Time to be Slow? Slow Movement in the Apparel Business

For decades, the dynamics of the apparel industry have been eager to catch volatile consumer demands and trends. Accordingly the ubiquitous phenomenon allows rapid production, short lead time, increasing number of fashion seasons with lower cost materials and labor, and large volume production (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst 2010; Fletcher 2010). This is the fast fashion business model, implemented by ZARA, H&M, and Forever 21. The primary competitive advantage of this fast cycle in the apparel business is that new styles from high-end designers are copied and introduced every few weeks at affordable prices. However, the agility of providing up-to-date style facilitates shortening the lifespan of fashion clothes deliberately. Moreover, rapid production and cheaper clothes are not made without exploiting labor and natural resources (Fletcher 2007), causing poor quality of fabric and garment construction which fails to resist laundering. Under this practice, garments are often bought in multiples and discarded quickly with little perceived value (Fletcher 2010). Consequently, the fast business model generates profit by spurring overconsumption.