I’ve said this before, but fast fashion didn't start out this way. In fact, a huge value proposition for mass production at lower prices was providing accessibility to fashion that had previously only been attainable to the ultra wealthy.
For a time, companies like
H&M and
Inditex Zara were known as the great equalizers of the fashion industry. No longer was it only the couture crowd that could strut the latest fashions, but our friends and neighbors finding the latest "knock-off" and feeling empowered and uplifted.
Unfortunately, as with so many companies built to compete at the lowest price, it was both unintended (and probably some intended) consequences that have brought us to the beast that is fast fashion today.
Fast fashion, in part, is a system of feedback loops that, while at one time, created fun experiences like clothing hauls and the one wear rule, now feels outdated, uncomfortable, and, let's be honest, kind of (or not kind of but really) gross.
And the culmination of that are existential threats like
SHEIN and
Temu - and with proof of environmental damage and slave labor, building 6000 items each day, these ARE existential threats.
And just ust as the industry changed so long ago to provide accessibility and opportunity to elite fashion that had previously been out of reach, so it has to change again today.
We need to think through change and innovation thoughtfully and effectively, and proud to be among so many innovators looking to drive positive change.
#sustainability
France’s fast-fashion 'kill bill': Green move or penalty for the poor?
France’s fast-fashion 'kill bill': Green move or penalty for the poor?