What isn’t ‘Fast Fashion’?

[Bookaholic73]

I’ve heard loads about avoiding fast fashion, which I totally agree with.

But I am confused about where you shop, or how to look for, places that aren’t fast fashion?

I don’t want to look in charity shops etc, I want new clothes.

So where do you shop, within a reasonable budget, that isn’t fast fashion?

I think anything can be, depending low long you will wear it.

I have a couple of dresses from Zara and Mango that have lasted a few season and are still perfectly fine, and one Primark top I wore for years.

Just buy something that's well made, and something you know you will want to wear for a long time.

I ways think of fast fashion as buying something very on trend (usually from a cheap-ish shop), wearing it for a season, and discarding it when it is no longer in fashion. I buy stuff that I like and suits my shape (regardless of whether it is the most recent shape/cut) and wear it until it wears out/needs replacing.

It's buying clothes that last for years and not worn for one season and got rid of.
Many cheaper shop's clothes are often seen to be lower quality and not last. However this isn't always the case.
So I'd shop thoughtfully. Will it last, will I like wearing it in a year or 5 years time.
Shopping ethically is a whole other ball game. That's much harder to do.

I like the sleeves that have been around the past few years and I will wear them when they are no longer fashionable. People who have to be on trendy will ditch these clothes.

Maybe people will start to alter clothes again to suit changing fashion, ( I know some regularly get clothes altered, most people just wear off the peg) as they once had the lady maid do for them.

Thank you everyone. I see people label specific shops (like Primark, H&M etc) as fast fashion, so I thought it was about the shop.
Nothing I wear ever gets thrown away after a season, most items I’ve had for at least a few years and won’t get replaced for a few more years.

@ChirpyChirp

I ways think of fast fashion as buying something very on trend (usually from a cheap-ish shop), wearing it for a season, and discarding it when it is no longer in fashion. I buy stuff that I like and suits my shape (regardless of whether it is the most recent shape/cut) and wear it until it wears out/needs replacing.

I'd go along with that. I don't wear very on trend clothes, but I like to have a nod to what is currently in. I have dresses and jackets that are years old.

I've got a vest top from H&M that was £5.50 in the sale in 2017. I still wear it loads! So it was cheap, but I don't class it as fast fashion as it's still going strong.

Cheaper shops do tend to promote fast fashion though as more people can afford to buy/discard/buy on a regular basis.

I try to buy a fair amount of stuff second hand (I like a specific brand of jeans and can't afford to buy them new. Same with knitwear). I do struggle to shop ethically though!

I try and make sure I'll wear something 30 times at least. If I know I won't, I don't buy it.

Buy classics. Some styles are one-season wonders - avoid those.
You can find classics in the high street shops but high-end high street is better.

I don't view it this way at all. For me it's about the company, the manufacturer, how they treat their employees who make the clothes, those people's working conditions and their rate of pay. As well as the fabric the clothes are made from. Which fabric, where is it sourced and is it manufactured ethically minimizing damage to the environment.

If people are being treated properly from the bottom up and fabric is manufactured ethically, the end result won't be cheap otherwise they'd be selling at a loss.

How long you keep the clothes for has an impact environmentally. But how you use the clothes isn't what "fast fashion" is. Although fast fashion can be vey poorly made, either in techniques or in the fabric used, causing the clothes to fall apart or become worn out quicker. Which causes them to be discarded and new clothes made/purchased, adding to the damaging environmental impact.

There’s an app called ‘good on you’ which gives ethical / sustainability information for loads of brands. It’s actually quite an eye opener - in terms of brands that I’d viewed as being good…not being all that good!

Try Rapanui and Community clothing for some good basics.

I thought fast fashion was more about the production than about what you do with it after you buy it. Because of the production model it tends to only have a short lifespan but if you buy a cheap mass produced item and keep it for years it's still fast fashion.

I'm not sure how best to avoid it. Probably by looking for clothes made closer to home.

Second hand is definitely your best bet if you want stuff that’s affordable. I get my jeans from eBay as I know the size/brand/style I like so can just keep an eye out for them, so it doesn’t just have to be charity shops. Why do you want only new?

I love charity shops but I do understand people don't always.
There's a instinctive reaction against secondhand things for some people/ cultures/ groups. Might be seen as bad luck, dirty and so on, don't know where it's been what happened with the wearer or how much the shop cleaned it.
I'd suggest looking at second hand clothes dealers and vintage shops instead of charities if you want it to feel a bit cleaner and curated?

