Fast vs. Slow: A Sustainable Fashion Guide

What sounds better? Fast or slow?

Fast gets you where you need to be. You quickly reach your destination without wasting anytime, and at the end of it all, you accomplish what you wanted.

Slow on the other hand, takes time. But when you take time, it doesn't mean you don't get what you want. Instead you might be able to enjoy a few things along the way, like your surroundings, less stress at a slower pace, or simply supporting a small clothing industry that manufactures its merchandise in an environmentally friendly way.

Trusted Clothes is a blog that centres around promoting sustainable, ethical and healthy organizations and brands. One of their blogs titled "Slow Fashion Vs. Fast Fashion" highlights the differences between the two, and how slow fashion a better alternative.

Fast fashion is "low-cost clothing collections that mimic current luxury fashion trends" whereas slow fashion "recognizes the impact that clothing can make on society" and as a result the clothing companies practice ethical manufacturing to "ensure the workers making their clothes are in a safe-working environment and paid fairly".

A few key guidelines to ensure you understand the difference between the two is highlighted in a comparisons guideline chart created by Trusted Clothes. First, fast fashion no doubt is a bigger industry with an income of over 1 trillion dollars yearly, while slow fashion is "usually owned by small businesses." The most common materials used by fast fashion companies are as follows; "rayon and nylon, petroleum-based synthetic materials, copper and chromium". On the other hand, slow fashion uses"locally sourced fabrics, organic and natural fabrics, as well as recycled materials" which results in great quality but a higher price tag. The upside to this is that they last for many years, while their more popular counterpart is cheap due to use of low quality materials.

Since slow fashion merchandise is manufactured using locally sourced and organic fabrics, certain styles come in low supply and new styles come in every season, while on the opposite end of the spectrum new styles come into stores biweekly. Many of the tags for the clothing we buy from our favourite stores say "made in China" or "made in Bangladesh", which means they were most likely created in sweatshops of developing countries like the ones mentioned on the tags.

Slow fashion is manufactured locally with the help of the community, and as a result it is "less harmful, often traditional" while sweatshop produced clothing is unethical and the factories they are produced in cause environmental damage. The high demand of the fast fashion industry does not allow for a slow paced environment, and the easiest way to make cheap things in bulk is a factory. Slow fashion allows for "environmentally sustainable standards" to be maintained with the added perk of high quality clothing without the rush of making tons of it at once. Factory produced clothing uses harsh chemicals and dyes for their fabrics, while organic materials ensure a safe manufacturing processing.

Fast fashion is nothing but an exploitation of their "fast and cheap distribution and high consumption of clothing" or so says GD Major Entertainment in their Green Fashion Week. As long as these retail stores are making their money, they don't mind using sweatshops from developing countries. And the people buying these clothes don't pay mind to this fact either, because "out of sight, out of mind" right?

Consumer culture is very real and that is what is keeping fast fashion alive. Customers spend money on materialistic items to fit into societal culture. Customers want to keep up with the latest fashion trends, and it is human nature to want more, so we buy in bulk and when we do, we often don't use those items bought again after a few times of it being used. This is highlighted in Green Fashion Week, as "individuals are buying unnecessary amounts, wearing it a handful of times and then discarding it," and so no real value is being put on the clothing is being bought in such a haste.

Slow fashion has a goal of decreasing "the speed of production, consumption and disposing by placing greater application on one's purchase. Carefully considering an acquisition, connecting with clothes instead of having just another addition to the wardrobe which may be only worn for one occasion."

The transition to slow fashion from fast fashion can be difficult, but the decision to start is easy. Wanting to consume within a budget and buying many things for less sounds a lot more appealing, but purchasing ethically manufactured clothing, which does not exploit developing countries, individuals or our planet, brings a different kind of happiness to oneself.

Here is a list of the articles used in this post that you may find helpful:

https://www.trustedclothes.com/blog/2016/05/17/slow-fashion-vs-fast-fashion/

https://www.greenfashionweek.org/sustainability/fast-fashion-vs-slow-fashion/

https://study.com/academy/lesson/consumer-culture-theory-definition-quiz.html