The last decades of the fashion industry have been characterized by a frenetic trend that has then condensed into the concept of fast fashion.
Fast fashion is a type of clothing production that began at the end of the last century and has become predominant in recent years, so much so that it has involved an ever-increasing number of brands and companies that have been able to create real commercial empires.
The trends shown during the Fashion Weeks by Haute Couture brands are used by multinational fast fashion clothing companies to reproduce collections characterized by significantly lower quality and times. The Quick Response Manufacturing (QRM ) method is applied: a process that has allowed to halve the execution times, ensuring that the production and consumption phases are closely linked in order to increase the involvement of consumers in stores and/or on websites, thus stimulating their purchases no longer limited to the seasonal cycles of fashion - which reflect those of the solar seasons - but to much shorter cycles that go from 4 to 6 weeks approximately depending on the yearly period, with a consequent increase in the quantity of garments produced. This method makes the garments real consumer goods and no longer use goods. Their quality does not allow for long-term use, affecting both the relative cost of a garment - here is an in-depth analysis on what the cost per wear is - and the production of waste, pollution and the energy material and workforce used. A production-use cycle that is born with the idea of being short, apparently economical and repetitive.
Rana Plaza: A watershed moment for awareness of working conditions in the textile industry
The consequences of fast fashion are reflected on many levels. We have negative consequences on the environment in terms of resources used and pollution produced (which has already been discussed in the article on our blog mentioned above). Often, however, the terrible consequences that weigh on the people who work in this industry are not mentioned, forced to work conditions that are in contrast with ethical values of respect for dignity and safety. These issues began to be discussed especially following thecollapse of Rana Plaza : the largest accident in a textile factory due to a structural failure, which occurred in 2013 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The building had obvious damage that was ignored by the textile industries, which continued to operate. More than a thousand people died and over two thousand were injured.
Following this dramatic event, working conditions within the textile industries, especially those in developing countries where they are most harmful, became the target of numerous reflections and criticisms by human rights supporters and opponents of fast fashion, who in the ten years since the event have managed to produce a series of socio-cultural but also economic changes.
Not Just Fast Fashion: Improvements in the Fashion Industry
In contrast to fast fashion, slow fashion was born. A type of garment production that is part of a broader cultural movement, the Slow Movement, which theorizes full respect for the environment, people and animals, therefore based on eco-sustainability and support for craftsmanship and small producers. This approach also aims, above all, to increase awareness among buyers and reduce consumerism in favor of reuse, placing the quality and durability of garments at the center, which are once again considered long-term consumer goods.
The improvements in the fashion industry are far from enough. There is still a lot of work to do to move away from fast fashion as much as possible and reach standards that are respectful of ethical values. Sustainability and slow fashion are moving society and the fashion industry so that these standards can be increasingly achievable.