A few people have asked us the difference between Slow fashion and Fast fashion so we've decided to dedicate a brief blog post to it.
Fast fashion and slow fashion are two different approaches to producing and consuming clothing.
Fast Fashion
Fast fashion generally refers to the mass production of clothing that is designed to be inexpensive, trendy, and quickly produced. It can also be associated with environmental concerns, as the production process is often outsourced to countries with lower labour standards and cheaper production costs. Think a large factory setting with the workers being underpaid with horrible hours and bad conditions. Infamous cases include the Rana Plaza where "an eight-story building housing several garment factories and a shopping center collapsed, killing more than 1,000 workers and injuring more than 2,500." ( To read more about the Rana Plaza, you can head to https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/5-years-after-the-worlds-largest-garment-factory-collapse-is-safety-in-bangladesh-any-better )
Unfortunately fast fashion companies often take inspiration from high-end designers as well as small independent designers and produce cheaper versions of their designs to be sold at a lower price point. Additionally, their clothes/collections are typically produced very quickly with new styles introduced frequently to keep up with the latest trends.
Another downside to fast fashion is the landfill element. As people are now buying more clothes than ever before, instead of a few good pieces each season, they are throwing out their garments at an unsustainable pace. This leads to landfills pilling up overseas as countries like Canada and the U.S. have their clothes shipped out to other countries' landfills.
Slow Fashion
Slow fashion is an approach that emphasizes high-quality, sustainable and ethically produced clothing. Slow fashion products are typically made using natural and/or durable materials, and are designed to be worn for a longer period of time.
Additionally slow fashion garments are often produced in smaller quantities or made to order i.e. where the clothing is only produced once it has been ordered, and may be more expensive than fast fashion items due to the higher quality and labor costs.
As slow fashion pieces are often created by small designers, you often see unique designs that stand out from mass-produced fast fashion items. By wearing slow fashion, you can express your individual style and break away from the trends that fast fashion can sometimes create.
There are lots of great resources on this topic but here are a few that you might find interesting
From the podcast Dressed Episode titled 'Fashionopolis'
Book titled 'Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion and the Future of Clothes'
Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion
Book titled 'How To Break Up With Fast Fashion'