There has been plenty of concerns regarding fast fashion in the past years as to how it has negatively impacted the fashion industry. Fast fashion is clothing that is inspired by new or recent trends that appeared on the runways and is produced and sold at affordable pricing. H&M is a Swedish fashion retailer that sells clothes and cosmetics with stores all around the world. The brand has years of experience at driving down the price of up to the minute fashions. All H&M stores are owned and run solely by H&M. H&M does not have its own factories but works with over 700 different suppliers.
The article discusses how H&M may have lost its shine as stock pricing has dropped more than 40% and will have to close 170 stores (Cline, 2018). Many factors came into play that caused this type of outcome for the brand. H&M had issues with ad campaigns being deemed as racial, PR errors, and incinerating leftover goods. News revealed that the company has at least 44.3 billion of unsold apparel (Cline, 2018). Competition for H&M is also stirring up problems as consumers are buying online and shopping at retailers such as Amazon.
Fast fashion is still significant for consumers. Many shoppers do not focus on the quality of a garment, but rather the price. Fast fashion speeds up the rate at which people buy clothes and also the pace at which they get rid of old clothes. Sadly, the more a consumer buys fast fashions clothing it ends up landfills and then effects the global environment. Although the band has ran into a few complications over the past few years they are not the worst of the major fashion companies. H&M is at the top of sustainability issues and strives to become a 100% sustainable by 2030.
The article is relevant to today’s industry as more focus as been turning towards producing sustainable fashion. Also, the fast fashion market has been extremely popular. Women are choosing to save money on fast fashions rather than ready to wear fashions. I believe that this is true because of how quickly fashion trends change. Women who are trendy want to be able to keep up and spending hundreds or thousands of dollars on a designer trendy coat would be a waste if it is no longer in style by the next year. I see that women are getting rid of clothes way faster these days. Years ago, you could keep fashion pieces in your closet for years and still be able to wear them. H&M is going through a rough time now, but I believe that the brand is in no danger of going out of business.
References
- Cline, E. (2018). H&M’s woes mean fast fashion is getting worse, not better. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from https://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-cline-hm-fast-fashion-20180405-story.html