‘Fast Beauty’ Might Be Cheap. It’s Also Costing the Earth.
Fast fashion has grown to saturate much of the fashion market. It made trends readily available to the masses at a fraction of the cost of designer items, and turned companies like Zara and H&M into multi-billion-dollar enterprises.
Of course, with that level of mass production came many environmental costs ranging from pollution to supply chain issues, compounded by eco-related labor issues. Fast fashion proved itself to be ethically questionable, although companies have begun making amends for their past environmental missteps. Brands have begun using more sustainably sourced materials, creating clothing recycling programs, and reorganizing their supply chains to be eco-friendlier.
As fast fashion has started cleaning up its act, a new frontier has emerged: fast beauty. Fast beauty companies like Kylie Cosmetics, Winky Lux, and Deciem, churn out products at a pace never before seen in the beauty industry. Typically in beauty, products are developed over a very long course of time with a chemist to ensure quality is met. With fast beauty, products are produced very quickly with immediate customer satisfaction uppermost in manufacturers’ minds.