Faced with the depletion of natural resources and the serious consequences of climate change, the fashion industry decides to become aware. Finally sustainability and ethical conduct have begun to be a trend (Moisander and Personen 2002).
In today’s fashion market there has been a growing trend towards “slow fashion” (Fletcher 2007, 61). The definition of slow fashion is the inclusion of small-scale production, the use of local materials and artisan production techniques. That is, it investigates the nature of the garment and the way in which it is produced. On the other hand, it uses design concepts that do not require seasons using slower production times to focus on quality products and durability, which is reflected in prices (Fletcher 2010; Holt, 2009).
The term slow fashion is linked to sustainability, but nowadays the fast fashion industry is slowly making its way into sustainable fashion, could be the case with H&M, one of the main fast fashion companies and promotes many sustainable initiatives, for example, the launch of the sustainability program, called “Conscious Action” in which recyclable resources are used in the production of garments and which has been created to try to instill these values in consumers and improve their behavior by one more ethical (Shen, 2014).
Adittionally, Zara has also created a sustainable line, Join Life, thus joining the ecological initiatives of fast-fashion. Inditex bases its model on its Green To Wear + standard, which has its application in Zara with the aforementioned Join Life line. In it, the garments are labeled according to their characteristics in 3 categories: care for water, care for climate and care for fiber. Zara ensures that during the production process, health and safety of the environment are guaranteed through the implementation of two standards: Clear to Wear and Safe to use (Inditex, 2019).
However, despite the attempts to also focus on a more sustainable public by investing effort in sustainability with the above mentioned sustainable actions and communication of these actions, Zara and H&M are continually questioned by the general discourse of society that does not believe in sustainability within the fast fashion industry (Gonzalez, 2017). Information that links sustainability to the actions of these companies generally gets a negative response from the public. Consequently, the image that these companies show is associated with the pursuit of economic benefits rather than a real interest in sustainable issues (Gonzalez, 2017).
In conclusion, the question is, is fast-fashion compatible with sustainable fashion? and above all are they part of an advertising strategy or is it really the beginning of a path towards improving conditions in the textile industry?
