‘Fast Fashion’ is a term used to define the sub-section of the clothing industry
that produces cheap, low-quality, and trendy clothing (often, they are replicas of high-fashion
items) in a very short amount of time, catering to the wants of the customer at the point of
highest demand at a very low price. To quantify the increase in clothing purchases, in 1980,
an average American bought 12 items of clothing annually, but today, the number is up to 68.
This relatively new concept is taking the industry by storm financially with extraordinary
growth rates. It is also impacting the environment negatively with a high and irresponsible
consumption of natural resources in the economy. The labor conditions in the fashion world
are also worsening with the need for faster production cycles stressing underpaid labor in
developing countries. This paper discusses fast fashion, its origins, and the serious economic
effect it is having today.