Fast Fashion Is Getting Even Faster. Is That A Good Thing?

It’s hardly a bold claim to say that fast fashion has a few sins on its hands. Along with environmental issues throughout the supply chain, there is also the question of what to do with so much throwaway clothing. And then, of course, there are the ethical issues accompanying unsafe factories and sub-par conditions in shipping centers. Add in the psychological conditioning that comes with turning clothing into an essentially disposable good, and season it all with a knocked off runway design or two, and you’d have to wonder why anyone would want fast fashion to become even faster. But apparently people do. According to a research note that Goldman Sachs sent investors last month, British fashion retailers Asos and Boohoo are making a run at fast fashion stalwarts like H&M and Zara, largely thanks to their ability to deliver trendy new clothing to market at an even quicker clip. Partly due to the fact that both British retailers are online only and, as such, are able to deliver new trends at astonishing speed, they’ve seen their sales growth skyrocket in the last year. Earlier this week, Asos lifted its sales forecast for the year, expecting a growth of between 30 and 35 percent. And Boohoo recently predicted that its sales growth would be around 50 percent for the year. So clearly there is still a robust market for fast fashion. And when it’s used responsibly—when people buy things that they really want and intend to wear for a while—there’s nothing wrong with that. But shifting even more towards a churn-and-burn approach feels like a step in the wrong direction. Read more at Esquire.