WEB EXCLUSIVE

Fast fashion is the more commonly used term for inexpensive clothing rapidly produced by mass-market retailers in response to the latest trends. While many people have mixed emotions on the topic of whether or not it’s ethical to shop and support fast fashion, the amount of consumption that these sites and stores encounter seems to contradict these hateful emotions.  

There are an array of popular storefront brands like Forever21, Zara and more high end brands like Louis Vuitton that use the concept of fast fashion in order to make a profit. Alongside the storefronts there are also an immense amount of online shopping sites like Shein, Cider, Romwe and more which are known for being notoriously tied to fast fashion. 

Before online stores like Shein and Cider started gaining exponential amounts of popularity from social media, fast fashion and the controversy behind it was hardly ever spoken about. Platforms like Instagram, Youtube and TikTok boosted their exposure throughout the world and it has become a more common way to purchase clothing, as it is cheaper (most times), easier to obtain from online websites, and they hold a wide variety of pieces that keep up with the most current trends. 

Some of the controversy behind these massive brands is the fact that they produce their clothing in an unethical fashion, some in sweatshops where hundreds of workers slave away for less than minimum wage. And in some cases, even have children in foreign countries working in the factories. 

Other scandals include some of the items these stores release pertaining to some racist historic events like the Nazi regime. 

“I personally do not shop at Shein because of the scandal they had with the swastika necklace they released,” said senior Rachel Hart. “I do not like the idea of [fast fashion] at all, but sometimes I don’t know where else to shop because a lot of brands use fast fashion. I also don’t always have the money to blow on expensive clothes.” 

There are many other alternatives to fast fashion such as ethical clothing consumption including thrift stores or second hand consignment stores like GoodWill or Plato’s closet. To better the fashion industry and ethical consumption, the continuation of fast fashion must be put to an end.