The Influence of Social Media on Fast Fashion

The influence of social media on fast fashion
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Abstract
Social media has changed the way people interact. Unlike in the order days when interaction was majorly one on one, social media has facilitated interactions among people in different parts. Brands have taken advantage of the power of connectivity that social media has brought to push their products and services. The fashion industry utilizes social media to create awareness about new products and hence boost sales. The Social media’s ability to provide exposure to brands has been critical in the fashion industry. In particular, social media has aided the growth of the fast fashion. Fast fashion has negative implications on the environment because it accelerates the depletion of natural materials and leads to pollution. At the same time, the production of cheap clothing is done at the cost of the workers, who are often paid little salaries and work in harsh conditions. Despite the negative implications of fast fashion, social media has continued to aid its advancement. Brands specializing in the production of cheap and trendy clothing have taken advantage of social media to promote their products. Fast fashion brands use influencers to push promotional content to the social media users. The influencers take advantage of their following to promote fast fashion to their audience. The influence of social media on fashion can be explained from a theoretical perspective; cultural capital theory, the "information overload" theory, the "fear of missing out" (FOMO), and the "social influence" theory. These theories demonstrate different ways of considering why social media supports fast fashion. The paper concludes that social media’s widespread reach has accelerated fast fashion.
Introduction
The digital era has transformed the world to become a global village. The advent of information technology has revolutionized the way people interact with each other. Gone are the days when information would take a lot of time to reach the target audience. In particular, the emergence of social media has changed the way the world operates, where it has brought people together. Through social media platforms, people can gather and interact online where they share information and experiences. Individuals can post photos, videos, and text, enabling the target audience to consume a variety of information materials. Social media’s ability to transmit information fast has caught the attention of the fashion industry (Yasmin, Farooq, and Zreen, 2018). It has a significant impact on fashion because of its ability to promote the industry to new heights and change the way consumers interact with brands. Because of social media, the fashion industry can promote its products to any part of the world. While social media has allowed the fashion industry to gain more clients, it has also facilitated fast fashion (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010). This aims at producing cheap and trendy clothing to reflect recent trends. As clients look for cheap alternatives, fast fashion promises cheap, fashionable clothing. This essay aims to consider the effects of social media on fast fashion.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 1: An image showing ladies wearing trending clothing
Background and Context
Meaning of fast fashion and its negative implications
Fast fashion implies the production and sale of cheap and trendy clothing. It is a fashion that depends largely on what is trending. Brands specializing in fast fashion produce large quantities of clothing products are lower costs (Göransson, Jönsson, and Persson, 2007). They achieve this by using cheaper raw materials and low-wage labor. It is common for fast fashion businesses to pay their workers below the minimum wage to cut down on production costs. Because of the low production costs, fast fashion brands can offer their products are cheaper prices. At the same time, they can maintain a constant flow of new styles at relatively low prices. Since the brands need to make more profits, they rely on convincing consumers to purchase the most recent clothing products. They encourage clients to stay up to date with the new styles and the latest trends. Specifically, fast fashion brands target the mass market consisting majorly of individuals without the ability to purchase high-end fashion. Since the brands rely on increasing sales turnover, they use aggressive means of marketing to ensure that consumers discard the clothing they already have in favor of trending products.
