Fast fashion clothes are mass-produced in major manufacturing factories all around the world and they are made of cheap and poorly made fabrics. Furthermore, the workers making these garments are underpaid. For consumers, fast fashion clothes are the new norm as they are cheap and recent purchases go out of style faster than ever before. Because of this, large clothing companies such as H&M and Zara are supporting fast fashion even more, as they can make more money without even having to think of the environmental consequences. Fast fashion must either be limited or stopped, as it hurts the environment in an extreme manner by supporting mass production and it is getting out of control.

Even though H&M is now using recycled materials and are setting up goals to be more environmentally friendly after facing numerous environmental scandals, no evidence of advancements are being made because mass production overshadows all of these sustainability efforts. The effort on its part is appreciated, but fast fashion is still all too popular and more substantial steps are needed to prove to us that they are serious about their environmental allegations.

You cannot be fooled by these companies! H&M has always relied on celebrities to help with their success and to shift the focus off of their environmental harms. For example, to promote its holiday line on social media, H&M partnered with 4 celebrities to highlight this line to over 12 million consumers. This strategy helped generate more money and popularity for the campaign, while shifting the focus off of their many scandals. Furthermore, the campaigns helped to drive clothing sales, specifically for the holiday line, and this boosted the company’s mass production in a really detrimental way. Therefore, H&M uses these ads and these celebrities to further their fast fashion efforts and to add fuel to the flame. 

We believe that in order to change this system, companies need to support the ban and limitation of fast fashion and realize how detrimental mass production truly is. For example, companies such as Afends and Asos have been finding ways to support local suppliers and produce their items in environmental friendly manners, while still making profit. Compared to these other brands, H&M is doing much worse in terms of labor conditions, environmental impact and animal welfare. Afends has a good rating overall, with ⅘ in environment, ⅖ in humanities, and ⅘ in animals. They are always using sustainable materials and use renewable energy in its supply chain. On the other hand, H&M  is not doing well in most categories, as it scores a constant ⅗ in terms of people, environment and animals.