Fast fashion’s leading online brands
What typically defines a fast fashion brand is their manufacturing—producing high volumes of clothing at fast rates, and subsequently offering them for relatively cheap prices. In 2022, the fast fashion e-commerce scene boasted many large players. The aforementioned Zara, along with other big brands like Shein, H&M, Fashion Nova, and Forever 21, all can be classified as fast fashion brands, and all of them make up the leading fast fashion companies in the United States.The Chinese company Shein, which is increasingly popular in the U.S., also is the largest fashion e-commerce company globally, not only among fellow fashion competitors, but also brands in different industries. Shein was the most downloaded fashion app and the most visited fashion site globally in 2022.
H&M’s online net sales also make it one of the leading fast fashion companies globally, but there are plenty of fast fashion brands selling exclusively online that can stand their ground against multichannel giants like H&M and Zara. Boohoo, ASOS, PrettyLittleThing, and Missguided are frequently in the spotlight when it comes to social media posts showcasing—most specifically in haul videos.
Is slow fashion gone for good?
The fast fashion industry contributes to sustainability roadblocks and labor exploitation by promoting overconsumption and participating in greenwashing, while disclosing little information about supply chains. Many online fast fashion brands like Shein and Romwe have also been accused of stealing and reproducing the work of small designers. Despite these problematic facts, fast fashion remains a lucrative industry, and some of the largest e-commerce companies globally operate with this profitable business model. In 2022, online shoppers tended to purchase from unsustainable fashion brands online for a number of reasons. Besides and the cost of living becoming a concern for many consumers globally, many consumers fail at being able to identify whether clothes are actually sustainably sourced when shopping online.Fast fashion companies continue to draw in loyal online buyers, threatening more sustainable modes of buying clothes. Still, slow fashion, or even fashion that isn’t notoriously fast, has not been replaced. Second-hand e-commerce is a popular option among conscious consumers, and many are open to buying pre-owned fashion online specifically for sustainability reasons. Ultimately, e-commerce gives shoppers environmentally friendly options, but the ease of online shopping continues to fuel the fast fashion industry as a whole.