However, the fast fashion industry has negative implications for the environment and the workforce involved. Regarding the environment, the production of fast fashion clothing consumes more energy and resources and the brands move to supply more products. The industry prioritizes quantity as opposed to quality. Hence, more raw materials are needed to produce more clothes to meet the increasing demand (Anguelov, 2015). Despite the huge resources consumed in the production of fast fashion, clothes are quickly discarded. The desire to make more profits necessitates the brands to keep on pushing consumers to discard older products and acquire new ones that are trending. Discarded clothes contribute to environmental degradation because of increasing pollution and waste. At the same time, the excessive use of raw materials contributes to the depletion of natural resources. According to Magdoff (2013), environmentalists are concerned about the shortages in raw materials/natural resources and the lack of sufficient “sinks” to absorb the waste from industrial pollution. Additionally, the need to lower production costs forces the industry to rely on cheap labor. Most of the fast fashion brands have their factories in developing counties where they can access cheap labor. They tend to pay workers below the minimum wage and provide unsafe working conditions (Anguelov, 2015). The exploitative labor practices harm the workers, who have no option except to continue working in unfavorable working conditions.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 2: Textile offcuts in Bangladesh
Social media facilitates interaction with consumers
Despite the negative implications of fast fashion, social media has accelerated it. Over the years, the use of social media technology by fashion brands has increased. Technology became critical for clients to interact with brands (Jain and Yadav, 2017). As customers interact with brands, this increases awareness, involvement, and engagement, hence adding to brand recall and stimulating purchases. Through social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, and Pinterest, brands can connect better with their audiences. These visual platforms are critical in diving fast fashion. For instance, Instagram has become a critical platform where fast fashion brands can showcase their products. Its ability to allow brands to post photos and videos of its products makes it an important platform for promoting its products.
Social media promotes interaction between brands and their clients. Fast fashion brands need a platform where they can engage directly with their clients. Social media allows the opportunity for fast fashion brands to use hashtags, making their content to be easily discoverable to a wider audience. This ensures that more people can view the products and possibly gain interest and ultimately make a purchase. Social media makes it easier for fast fashion brands to interact with their clients and address any issues they might have. For instance, users can send direct messages and have them addressed by the respective brands. Social media has made it possible for fashion brands to interact in real time with their clientele base (Ansarin and Ozuem, 2015). Unlike in the past when it took a long time for brands to address issues raised by their customers, social media has made communication more efficient. The ability of brands and clients to communicate directly means that the former can make more sales. The fast fashion industry has taken advantage of social media’s ability to engage clients directly to increase their sales. This means they can easily influence customers to purchase their products. Hence, more social media users are being influenced into fast fashion because of the power of social media.
The role of social media influencers
Social media influencers are individuals with a large following on social media platforms. Such individuals have a large following that consumes the information they share. They are a trusted source of information for their audience, which allows them to gain new followers and retain the existing ones. Social media influencers have a wide reach because of the large number of people following them. Any content posted on their platforms is likely to reach a wider audience (Ansarin and Ozuem, 2015). Because of their following, social media influencers are an important marketing tool for brands looking to promote their products and target specific audiences. A majority of influencers get money from brands to promote their products on their social media handles. It is also possible for the influencers to receive free products or other perks in exchange for their endorsement. Social media influencers are known to include sponsored posts, product placements, and collaborations with brands.
Figure SEQ Figure \* ARABIC 3: Alex Costa promoting Zara, a fast fashion brand, on Instagram
The fast fashion industry has taken advantage of social media influencers to promote its products. Influencer marketing plays a major role in increasing the visibility of fast fashion brands. These brands pay social media influencers to post their content on their channels. Because these individuals have large followings, fast fashion brands have been quick to adopt influencer marketing to reach a wider audience, The brands tap into the audience of the influencers and expose consumers to a wide range of products (Ibáñez-Sánchez, Flavián, Casaló, and Belanche, 2021). Influencers are paid to display a new collection of clothes. This not only increases the visibility of the products but also creates a buzz around newer products in the market. In particular, influencers are paid to share content related to the fashion campaign activities of brands. Here, they aid in the promotion of the activities of a brand aimed at increasing sales. When influencers post behind the scene content, they allow consumers to interact with fast fashion brands.
Specifically, the practice promotes fashion hauling, where influencers and celebrities purchase a large number of fashion items in a short time and showcase them on social media. Individuals may show off their recent fashion purchases and reviews about the same. The influencers give their thoughts and onions about different fashion items. Which influences clients to make purchasing decisions (Kolo, 2022). For instance, an influencer may show a collection from a certain fashion brand. The influencer can indicate the disco...