Need for Speed – How Fast Fashion Trends are raising sustainability concerns

"Change is the only constant "

This sentence is applicable to a myriad of situations, but one where it sticks is the rapidly evolving fashion industry. Insatiable desire, socioeconomic changes and a dash of nostalgia are the key ingredients that boil into a trend. Fast fashion brands like Zara capitalize on the human nature of never being satisfied to cater to the ever-changing tastes of designers and consumers with the pressure of winning the ultimate race of situation awareness and speed. While one may be enjoying the wide spectrum of options to choose from, large scale manufacturing processes  have raised concerns about the ethical and environmental impacts of fast fashion trends.

In the 90’s, trends were created through the influence of music, culture and magazines. However, a digital era has changed the way trends evolve. Fast fashion is a business model that picks up on what consumers want to see more of, adopts that information and proceeds to produce large quantities to meet this demand. Consumer demand is ever-changing; brands are pressurized to release new collections every month while maintaining low costs to book their profits, often leading to exploitation of labour and wastage of raw materials.

Labour is usually outsourced to third world nations having low regulations and labour protection rights where they are underpaid or worse, made to feel unsafe (mostly for women and children). An accelerated rate of consumption is concerning for the sustainability of our environment.

While all of this remains a big concern, the fashion giants are now determined to make a shift, thanks to Gen Z!  GenZ is coming in hot - their strong belief to embrace authenticity and individuality has driven society to take sustainability measures more seriously. The shift in customer segment along with the fear of facing backlash has pushed big brands to make their production more sustainable by promoting transparency and circular fashion

Consumers are demanding more transparency by wanting to know where their clothes actually come from. Brands may not be entirely onboard with this idea, nonetheless, this effort by consumers has pushed them to be more mindful causing a gradual shift to the circular fashion model which promotes re-using and reducing raw materials. Zara uses eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton, Tencel, recycled polyester, Adidas aims to create sustainable products by partnering with Parley, H&M initiatives include collecting garments from across the globe for recycling purpose.

The world may always move at a fast pace which is why it is important to engage in mindfulness, especially while purchasing items. Social media has been a powerful tool to bring awareness about sustainable fashion, it is now not only a buzz but a problem that continues to get worse. Change is the only constant indeed; its about time the fashion industry made changes to its structure amid growing environmental and ethical concerns.