COVID-19: Will Fast Fashion Survive?

The needs, desires, and intentions of consumers have led to the birth of ‘inexpensive & chic’ fast fashion, as lockdown remains for much of the nation, the isolation is severely affecting the fashion industry’s design and manufacturing teams. In this global crisis, retailers across all sectors are forced to cut costs and shift priorities, but the most essential threat is to the fast fashion workers as COVID-19 has left them stranded without work.

The question is brought on the table by many famous fashion designers over the last few weeks that post lockdown would the fashion culture along with the industry be forced to come up with new lookout, slower pace, and affordable collections. Will, this crisis effectuate the psychology of fashion for consumers and the industry’s obsession with speed and novelty leaving the fast fashion coming to an end?

What Exactly Is ‘Fast Fashion’?

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Fast Fashion Garments[/caption]

‘Fast fashion’ has become a buzz lately, but what does it exactly mean?

Fast fashion is all about cheap but trendy clothing, that takes inspiration from the catwalks or celebrity fashion culture and transforms them into garments in high street stores at breakneck speed.

The term “fast fashion” is mostly used by fashion brands to portray inexpensive designs that move quickly from the catwalk to stores making the latest fashion trends. The arrival of fast fashion along with the result of the latest fashion trends is challenging the tradition of introducing new fashion lines on a seasonal basis. It’s not anymore a big deal for the fast-fashion brands to showcase new designs multiple times in a single week to stay on-trend.

It is an apt approach to the creation, design and fashion business that emphasizes making the latest fashion trends quickly and cheaply available to the consumers.

How Did Power Loom Fuel Fast Fashion In India?

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power loom[/caption]

The industrialization has dominated the textile industry at large, India was always celebrated for its craftsmanship in weaving and handloom but with time emerged changing technology and coming of power looms. The arrival of the power loom in the country led to mass production. The shift from hand weaving (handloom) to machine weaving led to higher production and enhancement of fast fashion in the country.

When Did Fast Fashion Come Out And Become Famous?

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fast fashion[/caption]

The consumer’s willingness to purchase replicas and products of a lower standard created an opportunity in the market for fast-fashion brands. In an attempt to match consumer needs, the concept of ‘fast fashion’ was born. The concept became widely appreciated and famous in the early 2000s. The fashion brands looked forward to increasing monetary profit, so they began to focus on the key elements of the supply chain with an emphasis on increased manufacturing speed at a low price. The arrival of fast fashion changed the dynamics for the fashion industry with a quick response policy which resulted in increased forecast accuracy because of the shortened timeframe and the ability to generate a quick turnover of merchandise for major retailers.

The fast-fashion policy created clothing collections built around the latest fashion trends showcased at spring and autumn fashion shows, providing consumers with the latest high-end trendy clothing at affordable prices.

How Is Fast Fashion Harmful To The Earth?

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Difference between fast fashion and sustainable fashion[/caption]

The fact is that the fashion industry alone emits more carbon than international flights and maritime shipping combined. Today we are widely aware of the things which cause environmental harm, but when it comes to our clothing, the impacts are less obvious.

As consumers worldwide want to stay updated with the latest fashion trends, the market is growing for cheap clothing and new trends are taking a toll on the environment. According to speculated data, people bought 60% more garments in 2014 than they did in 2000. The fashion industry is responsible for 10% of humanity’s carbon emissions, dried up water sources and polluted river water as the washing of some particular type of clothes release thousands of bits of plastic into the ocean. Following are some of the most significant impacts of fast fashion-

1. 85% of clothing ends up in the dump each year, the fact is the equivalent of one garbage truck full of clothes is dumped in a landfill every second.
2. Clothing production has almost doubled since 2000.
3. People only keep their clothes for half as long now.
4. Some fashion brands went from an average showcasing of 2 collections per year in 2000 to 5 in 2001.
5. The popular fashion brand Zara puts out 24 collections per year and H&M showcases between 12–16.
6. The fast fashion industry is the 2nd largest consumer of water worldwide.
7. Washing certain types of clothes release 5,00,000 tons of microfibres, which is equivalent to 50 billion plastic bottles.
8. It’s speculated that the share of the carbon emission could jump to 26% by 2050 if the fashion world continues its trajectory.
9. The industry is responsible for 20% of all industrial water pollution.

Now that people are taking the outbreak of COVID-19 as a warning that human civilization will experience ever more such events in the future as the world heats up. It has brought the fashion world into a dicey situation of whether fast fashion will be preferred by consumers or not.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Fast Fashion?

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Fast fashion and the trail of trash it leaves behind[/caption]

Fast-fashion allows the consumers to accommodate the people’s passion for fashion that too at an affordable price.

-PROS

1. We’re living in a fast-paced fashion world, the concept of fast fashion allows affordable clothing.
2. The latest fashion trends are easily available among the masses, consumers don’t have to wait around for anything.
3. The fast-fashion concept is good for someone looking for affordable seasonal buying.
4. Affordability leads to financial accessibility.
5. It provides the option of several retailers to choose from both in-store and online.

The fast fashion industry and the frequent buying

-CONS

1. The fast fashion industry leads to the exploitation of workers

Source: https://www.iknockfashion.com/covid-19-will-fast-fashion-survive/