Fast Fashion vs. Sustainable Fashion – Comprehensive Study Notes

Key Vocabulary & Core Definitions

• Fast Fashion: rapid, low-cost mass-production of clothing that copies runway/social-media trends; meant to reach stores in weeks.

  • Short garment life cycles ⇒ quick disposal.

  • Business model relies on high volume, low margins, and accelerated “micro-seasons.”

Hidden Costs & “Not-So-Fun Facts” (Numerical References)

• $1$ shirt priced at $\$5$ consumes $2{,}700\,\text{L}$ of water (≈ amount one person drinks in $2.5$ years).

• Garment workers may earn ≈ $0.05\,\text{USD}$ per piece produced.

• $85\%$ of all clothing ultimately ends up in landfills.