One thing I suggest people think about to reframe how they see second hand is this. It might not be relevant for you but thought I'd put it in.
When people want new / box fresh because it's 'cleaner' or hasn't been touched by strangers: this isn't the case.
It's already been touched and handled by the factory workers, the people who packed and unpacked it, and in a shop by staff and the people who tried it on before you. We can't really get a pure untouched item. And that's before we get into problems like child labour, factory conditions and how fabric was made etc.

I definitely don’t have anything against charity shops, just that the ones local to me are rubbish.
Also, I only go shopping for clothes if I have a specific item in mind (for example a winter coat in a specific colour) and can rarely get that in a charity shop.

Maybe big cities would have better charity shops, but the ones in my local small town are full of old lady stuff.

I make nearly all my own clothes now, but I realise that is the extreme end of it.

It's not often I see something I like in the shops and don't think 'But I could make that myself but nicer'

It's rare I buy new clothes now but I also alter/adapt readymade second hand stuff to fit too so I do cheat a little.

Stumbled over this article just now, OP. Think it sums up the answer to your question:

uk.buymeonce.com/blogs/articles-tips/what-does-slow-fashion-look-like

I think of fast fashion as trendy things that are produced cheaply (the people making them paid terribly and treated badly in general), using man-made fabrics like polyester and then sold cheaply using a "must buy" latest thing kind of marketing. Often items like party dresses or tops, worn a few times before literally thrown away (not donated or sold on).

In comparison, a more ethical and eco-friendly item would be made by fairly paid employees in good conditions, the fabric would be organic or otherwise ethically source materials, and the items generally more timeless in look. Purchased to be worn on a regular basis, can be repaired or sold at a good price second hand if you no longer want it. More expensive to begin with because usually cheap clothes are cheap at the expense of workers and the environment.

I think it’s both about production and also what you do with it after you buy it.

I think of fast fashion as clothes that aren't made to last. Unfortunately, I have had both cheaper and more expensive items fall apart, fade, bobble and lose their shape after a few wears, so I couldn't really tell you which ones are better or worse.

I think of the whole it is less about the particular brands and more about shopping habits. Since I had kids and hit 40s, I'm much less about following trends and more about being presentable and comfortable.

@Bookaholic73
Got it. I think online secondhand is definitely a help then, if you go on eBay looking for a coat in a specific size and colour for example you will have lots of options. You can set for uk sellers only so the delivery is cheaper and lower carbon emissions. Vinted is also good, fewer items but easier and quicker.

@nordica

I think of fast fashion as trendy things that are produced cheaply (the people making them paid terribly and treated badly in general), using man-made fabrics like polyester and then sold cheaply using a "must buy" latest thing kind of marketing. Often items like party dresses or tops, worn a few times before literally thrown away (not donated or sold on).

In comparison, a more ethical and eco-friendly item would be made by fairly paid employees in good conditions, the fabric would be organic or otherwise ethically source materials, and the items generally more timeless in look. Purchased to be worn on a regular basis, can be repaired or sold at a good price second hand if you no longer want it. More expensive to begin with because usually cheap clothes are cheap at the expense of workers and the environment.

That's a good summary

@pastabest are you U.K. based and do you have recommendations for ethical fabric suppliers? I make loads of mine too but am well aware that the supply chain for dressmaking fabric can be impossible to find out about.

I shop in the likes of primark and H&M sometimes but the stuff can last for years. I’ve just thrown out a vest top from H&M that I’ve been wearing for 10 years!!

[quote Verbena87]@pastabest are you U.K. based and do you have recommendations for ethical fabric suppliers? I make loads of mine too but am well aware that the supply chain for dressmaking fabric can be impossible to find out about.[/quote]
I am UK based and I don't check the provenance of most of the fabric I buy because other than organic cottons it's mostly impossible to determine.

I'm happy though that everything I wear is something that I've put my own blood, sweat and occasionally tears into making rather than someone else's in a sweatshop somewhere else.

I'll be honest, I never set out making my own clothes for eco reasons but in making my own clothes it's made me appreciate clothes and how they are made and now I find it really really difficult to buy into 'fast fashion' as a result.