don’t buy it now they will miss out
Cheap low quality materials like polyester, causing clothes to degrade quickly but last as microplastics
What can we do instead?
Buy less: The first step is to avoid impulse buying. If you are conscious that you’re looking at purchasing something you hadn’t even thought of buying before, put it back on the rack and have a think about it. You can always come back later if you decide it’s something you really want.
Shop secondhand: Find something unique to you and give back to a charity at the same time!
Attend a clothes swap: Trashion is holding an event on Saturday October 22 at 107 Redfern from 11am. Check out the Facebook event here.
Support ethical brands that make garments that are made to last. Good On You has a directory where you can look up how ethical brands are in terms of sustainability, people and animals. They are rating thousands of brands on their sustainability impact. More info here.
