{"id":256,"date":"2026-03-02T09:52:20","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:52:20","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-03-02T09:52:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T17:52:21","slug":"what-is-fast-fashion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thegoodtrade.com\/features\/what-is-fast-fashion\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is Fast Fashion? Our Sustainability Editor Explains."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cFast fashion\u201d is a buzz phrase but what does this term really<\/em> mean? And as we continue to encourage the fashion industry to move towards a more sustainable<\/a> and ethical<\/a> future, it\u2019s helpful to know what we’re up against.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast fashion is a design, manufacturing, and marketing method focused on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing. Fast fashion garment production leverages trend replication and low-quality materials (like synthetic fabrics<\/a>) in order to bring inexpensive styles to the end consumer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cFast fashion is a design, manufacturing, and marketing method focused on rapidly producing high volumes of clothing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

These cheaply made, trendy pieces have resulted in an industry-wide movement towards overwhelming amounts of consumption. This results in harmful impacts on the environment, garment workers, animals, and, ultimately, consumers\u2019 wallets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read below to better understand the fast fashion movement\u2019s history, context, and impact \u2014 and check out our list of 99 sustainable clothing brands betting against fast fashion<\/strong><\/a> for ethical alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

A brief history of the fashion industry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Up until the mid-twentieth century, the fashion industry ran on four seasons a year: Fall, winter, spring, and summer. Designers would work many months ahead to plan for each season and predict the styles they believed customers would want. This method, although more methodical than fashion today, took away agency from the wearers. Before fashion became accessible to the masses, it was prescribed to high society, and there were rules to be followed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It wasn\u2019t until the 1960s that a well-timed marketing campaign for paper clothes<\/a> proved consumers were ready for the fast fashion trend. This resulted in the fashion industry quickening its pace and lowering costs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cNowadays, fast fashion brands produce about 52 \u201cmicro-seasons\u201d a year \u2014 or one new \u201ccollection\u201d a week leading to massive amounts of consumption and waste.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

However, it wasn\u2019t until a few decades later, when fast fashion reached a point of no return. According to the Sunday Style Times, \u201cIt particularly came to the fore during the vogue for \u2018boho chic\u2019 in the mid-2000s.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nowadays, fast fashion brands produce about 52 \u201cmicro-seasons\u201d a year \u2014 or one new \u201ccollection\u201d a week. According to author Elizabeth Cline<\/a>, this started when Zara shifted to bi-weekly deliveries of new merchandise in the early aughts.\u00a0Since then, it\u2019s been customary for stores to have a towering supply of stock at all times, so brands don\u2019t have to worry about running out of clothes. By replicating streetwear and fashion week trends as they appear in real-time, these companies can create new, desirable styles weekly, if not daily. The brands then have massive amounts of clothing and can ensure that customers never tire of inventory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While brands like Shein<\/a> have been the brunt of unsustainable production models and human rights violations, even luxury brands measure growth by increasing production. According to Earth.org<\/a>, \u201c100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills\u201d. “If the trend continues, the number of fast fashion waste is expected to soar up to 134 million tonnes a year<\/a> by the end of the decade\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Is fast fashion bad?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many people debate what came first: The desire for fresh looks at an alarming rate or the industry\u2019s top players convincing us that we\u2019re behind trends as soon as we see them being worn. It\u2019s hard to say, but there is no doubt that we thirst for the \u201cnext best thing\u201d every day of our consumer-driven lives. (\u201c10 Things I Hate About You,\u201d anyone?)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, with this increased rate of production and questionable supply chains<\/a>, corners are inevitably cut. Clothing is made in a rushed manner, and brands are selling severely low-quality merchandise. There isn\u2019t enough time for quality control or to make sure a shirt has the right amount of buttons \u2014 not when there is extreme urgency to get clothing to the masses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fast-fashion manufacturing process leaves a lot to be desired, and pieces are often thrown away after no more than a few wears. The same urgency that throws quality out the window also keeps the costs of these garments incredibly low. Companies like Shein bank on their \u201con-demand production model\u201d<\/a> that uses online data to churn out clothing based on immediate consumer demand, rather than the traditional fast fashion model that relies on getting runway looks in store. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brands like these earn millions of dollars while selling pieces cheaply because of the sheer number of items they sell, no matter the cost or markup. And garment workers are undoubtedly being paid well below the minimum wage. In the documentary “The True Cost<\/a>,” author and journalist Lucy Siegle summed it up perfectly: \u201dFast fashion isn\u2019t free. Someone, somewhere is paying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

\u201cFast fashion isn\u2019t free. Someone, somewhere is paying.\u201d<\/p>\n\u2014 LUCY SIEGLE<\/sub><\/sup><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Moral lines get blurred, however, when factoring in how much more accessible and size-inclusive<\/a> fast fashion can be. Ethical fashion advocates have worked hard to unpack this complicated narrative<\/a>, but the cost and exclusive-sizing are still barriers for many.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

The human & environmental impact of fast fashion<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All of the elements of fast fashion \u2014 trend replication, rapid production, low quality, competitive pricing \u2014 have a detrimental impact on the planet and the people involved in garment production. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brands like Temu<\/a> and Gymshark<\/a> for example, are questioned for using toxic chemicals, dangerous dyes, and synthetic fabrics that seep into water supplies, and, each year, 11 million tons of clothing is thrown out in the US alone<\/a>. These garments \u2014 full of lead, pesticides, and countless other chemicals \u2014 rarely break down. Instead, they sit in landfills, releasing toxins into the air. Fast fashion\u2019s carbon footprint<\/a> gives industries like air travel and oil a run for their money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cMany of us are familiar with the news about Nike sweatshops, but they\u2019re just one of the many fast fashion brands violating human rights for the sake of fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

In addition to environmental impact, fast fashion affects the health of consumers and <\/em>garment workers. Harmful chemicals such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances<\/a> (PFAS<\/a>)  \u2014 linked to several types of cancer and immune system damage \u2014 have been found in apparel on the market today. As our skin is the largest organ of the body, wearing these poorly made clothes can be dangerous to our health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This danger only increases in factories, towns, and homes where fast fashion is made. For example, where garments are produced, synthetic dyes<\/a> are often dumped causing a negative environmental impact on local ecosystems, agriculture downstream, and garment workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The health of garment workers is always in jeopardy through exposure to these chemicals. And that doesn\u2019t even take into account the long hours, unfair wages, lack of resources, and even physical abuse. Many of us are familiar with the news about Nike sweatshops<\/a>, but they\u2019re just one of the many fast fashion brands violating human rights for the sake of fashion. The people who make our clothes are underpaid, underfed, and pushed to their limits because there are few other options. Instead, we can proactively support garment workers<\/a> and fight for better conditions and wages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Qualities of fast fashion brands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Graphic<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how you can spot fast fashion brands when shopping online or in-store:<\/p>\n\n\n\n