Fast fashion stores are able to keep their prices so low because of the unsafe working conditions of the clothing factories and the unlivable wages that it provides to its workers. It is also poorly made with synthetic materials.

Bangladesh’s minimum wage is just $114 per month (Preuss, 2023). Along with these extremely low wages is the dangers of garment factories used to produce fast fashion brands like Zara's clothes. An example of this is the deadliest garment-industry accident in history, the Rana Plaza collapse. The Rana Plaza Collapse took the lives of 1,134 minimum wage workers in Bangladesh (Rana Plaza, 2024).

Fast fashion brands choose to make their products in far, underdeveloped countries because of the cheap wages offered to workers there. Another reason is the extremely long working hours in these countries. Garment workers in Bangladesh have to work 16 hours every day so that fast fashion brands can keep their product prices low (Working Conditions — SustainYourStyle, n.d.).

The global fast fashion industry generated $103.2 billion in 2022, and its anticipated to generate $291 billion by 2032 (Research, 2023c). Most of this money generated comes from the more popular fast fashion brands such as Shein (which holds the largest share in the market), Zara, and H&M. 

One of the strategies that fast fashion brands uses is condensing the stages of the fashion trends (introduction, rise, peak, decline and obsolescence). By making these stages shorter, fast fashion brands can sell more items because they go in and out of style very quickly.

The reason why people are so tempted by fast fashion is obviously it's exceedingly low prices. For some people, the appeal of low prices for many items can make them not want to quit fast fashion. This is why people don't stop buying fast fashion products, even though they know it's very bad for the environment, it's workers and many other things.

On the surface, it may seem that fast fashion is a bargain, but it's actually more expensive than buying from normal stores. When you buy the item, it's very cheap but over a long period of time that item will cost you more. A high quality jacket that can be bought for $150 that someone wears 50 times has a per wear cost of $3. A $25 low quality jacket from Shein that you wear twice has a per wear cost of $12.50. This makes the high quality jacket cheaper than the Shein jacket.

In addition to that, if a clothing item you buy doesn't fit you, or you end up disliking it, you won't feel the need to return it due to it's initially low price. If you dislike an item or it doesn't fit you multiple times, you won't wear it and it will end up being a complete waste of money.