Fashion Note.21

Fast fashion is a shady business that operates underneath the veil of cheap clothes.

Fast fashion has a business structure designed to minimize time and costs. It is a copy-and-paste formula designed to maximize profits. Such practices make it impossible to create original garments. Representatives, known as scouts, go undercover to various design houses to buy popular items to take to their company and "adapt" for their customers. Adaptation is another word for copying into a low-cost option with minimal differentiation.

Fast Fashion brands often claim it's difficult to follow fashion trends without copying them. However, Zara has been sued for plagiarism multiple times. After years of litigation, Rains won an infringement case against Zara in a Danish court over two signature designs. Despite this, the fast fashion industry remains unshaken.

Hardly surprising given that more than half of all posts on social media platforms such as Instagram are related to fashion and beauty. Clothes have become a significant part of people's identity. Manufacturers study our minds to learn how to target us through pricing. We tend to consume more when prices are low, and collections are "limited." As a result, companies are abandoning traditional marketing campaigns and focusing more on influencers to sell their products.

The textile industry is the second-largest polluter in the world after oil. The more commerce there is, the more pollution there is, especially without efficient water waste filtration and cleanup technology. Under pressure, the textile industry is trying to change by embracing green fashion. However, this is often a mass-market trend to convince consumers they are buying organic and sustainable by purchasing garments made from viscose, cheap artificial silk.

In truth, viscose is wood. The process of transforming wood into fabric requires large amounts of chemicals, including CS2, which is known to cause eye diseases, infertility, and other vascular problems.

Fibers used to make fast fashion garments are produced to break down quickly, resulting in clothes that become worn and unusable- in a short time. Some fast fashion items are so cheap that they cannot be sold secondhand and are either burned or end up in a landfill.

And so it goes.

Fashion Note.19

Slow fashion refers to clothing that is produced in a more sustainable, fair, and superior quality, which is in direct contrast to fast fashion.

Clothing produced at a slower pace has less environmental impact. Despite its benefits, the slow fashion business model is not as financially lucrative as the fast fashion approach, since stores that carry fewer new items generate lower revenue.

To cope with the pressures associated with fast fashion, some designers have adopted a slow fashion production cycle. They opt for the traditional spring/summer and fall/winter collections, with the occasional resort-wear collection or collaboration to reduce the mental and physical stress of keeping up with fast fashion.

Slow fashion encourages individuals to buy fewer clothes by acknowledging we already own what we "need." The concept of slow fashion recognizes that refraining from shopping is not a viable solution to the fashion industry's problems. Instead, it promotes a move towards a more circular economy as the way forward.

Fashion Note.18

America's relationship with cheap products in the market is problematic and dangerous, as the increasing availability of similar or identical products has made price the ultimate arbiter of consumer choice. This focus on low prices has led to a shift in power away from manufacturers and workers, towards giant retailers and stockholders, enabled by technology-enabled globalization.

The rise of online shopping and self-service has reduced the need for skilled staff, with consumers bearing more responsibility for their purchases. However, this has also led to a reduction in choice as price has become the primary factor in decision-making. Discount fashion, which has infiltrated various market segments, is a category killer, with millions of people willing to go into debt to purchase items on installment plans.

The manipulation of prices by retailers is meant to confuse consumers and lead them to make impulsive purchases, with little regard for the quality or craftsmanship of the products. As a result, many consumers end up with poorly made, unflattering clothes and shoes in horrible shades and prints. Factory outlets, which were once a popular tourist destination, have now become a fast-growing retail segment and a part of the travel industry.

Fast fashion brands like H&M and Zara offer the masses trendy clothing at affordable prices but at a hidden cost to the environment and society. Cheap fast fashion has made fashionable and desirable garments devoid of craftsmanship, with alarming environmental and social implications.

While some argue that discounting helps keep inflation at bay, others argue that the great depression was characterized by deflation, not inflation. In recent decades, wage stagnation and growing debt have made discounting even more appealing.

Many people who live a cheap lifestyle, including buying cheap food, reflect our cultural traditions and values, with price often being the primary factor in deciding what to eat or wear. However, most consumers have no idea what goes into setting a price, with many overestimating profit margins.