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Fast Fashion: A Summary of the Industry

Fast fashion is a business model that replicates recent catwalk trends and high-fashion designs, mass-producing them at a low cost and bringing them to retail stores quickly, while demand is at its highest.
Labor practices of fast fashion are often exploitative, and due to the gender concentration of the garment industry, women are more vulnerable.
Retailers who employ the fast fashion strategy include Primark, H&M, Shein, and Zara.
The global fashion industry is responsible for ~8–10% of global carbon emissions per year, to which fast fashion is a large contributor.
The Industrial Revolution forever changed the world of fashion by introducing new technology like the sewing machine and textile machines.
Fast fashion has developed from a product-driven concept based on a manufacturing model referred to as "quick response" developed in the U.S. in the 1980s and moved to a market-based model of "fast fashion" in the late 1990s and first part of the 21st century.
Fast fashion has also become associated with disposable fashion because it has delivered designer product to a mass market at relatively low prices.
Slow fashion or conscious fashion movement has risen in opposition to fast fashion, naming responsibility for pollution, poor workmanship, and emphasizing very brief trends over classic style.
The fast-fashion market in 2020 globally produced $25.1 billion and is expected to increase at an annual compound growth rate (CAGR) of 21.9%.
Most fast fashion clothes exporters are from developing countries across Asia, such as India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, Cambodia, etc. Developing countries' economy relies on fast fashion consumption as most of their export earnings profit from ready-made clothes.
Fast fashion invests in polyester and cotton fabric because they are inexpensive and durable materials.
The fast fashion industry faces criticism for hiring garments workers from developing countries for their low wages.Fast Fashion: Key Facts and Figures
Over 60 million workers produce garments for fast fashion retailers, with 80% of those workers being women.
Workers in developing countries manufacturing for H&M, Gap, and JCPenney earn as little as $32 per month, while experienced workers earn $122 per month.
In developed countries like the United States, the average garment worker in Los Angeles earns around $5.15 per hour.
Fast fashion retailers expect garment laborers in developing countries to work an average of 11 hours a day to meet consumer demands.
Fast fashion relies on category management to align retail buyers and manufacturers in a more collaborative relationship.
Quick Response (QR) was developed to improve manufacturing processes and is now used to support fast fashion, creating new products quickly and efficiently.
Marketing is a key driver of fast fashion and creates the desire for consumption of new designs as close as possible to the point of creation.
Social media marketing is increasingly used by fast fashion retailers to reach consumers, often through influencers and "haul" videos.
The fast fashion market is considered a "supermarket" segment within the larger fashion market, with crucial differentiating factors including market timing, cost, and the buying cycle.
Supply chains are central to the creation of fast fashion, and efficient supply chains are critical to delivering the retail customer promise of fast fashion.
The fast fashion industry contributes to 20% of wastewater and nearly 10% of global gas emissions, and the average American household produces 70 pounds of textile waste every year.
The materials used in fast fashion production not only affect the environment but also the workers and the people who wear the clothes, with hazardous substances affecting all aspects of life and the environment.Sustainability in fast fashion
Fast fashion brands have turned to sizing technology that uses algorithms to solve sizing issues and reduce environmental impact on returns.
Many companies are helping support the circular system in fashion production and consumer behavior by renting out clothes to customers with recycled or reuse items.
Fast fashion is based on consumers’ desire for new clothing to wear, which leads to overconsumption.
Planned obsolescence plays a key role in overconsumption, as fashion goods are purchased even when the old ones are still wearable.
Sweatshops are a concern as more fast fashion stores are lowering their prices and trends are fluctuating more frequently.
Export processing zones have been used by developing countries to bolster foreign investment and produce consumer goods that are labor-intensive, like clothing.
Women account for 70-90% of the working population in some export processing zones, such as in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Philippines.
H.R. 5055 and H.R. 2033 are bills proposed to protect the copyright of fashion designers in the United States.
Forever 21 has been involved in several lawsuits over alleged violations of intellectual property rights.
Advances in technologies have offered new methods of using dyes, producing fibers, and reducing the use of natural resources.
Many companies have created various ways to reduce the amount of dyes emitted into the world's waterways as well as the level of water consumption.
Patagonia encourages their customers to mend their clothes as they wear over time instead of disposing of the garments when they become worn out.