5 myths Fast Fashion brands want you to believe (SheIn, H&M, Zara, ASOS…)

Exposing 5 myths that the Fast Fashion industry would LOVE you to believe... Looking at the facts behind the greenwashing, from the likes of Shein, Zara, H&M, Primark and friends.

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Fast fashion is disposed of within 1 year: McKinsey & Company 2016: Style that’s sustainable: A new fast-fashion formula.
Only a small share of textile waste is collected / recycled: Ellen MacArthur Foundation 2017: A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future.

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[kimberlyperrotis]

Another bad thing is that brands that used to make high-quality clothes have been adopting fast-fashion practices to increase their profits, especially by using dirt-cheap synthetic, polluting fabrics and by using developing-world factories with unsafe and unfair practices. Ralph Lauren, is one example, a brand I used to love. Last fall they had a pleated skirt that I looked at, but $400 for a 100% polyester skirt? I bought a silk one from a responsible brand instead, for a lot less, but of infinitely higher quality.

[karynafontes]

This is crazy! My mom has clothes from the 80s that are still in perfect condition. She's my greatest example that quality products + taking good care of your clothes always pays off.

[highvaluequeens]

The common misconception is that more clothes mean a better style but that’s untrue. My style improved when I started to own less. Not more. What was lacking was education. I’m happy there are stylists like you teaching us what we need to know to create great style

[eikosato]

I grew up in a non-western country and I would consider Zara to be extremely expensive when I was a college student. Then I came across Justine’s videos and I was strongly impacted by the messages conveyed through this channel. I stopped buying new clothes and started to value quality over quantity. Even though I would still purchase cheap clothes (and only cheap clothes ) that were mostly made in China and Bangladesh, I started to wear them for many years, own fewer pieces, and only purchase new pieces when I was really sure they’re my style and I’d wear them for years. It’s very hard to completely stay away from fast fashion brands but we can enact the concept of sustainable fashion nonetheless. It’s not about buying expensive clothes but about cherishing clothes that we wear.

[stickydumplings]

I am from China and working as a sourcing manager in US garment industry. Your video is so close to my heart. Many times I wanted to leave this industry because it’s wasteful nature. With fast fashion brands as powerful players, all heritage brands are forced into over producing and cutting costs. I am the one does all the costing as well. It breaks my heart every time I have to cheap up designs to meet the market target price.

[louk]

This should be taught in every school in the West. Thank you Justine for giving us the facts.

[lees]

Thank you for exposing this terrible problem. I'm a lady of a certain age and I was raised in middle class America. No malls full of cheap clothes bought by customers who shop every weekend as a hobby. We shopped in September for our school and cold weather wardrobe. School shoes, coats, and well made clothes that were cared for and passed on to younger family members. Often, some items were "lent" to other kids that my mother taught in school.

Spring, same routine including play clothes and sneakers. A dressy coat, shoes, proper attire for special occasions. (For me, a hat and white gloves.) Quality construction and materials were emphasized. My mother taught me how to sew expertly. Believe it or not, my prom gown was a Vogue pattern by Oscar de la Renta sewn by myself with my mother's help. Stunning and no other girl compared. I still sew.

As an adult, I bought the best items I could afford and very few. Building a good wardrobe requires discipline, self knowledge and planning. I now live in one of the most affluent areas in the world and am retired. I never shop the exclusive couture stores ever. Instead, I buy a few consignment shop items that fit my style and only in perfect condition. I then donate a few items in perfect condition to a good charity resale shop that is well known to local gals who may need career attire and accessories that may be just out of reach. It's a win win situation for everyone.

[noplace]

Almost all brands moving to a “fast fashion” model and the quality tanking is what finally pushed me to learn to sew. I don’t save any money, but I can make sure the fabric is ethically sourced and of good quality. It’s 1000x more effort, but it’s worth it imo

[moonshinemadame]

The other week, a friend and I were skimming a book about proper etiquette etc from the 1950s. Watching this just now, I had to think back to the list of garments it said every young woman should own to be well equipped. I believe it was something like four outfits for summer and winter each, an evening and a cocktail dress and a few blouses. It was expected that they would be well taken care of if damaged.
Today, if someone says they own four outfits for each season, people would gape and assume they were joking, precisely because fast fashion has become so ingrained into society. All the points made here I have discussed with people myself, but I think the one about shein actually having toxic substances on their garments is probably the one that struck me most. Definitely going to send this to all my friends who argue about that...
Thank you for once again shedding light on some fast fashion myths, it's eye-opening every time!

