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Comment by kalleboo | Hacker News Reader

If that was the issue, it would be affecting Zara, H&M, Uniqlo etc as well. Zara is seeing record profits, H&Ms revenues are up but profits are down as they spent their money investing in online sales, Uniqlo profits are also up

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This is addressed in the article:

Mark A. Cohen, the director of retail studies at Columbia Business School, said that he believed fast fashion was as popular as ever, pointing to the success of Zara, but that Forever 21 had expanded far too quickly “without regard to a reasonable outlook. It’s a self-inflicted catastrophe”

I would hope that the reason for failure was more about this:

> Forever 21’s struggles have provoked questions around the appeal of fast fashion more broadly. The industry has faced backlash surrounding the environmental impact of quickly disposable clothes and concerns about worker safety

...

> Younger shoppers have increasingly turned to consigned goods and brands that claim sustainability as a value...

But I wouldn’t bet big money on it.

It's not about those brands really being sustainable etc. - it's about their claims (the same with food and their labels).

If those claims seem authentic enough they will ease the mind of the customers it helps them enjoy their spent money again though deep down they should know how bad this consumption is for our environment and the poor people involved in the production.

Its almost as if we could do with a strong regular to stop companies abusing terms and greenwashing their products.

We'd need some officially accepted labels which are controlled by organizations that share absolutely no interest with the share holders of these businesses.

But it seems we have like 20 different labels for everything, one less worth than the other.

> goods and brands that claim sustainability as a value... Claiming sustainability and being sustainable are two different things. For instance "C&A" is making a lot of things from "Bio Cotton", but you if search for Bio Cotton on their website https://www.c-and-a.com/uk/en/corporate/company/sustainabili... you find this:

"BIO COTTON is all of that. It guarantees you that no genetically modified seeds are used, it supports farmers, saves the environment and feels good for you and your loved ones."

Maybe I am biased (I am not opposed to GMO), but I have doubts that this is the best way to be environment friendly.

Off topic but I remember C&A from back in the day. (edit: They pulled out of the UK market in 2000)

I don't know why the address has UK in it, because the country select doesn't include UK, and the webshop is in Euros.

All cotton is bio cotton, isn't it? It's not the sustainability or GMO status of cotton that concerns me about fast fashion but the plastic fibres flaking away into the general environment.

I think that we have no choice but to seek sustainability from farming, as plastic is not sustainable from any angle. The alternatives to petroleum plastics are organic, so farming again.

Talking about worker safety there has been numerous claims in Aus [0] about worker abuse at Uniqlo and yet they still seem to be doing fine.

[0]: https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/everyone-has...

Zara, H&M, and Uniqlo are actually somewhat fashionable, at least as "value" brands. Apparently there is some effect where the top 20 remain the top 20 because they are well-known or have other competitive advantages: https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-...

For example https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/strategy/the-secre... lists Zara's 1-week supply chain and responsive customer service as Zara's advantages. And Uniqlo similarly has some proprietary fabric technology: https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/strategy/uniqlo-th.... Meanwhile https://martinroll.com/resources/articles/branding/forever21... lists nothing besides their knockoffs being really cheap (and the associated piracy and labor lawsuits).

I don't have time to go through all the other failing stores like American Apparel, Dressbarn, JCPenney, Gap, etc., but the story is probably similar, pointless products with no obvious differentiation. H&M is more interesting, massive chain with CEO/management trying to turn it into something more lean / innovative. It's kind of like Amazon with Whole Foods. The eventual outcome of both is uncertain but so far they're moving along.

Is Uniqlo fast fashion? Or cheap?

They claim they aren't, but their parent company is called "Fast Retailing", and by the definition the GP is using "cheap sweatshop clothes" they match.

Fast Retailing also owns the GU brand of stores which is fast fashion. Uniqlo is upper scale, with higher prices, and long lead times on products. Uniqlo plans its offerings a year in advance and designs their cloths to meet a need.

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