Fast fashion, the hidden costs of cheap fashion

Fast fashion is bigger than ever. For a small price, you have the choice of thousands of styles and the garment at home in no time. But what is the downside of the enormous growth of brands like ZARA, SHEIN, and TEMU? We discuss the business model, the bizarre TikTok videos of wannabe influencers who show 25 garments without emotion, and the mountain of waste it produces. An incredibly clever positioning of these brands, but is this what we want as a society?

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Every two weeks a new episode about positioning with an analysis of a special brand or market. Chiquita, Odido, Lidl, and Red Bull have already been featured. Curious? Check out the other podcasts here:

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Positioning Zara and other Fast Fashion brands

With the rise of brands like SHEIN and TEMU, the clothing industry has reached its lowest point ever. In a matter of years, we now live, not in a fast-fashion society, but in a world dominated by ultra fast-fashion, where brands like Zara, H&M, GAP, and Primark are losing out. The alarm bells should be ringing for all of us, yet it remains silent. In fact, consumers contribute to it, as part of the marketing machine of these brands.

And that has caught our attention at ‘Don’t be a Penguin’. Ties, Tal, and Bob are concerned about Fast Fashion. And as you expect from us, we worry without panicking. But we certainly don’t look away.

That’s why in this episode we dive into the world of fast-fashion, but from a marketing perspective. We look for the driving forces in this industry, expose consumer behavior, examine the role of social media in this rapidly growing market, and discuss the industry as a whole.

What are the trends on these new Chinese platforms, like SHEIN and TEMU? What role do traditional fast-fashion brands still have in this industry? What position can you still take as a clothing brand?

All questions we ask ourselves too. Did you know that choosing a clothing style significantly reduces clothing waste? And did you know there are trends on TikTok telling you to buy cheap clothes, only to throw them away immediately after showing them in a video?

Listen and join the conversation in this new podcast from Merkelijkheid and remember: ‘Don’t be a penguin’. Not even when shopping at SHEIN, TEMU, ZARA, and Primark!

Don’t be a Penguin

Want to contribute to our show? Have suggestions for topics or questions for Ties and Tal about marketing and positioning? Send them to [email protected] or leave a message or comment wherever you watch or listen. Thanks for watching and see you next time!

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