What Is The Difference Between Fast Fashion vs Slow Fashion

Two terms have been gaining buzz these days in both the world of fashion and the eco-community. These are Slow Fashion and Fast Fashion.

But what do these two words mean in the first place? What makes them different from each other?

Fast Fashion – What is It?

Fast Fashion focuses on the rapid creation of mass-produced, trend-driven, and cheap fashion available at mass-market retailers. The pieces come directly from the catwalk to the shops, bought at cheap prices and worn for a short time, or are even left unworn before they get disposed of.

There are a lot of negative effects associated with fast fashion, which include the environmental impacts of dyeing using harmful and toxic chemicals to more serious concerns of exploitation of the garment workers.

Social And Environmental Impacts Of Fast Fashion

Cheap materials are often used to produce cheap garments, and these include synthetic fibers such as acrylic, nylon, and polyester. These are non-biodegradable fabrics that can last for 200 years.

These are often among the primary contributors of the microplastics piling in the ocean. Every time synthetic garments are washed, there are thousands of small plastic particles that go straight to the sea, causing havoc on the marine life there.

Fast Fashion also greatly affects the people who are making the clothes. A good example of this was in 2013 when over 1,100 garment workers died during the collapse of the Rana Plaza factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh. It was discovered that the workers already pointed out building cracks in the past. But the workers were ignored and were told to continue working inside.

The Fashion Revolution Week was started in response to the tragic event to make the industry more transparent. Customers of a certain clothing brand have also recently discovered handwritten notes that were sewn by garment workers into clothes stating that they weren’t paid for their labor.

Slow Fashion – What Is It?

Slow Fashion is the umbrella term that pertains to the cultural movement that focuses on the slower pace consumption and production of accessories of clothing. This usually refers to the products that are made consciously with sustainability and ethical practices at the forefront of the entire design process.

To put it simply, the goal of Slow Fashion is to slow down how people make and purchase clothing. This encourages consumers to appreciate and know not only the people who produce their clothes but also the garments themselves.

Some Of The Champions Of Slow Fashion Include

• Making clothes by hand
• Mending
• Minimalism
• Outfit repeating
• Sharing
• Swapping
• Thrift shopping
• Upcycling

Using the champions of Slow Fashion as the concept, such as mending, making clothes yourself, outfit repeating, sharing, swapping, and thrift shopping, there is no need to spend a lot of money just to participate in this movement.

When you purchase Slow Fashion garments, you can have the confidence knowing that the people who made the piece were paid a fair amount of living wage. You can also be sure that they didn’t have to work under unsafe conditions and the materials used will not and did not cause significant harm to the environment.