Which is better; to get ahead of anything fast like a rabbit, or to slow down like a turtle? This March, the European Union (EU) announced its intention to regulate representative 'fast fashion' brands such as Zara and H&M, to prohibit the manufacture of clothes except those used certain percentage of recycled fibers and disposal of stocked clothes by 2030. In line with these declarations and consumers' increasing interest in 'slow fashion', the fashion industry has recently started to take lead in practicing in 'slow fashion' by extending the age of clothing or by handling the left stock in an eco-friendly way. What exactly are 'fast fashion' and 'slow fashion', what are the biggest issues in the fashion industry these days, and what attitude should we have toward clothing? Let's figure it out together with CAH.

Fast Fashion

The History of Fast Fashion

Fast fashion is a term that refers to a fashion business that distributes clothes relatively quickly by reflecting the latest trends. It's easier to understand when you think of 'fast food', a type of food that is cooked and served very quickly through mass production. Fast fashion is mass-produced, quickly released to consumers and consumed quickly just like fast food. When you think of fast fashion, the things that come to mind would mostly be representative SPA[1] brands that are spread all over the world. Starting from Europe in the mid-2000s, those brands mass-produce small items using cheap labor and sell them at direct stores through their own distribution network. But in fact, fast fashion itself began long before that. The Industrial Revolution that began in Europe in the 18^th century and the invention of the sewing machine contributed to the development of the mass industry of clothing and the decline in its prices. After that, the production of clothes in small workshops continued, but the large amount as the current SPA brand was not achieved, and there was still a culture of buying and making materials for self-sufficiency. Fast fashion started in the earnest in the 1960s. After the war, the young generation's rejection to traditional clothing and the importance of their individuality emerged, and people wanted clothes that could be bought cheaply in accordance with the ever-changing trends. To meet the radically increasing demand for clothes, American and European companies began to make large-scale clothing factories in developing countries with cheap labor, and mass production began. As a result, present-day representative SPA brands such as Zara and H&M have settled down. When Zara opened a branch in New York in the early 1990s, the New York Times first used the word “fast fashion” to emphasize that Zara's clothing only takes 15 days from designing to selling in stores.

The Problem of Fast Fashion

Lots of people prefer fast fashion because it is simple and fast. But is it desirable to keep on using it just because it is convenient? Fast fashion has two major problems. First, it destroys the environment. Quantis International, an environmental sustainability consultancy, mentioned that greenhouse gas emissions from the fashion industry have been increasing from the past, and predicted that about 4.9 billion tons of greenhouse gases will be emitted in 2030. United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) also published statistics that the fashion industry accounts for 20% of the whole global industrial water emissions, and 10% of all the carbon emissions. As such, fast fashion causes enormous environmental destruction in its production process. The second serious problem is the exploitation of labor, which is almost inevitable in the process of mass production. Fast fashion has to make a profit while keeping prices low. To do this, the clothing companies set up factories in developing countries where labor is cheap. But behind the convenience of fast fashion clothing lies a chronic low-wage problem and a very poor working environment. In 2013, the Rana Plaza, a clothing factory in Bangladesh collapsed. In this accident, about 1,100 workers who worked all day while receiving an hourly wage of only 260 Korean Won to produce the huge amount of clothes global SPA brands demanded, died. Just before the accident, some workers protested that the building was dangerous because there was a crack, but the managers from the company threatened to cut their wages if they continued to protest. This fact provoked the outrage of many people. There are hundreds of brands that have been caught to have labor exploitation in the course of the fast fashion business. Fast fashion threatens the Earth, the lives of people who need to live in the future Earth, and people living in the present.

The Appearance of Slow Fashion

Slow fashion, as it is shown in the word, means slowing down the pace of production and consumption of clothes. Slow fashion emerged as the importance of environmentally friendly and ethical consumption arose. In fact, the Swiss investment bank UBS analyzed that the profits of fast-fashion companies will decline by about 30% over the next 5 to 10 years. Katr Fletcher, an activist at the Center for Sustainable Fashion in the UK, who first used the term ‘slow fashion’ in 2007, said “Fast fashion doesn’t mean speed, it’s about greed to sell more and make more money.” She argued that the world’s goal should be to return the fashion industry to what it was before the industrial revolution. Currently, slow fashion is no longer limited to better quality products, but also includes consumer lifestyles and ethical production. Producers who pursue slow fashion must design products that do not just follow trends and can be worn for a long time, use sustainable eco-friendly materials such as natural materials, and ensure that current low-wage workers receive sufficient and adequate profits through fair trade. Consumers who practice slow fashion need to choose clothes by considering their own individuality rather than trends, aim for fair trade, repair and reform clothes by themselves for a long time once purchased.

Now Fast to Slow, Slow Fashion You Can Act On

What can an individual do to protect our planet and humanity when buying clothes? The most important thing is to reduce cloth consumption by adopting slow fashion. The first thing you should do is try to wear the clothes you already have for a long time. To do this, you need to learn how to take good care of your clothes and choose good-quality clothes made from sustainable materials in the first place. Carefully refer to the care label attached to the clothes and try to keep the clothes in good condition for a long time by using the appropriate maintenance methods such as temperature washing and drying management. Also, if you are interested in slow fashion, environmental and ethical consumption, finding a community of people with the same goal can be a good option. Meeting and learning from people who will help you on your journey to protect the environment will make your trip a lot easier. Nowadays lots of people are doing challenges such as “30 wears challenge” and “making a capsule wardrobe” on social media and are sharing various ways to wear clothes they already own. Actively participating in such challenges can be a good stimulus to keep practicing slow fashion to yourself.

Have you ever felt guilty about buying clothes from a SPA brand? Quite a number of people would have felt more emotions such as excitement and the joy of buying the clothes they like. Such feelings of joy are understandable of course. But that's when you didn't know about fast fashion and slow fashion. Now we know the problems of fast fashion that are killing both the Earth and humans, and the advantages of slow fashion and how to take action for it. Now, it is the time to rethink the problems of fast fashion and slow down our pattern of consumption.