Fast Fashion, 2023 Will NOT Be Your Year

Fast fashion steals the show again, with Shein taking the title of 2022’s most popular fashion brand. As the last two weeks of the year approaches, I’m hoping Shein does not get an encore for 2023.

Money.co.uk released its annual report where Shein was named the most popular fashion brand in almost every country, moving Zara to second place, and overtaking other top world retailers like Nike and Adidas.

Fashion United said, “the research revealed that the Chinese company was the most searched brand on Google in a total of 113 countries, including Australia, France, and Ireland.”

Within hours of this announcement, Shein admitted working hours breached local regulations at two of its company's sites in response to numerous allegations made regarding labor abuse. The Guardian said, “it found staff at one of the factories were working up to 13-and-a-half-hour days with two to three days off a month, while those at the second site were working up to 12-and-a- half hours a day, with no fixed structure for days off.”

With sustainability at the forefront of most fashion conversations this year, why are we still seeing Shein remain a top fashion retailer? Even though you are getting the clothes much cheaper, is the dangerous cost to human lives and our environment justifiable? The knowledge of their production of “700-1,000 new pieces a day, on top of all other orders that need fulfilling – leaving in its trail 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent a year as byproduct,” highlighted by Dazed should be enough to boycott this brand and all fast fashion for that matter.

We recognize that these companies' lower and more affordable price point is essential to many, which is why the solution lies in the company itself or global governments rather than the consumers. We need these restrictions regarding the environment and labor conditions to be enforced by the people in power.

Fast fashion isn’t slowing down anytime soon, and amongst some efforts for environmental plans, it seems most companies fall short of legitimate change among production and their workers. However, some parts of the industry are stepping up and banning fast fashion.

Vestiaire Collective, a Paris-based luxury global resale site where you list and sell your pre- loved items, decided to remove all fast fashion brands. Forbes highlighted that “the second-hand online e-tailer, said the move is consistent with its philosophy as a brand of implementing its mission to drive collective change towards a circular fashion economy.”

From Nov. 22 and moving forward, sellers won’t be able to list their fast fashion items, and the previous listings were removed. Although this promotes more responsible consumption, it now raises the question of where the fast fashion clothing listed goes now that Vestiarie is not an option to extend the life of those garments.

BOF said, “to address this tension, Vestiaire is looking to press European regulators to take a stronger position in cracking down on the mountains of clothing waste generated by the fashion industry every year.”

Vestiaire says over the next three years they will continue to regulate the brands on their site and establish set criteria, including metrics like product quality, carbon footprint, and supply-chain working conditions that must be met.

We have never offered fast fashion on Tulerie as we are a luxury peer-to-peer lending site. We want the app to be a platform where our lenders can share their investment pieces, and our borrowers know they are receiving high-quality items.

Rental platform Hurr highlighted on their Instagram that if we all wore a pre-loved outfit on Christmas day alone, the CO2 emissions saved would be equivalent to taking 56 million cars off the road. This holiday season, we are ready to be out with the old and in with the new eco-friendly consumer habits by choosing to wear something already in your closet, rented, borrowed, or bought secondhand. Those habits are worth bringing into the new year.

-As always, elevate your wardrobe with respected fashion and embrace the shift in style