Zara Going Hi-Speed
If you thought your mind was playing tricks on you in always finding something new in stores, well you weren’t hallucinating. I read this article in the Wall Street Journal how Spanish-based brand Zara is putting pressure on the pedal to beat out its competitors in the fast fashion market.
While competitors like Forever 21 stock up with new duds within 6 week intervals, Zara packs in new styles twice a week. Collections are kept small to minimize losses on flops and capitalize on exclusivity when they sell out. You can say that they’ve created the fast fashion model and turned it into a multi-million dollar business and lots of companies are catching up quick.
Just another growing problem in fashion globalization. Soon you’ll be able to get new fashion every single day. I give it about 5-10 years before fast fashion goes out of hand.
Today is Hi-Speed.
And tomorrow: Ludicrous Speed!
February 21st, 2008 at 10:00 am
It is too much…twice a day? All this does is create overconsumption and waste. You are so used to getting a new cheap warbdrobe every week that eventually you become numb to it all and get bored quickly. While constantly replacing your 2 week old clothing with brand new clothing, where does the old stuff go? In the trash? I hope they are at least given to the needy as the last thing we need in this world thats trying to be eco-friendly is more waste.
February 21st, 2008 at 10:26 am
Glad you asked that question. I’ve been meaning to post this link that traces where exactly do the unsold clothes go after a sale.
http://www.ehponline.org/members/2007/115-9/focus.html
It’s lengthy but it’s a really good article. In short, most of our clothes end up in third world countries selling for a fraction of North American retail price. A chinese worker, who makes $1 a day, makes hundreds of clothes for North America, but many end up in third world markets, some slacks selling for $5 brand new. Left over luxury goods that don’t sell here are shipped to Japan to be sold. The rest of the stuff that doesn’t get sold are recycled as rags and used as insulators. But not everything gets recycled, a large number just ends up as trash :/ The needy can only take so much of given clothes though, I don’t know how much clothes are made each year, but we could dress the entire planet is my guess.
February 22nd, 2008 at 10:24 am
ill check out the link
thanks Dahlia!