The Unravelling of Fast Fashion and Rise of Slow Fashion

From a time when fashion reflected culture, identity, and creativity, the fashion industry has transformed into a world where trends change weekly, and clothing can arrive at your doorstep for the price of a coffee. It’s become a race: a race to produce, consume, and discard. Often criticized for its disputable production practices and ethical working conditions, the rise of fast fashion has reshaped the fashion industry and our wardrobes.

But not without consequences. As our wardrobes fill with quick, cheap, and often disposable fashion, beneath the surface lies a massive environmental and ethical cost. As a fact, the fashion industry as a whole accounts for up to 10% of global carbon emissions! 

What Is Fast Fashion?

Fast fashion refers to the rapid production of inexpensive clothing designed to keep pace with ever-changing trends. It's an industry built on the idea that outfits are meant to be worn just a few times before being replaced by the next wave of must-haves. Today’s social media culture plays a major role in fueling this cycle. With trends delivered at the swipe of a finger, consumers are constantly exposed to new styles, encouraging impulse buys that are often cheap, accessible, and short-lived.

Other features of fast fashion:

• (Ultra-) short production cycles
• Low-cost labour (regularly in unsafe conditions)
• Cheap materials like (lower quality) polyester and regular cotton
• Production with a high environmental footprint (think of dye pollution, textile waste, and such)  

Unsurprisingly, that speed and volume come at a price for our society;

• Excessive textile waste: Millions of garments end up in landfills every year
• Water pollution: Toxic dyes and untreated wastewater from factories pollute rivers and oceans
• Unethical labour: Garment workers often face poor working conditions, long working hours, and unfair wages
• Overconsumption: Constant new arrivals pressure consumers to buy more, even when they don’t need it

 

In contrast to fast fashion, slow fashion represents the opposite end of the fashion industry.

What Is Slow Fashion? 

Slow fashion is the antidote to the wasteful culture of fast fashion. It is a growing countermovement that champions sustainability, ethics, and more conscious consuming, emphasising quality over quantity, transparency, and the use of more eco-friendly fabrics like organic cotton, hemp and bamboo. From how materials are sourced to how workers are treated, away from the use of fossil-fuel-based fabrics and throwaway culture, the term slow fashion embodies fashion that is more mindful, using eco-friendlier practices and aims to reduce and improve. 

Key features of slow fashion:

• Durable, timeless designs made to last
• Higher quality fabric and craftsmanship result in a piece you love to wear over and over
• Responsibly sourced, low-impact materials
• Ethical manufacturing with fair wages and safe conditions
• Less frequent collections, produced mindfully, not in mass

 

Why Slow Fashion Is Better for the Planet

According to the UN Environment Program, the fashion industry as a whole is responsible for up to 10% of global carbon emissions and is a major consumer of water and energy resources. Slow fashion offers a smarter alternative:

• Using eco-friendly and natural fabrics and production processes that are better for our planet
• Often working with third-party certifications like GOTS, SEDEX, OEKO-TEX and BCI
• Applying eco-friendly practices and closed-loop production, using less water and avoiding spillage in the environment
• Reduces waste through thoughtful design while supporting safer working conditions, better pay, and fair working hours
• Encourages reuse, repair, and mindful consumption to extend the life of clothing and reduce environmental impact

 

Slow Fashion - Invest in Pieces That Last, For You and the Planet

Choosing quality over quantity is one of the most impactful steps we can take towards creating a more sustainable and eco-friendly fashion industry. By investing in fewer, higher-quality fashion items, we not only save money over time, but we also reduce our environmental footprint. Just one consciously purchased fashion item worn 50 times is far more sustainable than five fast fashion pieces worn ten times. Additionally, thrift shopping, clothing swaps, and DIY repairs can align with slow fashion without breaking the bank.

Slow fashion - a movement rooted in valuing people, planet, and purpose over profits.

Fun fact: A common critique of slow fashion is the price. However, when doing the math, the cost-per-wear is often lower for higher quality fashion that is made with care. For example, a quality polo you wear once a week for a year, compared to a cheap polo that loses its shine in 10 washes. 

Ready to upgrade your wardrobe with purpose?

In our mission to promote more eco-friendly and ethical fashion, Robumi Lifestyle is part of the slow fashion movement. Shop our eco-friendly bamboo shirts today and make a difference. Sustainably made, incredibly soft, and designed to last. Perfect for anyone seeking ethical and eco-friendly fashion, bamboo clothing, and conscious everyday wear.

Try it. Feel it. Love it.