[jthayer]

When brands have too much stuff, I end up buying less. I get overwhelmed and indecisive then bail on my cart because I feel like I can't check out without seeing everything.

[kisikisikisi]

There's a saying in Finnish that applies very well to fashion: "a poor person can't afford to buy cheap". It of course doesn't apply to every single situation, but if you're able to invest just a little into your most used items, you should. High quality pieces will be cheaper in the long run.

[emilyevans]

I grew up thrifting. My mom was the queen of that. She grew up poor and had very little. That woman could restyle, alter, reuse, repair ANYTHING! She knew how to care for clothing, too. It was a great education for me. I am thankful for all I have, and for her resourcefulness she taught me.

[zaralight]

A few years ago, I was in the process of cleaning out my clothes and shoes and stopped. Instead, I created capsule wardrobes out of the clothes/shoes I already owned and started rotating those capsules. I figured that instead of throwing them away or donating them (and they will eventually be thrown away by those organizations), I could make the best use of the money I spent and stay more enviroment friendly. Also, I started learning to sew and now when some clothes are no longer good, I keep the usable fabric and all the good haberdashery to use in a new garment I create. So, I stopped buying new clothes and try to use everything I already own in the way they are or in the refashioned way. It works very well. Having my own multiple capsule wardrobes makes my brain think that I have "new clothes" with every single capsule ;-) In the future, I will only buy clothes/shoes that are absolutely necessary and from a sustainable source. In the meantime, I will continue to use every bit of my existing wardrobe and make the best use of it. Your videos and insights have made me rethink my choices and start making changes in a way that is not only good for me, but for the environment as well. Thank you for producing such quality content and contributing to a necessary shift in thinking.

[KrOHime]

Thank you Justine! Could you make a video of the brands that are responsible? That could be really helpful for some of us that want to be more thoughtful with our purchasing habits but don't know where to start 😊

[Cherylebreaux]

Another bad trend is all the influencers constantly hawking Walmart, Target, and Amazon. I confess, I've been influenced by them. But you are correct, we need to change. I grew up poor and I think that has been a factor in my overbuying. I'm trying to do better and videos like this help a lot.

[pheebsbee]

I am so down hearted after watching. The fashion industry also likes to say, "Oh but old clothes go in the charity bin and the poor wear them, ' but that's a lie - there are so many used clothes out there that even poor people have a wide choice! And vintage clothing is a rip off - they price the clothes even higher than what they were in the shops originally - this scares off the young people who want to buy used clothes.

[julianar.]

I live in Brazil... Last year Shein had grown 300% in my country. Local brands turn to be very expensive for most people after the pandemy for a lot of reasons (taxes, inflation, economical crisis, feedstock problems etc.) and suddenly everyone was buying clothes from Shein because they like the prices and infinity options. Brazilian big fashion brands are now in trouble because people stopped buying from it, and we cannot judge... the prices just don't match the quality. I aways buy clothes from small stores (with products made in Brazil) or wait for good sales so I can buy better quality with better price. Most people are unaware - or they just don't care - about the mass production and polyester problems and it's VERY concerning. :(

[KristinaVlahovic]

Thank you for this, Justine. Could you make a video suggesting brands that exist in between fast fashion and luxury brands that make quality pieces made to last?

[geanyovchinnikova]

Almost agree. The problem is that the quality of more expensive brands is often as bad as quality of the cheaper ones...

[renarettinger]

I’ve been a merchandiser for over 30 years, and I started working for Ann Taylor last year as a merchandise manager. They literally have a new collection every single month and I’m here to tell you that it is physically defeating. The amount of boxes that come in every week and every single piece of clothing comes in its own tiny little plastic bag that has to be ripped open (my elbows literally burn after a shipment comes in) and that little piece of clothing has to be put on a hanger and those pieces of clothing have to be hung on a rack typically on the second level so you’re up and down the ladder all day. The quantity will blow your mind!!! Not to mention the amount of markdowns that are still in the stockroom because there’s not enough space on the sales floor because there is such a back up of unsold clothing. And you can tell from the merchandise that’s coming in new that the designers are completely out of ideas. The entire staff struggles to find anything cute to buy lol and my elbows are still hurting