‘Fast fashion’ is the term used to describe clothing designs that move quickly to take advantage of in particular, social media trends, relying on cheap, disposable clothing that is produced quickly and sold at low prices, encouraging consumers to buy and discard clothing at an alarming rate. The collections are often based on styles hot on social media, or dupes worn by celebrities. As a result, landfills are overflowing with discarded clothing, and textile waste is piling up.

10 Solutions to Fast Fashion may be:

1. Choosing high-quality, sustainable materials for clothing production
2. Implementing a circular supply chain to reduce waste and promote reuse
3. Promoting secondhand and vintage clothing markets
4. Encouraging clothing brands to pay fair wages to factory workers
5. Reducing the frequency of new collections and releases
6. Supporting upcycling and DIY fashion projects
7. Increasing transparency around supply chains and manufacturing processes
8. Adopting eco-friendly packaging for clothing and accessories
9. Educating consumers on the benefits of slow fashion and the impact of fast fashion
10. Promoting local clothing production and micro-brands.

For this week’s task, I designed a concept that may help fast fashion decline, and help consumers make better decisions before purchasing online, because let’s be honest, we’ve all ordered something that may have looked better online than in person. The prototype I worked on is a ‘Smart Mirror’ – think a touch-screen full-length mirror with Wi-Fi connectivity. Search up exclusively what you are looking for – for example, ‘Black Mini Dress Size 10 or Size M with Next Day Shipping’. Consumers can then have a full body scan, via a camera installed into the mirror taking real-time measurements along with proportion recollection.

Now onto the fun step. You can then filter down to the product you would like to try, and it will reflect on the mirror as if you’re wearing it in real life mirroring lighting, size, proportions, etc. So, for example, if you’re a tall girl trying out ASOS’ Tall collection, you can see if their jeans ACTUALLY go below your ankle. This will save you the guesswork of purchasing the jeans, potentially not fitting how you’d like or imagined, and then shipping back the item. Although this doesn’t directly stop fast fashion altogether (which would be incredibly difficult), this Smart Mirror is a product that can help people make more informed, conscious decisions before purchasing, and fewer returns will be made, as a result less clothing end up in landfills. A massive 46% of US consumers in a recent Harris Poll gave ‘poor fit’ as the prime reason for returning garments, ahead of damage (38%) and poor quality (36%). Also, due to more intentional purchases, stores can see exactly what’s selling and selling good, then choose to purchase a stock that sells good with consumers instead of just anything so again, saving clothes ending up in landfills and actually being worn and re-worn.

Bibliography :

Contributor, G. (2023) Tech tools for combating poor fit and returns: Data Analytics, AI and VR, FashionUnited. Available at: https://fashionunited.uk/news/business/tech-tools-for-combatting-poor-fit-and-returns-data-analytics-ai-and-vr/2023101772138 (Accessed: 14 November 2023).