Fast fashion vs Slow fashion

One of the talking points in fashion industry these days is Fast Fashion vs. Slow Fashion. But what does these terms really mean? Why are Slow Fashion brands gaining popularity in recent years? We take a look into both the business models, and compare Fast Fashion vs. Slow Fashion.

Fast Fashion 

What is Fast Fashion?

Fast fashion is a business model that focuses on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing. It involves replicating the latest fashion trends seen on the catwalk or worn by celebrities and quickly bringing them to retail stores at a low cost. This approach allows consumers to purchase trendy items at affordable prices, but it also has significant environmental and social impacts.

Over-production due to Fast Fashion

The fast fashion production process is designed to quickly and efficiently produce large quantities of clothing that reflect the latest fashion trends. So much is produced in such a short time – it often comes at the cost of environmental sustainability and ethical labor practices. Due to such rapidly and constantly changing trends, there has been an massive increase in collections every year: with the worldwide textile production doubling in just over a decade and is not slowing down. The environmental effects are huge: synthetic fibres such as polyester, nylon, acrylic are widely used in Fast Fashion production. Synthetic fibres have a negative impact our environment. Firstly, these fibres are made from crude oil, which emits significant amounts of CO₂ during production. Secondly, these are non-biodegradable materials and generate chemical substances that cause water pollution. Clothes production processes release around 43 million tonnes of chemicals a year. But it doesn’t end there: during each washing cycle in a washing machines, microplastics in huge numbers which pollutes our oceans as well as the water that we are drinking.

Due to ever-shorter production cycles and increasingly demanding delivery times, Workers in textile manufacturing facilities often face poor working conditions and exposure to environmental health hazards. Many workers face exploitation, low wages, long hours, and unsafe working environments. Workers are often exposed to harmful chemicals without adequate protection. As for the manufacturer, price competitions, and thin profit margins and no room for negotiations on delivery times, intensifies the problems. Production companies often have no choice but to keep producing with low or no profits to avoid losing their competitiveness, their customers and their factories.

Over-consumption due to Fast Fashion

Customers in most countries seek for textiles with extremely low prices. Due to low prices, most people tend to buy more than what is actually needed compared if they were buying high quality clothes at a higher price. The constantly changing fashion trends are largely responsible for the clothes that people buy and wear, so much so that on average up to 40% of our clothes remain unworn, lying in the closet and eventually end up in the garbage and landfills in 3 to 4 years.

However, there is a solution with growing momentum which is a contrary approach to fast fashion- Slow Fashion.

Slow Fashion 

What is Slow Fashion?

Slow fashion is a more ethical and environmentally conscious approach to clothing production. It emphasizes quality over quantity, encouraging slower production schedules, fair wages for workers, and lower carbon footprints. Slow fashion supports using eco-friendly materials, recycled materials and local artisans to preserve traditional crafts and reduce the overall impact on the environment. Clothes are usually more durable and have a longer life cycle. It’s a response to the fast fashion model, promoting a shift towards more mindful consumption and production practices. 

Fair production

Slow Fashion emphasizes on using high-quality materials and environmentally friendly production. Slow Fashion items are usually made of natural and biodegradable fibres, which typically produces less waste. In slow fashion, each designer is encouraged to produce locally, using local workforce and resources. Quality is chosen over quantity, which means that slow fashion can reduce exploitation of resources or workers. The production chain is as transparent as possible.

Reduced consumption

Growing concerns about climate change and increase in awareness of impact of fashion industry on environment is getting people’s attention towards slow fashion. Slow fashion has a different cost of production and cannot produce as much in quantity. Slow fashion cannot compete with the mass produced products of fast fashion that use cheap labor and resources to maximize profits. Slow fashion is very local and used fair-trade materials and fabrics of high quality. Also, usually the designs are simpler and basic but last for a long time keeping its shape and color even after repeated washings.

Fast Fashion vs. Slow Fashion

Fast Fashion and Slow Fashion are two distinct approaches in fashion industry. The goal of Fast Fashion is to produce and sell in large volumes of items quickly to maximize profit; typically with little to no emphasis on social or environmental aspects. Slow Fashion is a counter approach which focuses on ethical and sustainable production, focusing on quality over quantity.

The debate of Fast Fashion vs. Slow Fashion is not just about price of the garment. Fast Fashion is usually much cheaper, but in a longer run, slow fashion is always more affordable because of higher quality and durability of the garment. It is worth noting that labels should not define the price of the garment. The price should be defined by its quality, durability and longevity.