📷 Image Credit: Daze Digital 👆
By: Sophie Benson

TL;DR Gen Z and millennials have known that fast fashion is terrible, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still buying it. The low prices and wide variety have kept fast fashion alive and well.

The number of people shopping second-hand in recent years has soared. Yet, there is still much fast fashion in the mix. If you don’t know what fast fashion is, here’s a brief description: clothing designs that move from the catwalk (often during fashion week) to stores in a quick/fast way to meet the need for trending styles at an affordable price. There have been countless articles describing how Gen Z is killing fast fashion, with the second-hand market set to hit $64 billion in the next few years, and they are not necessarily wrong. Predictions that the second-hand market will outgrow fast fashion by 2029 are a definite possibility, but that is only part of the picture – fast fashion is still growing.

With the pandemic’s beginning, fast fashion saw a huge spark, especially among millennials and Gen Z. Many contribute their continued support for fast fashion because the clothing is priced cheaply, and they can’t afford more expensive sustainable brands. Another factor is that fast fashion brands will often produce a large variety of sizes that are harder to find in more ethically produced brands that limit their sizing. Fast fashion may not suit the environment, but affordable pricing is winning.

Written by: Sofia Christensen, Intern

Edited by: Lisa Knight, COO & Mentor