Sorting Responsible Business Practices in Fast Fashion: A Case Study of Zara

Abstract

Fast fashion is characterized by a well-orchestrated obsolescence of clothing lines in shorter span of time so that the people crave for newer products every now and then and the retailers compete with each other to provide the latest designer wear at the shortest possible duration. The companies involved in fast fashion take advantage of quick response manufacturing methods, cheaper alternatives like polyester and nylon, and cheap labour in sweatshop, especially in emerging markets having minimal adherence to labour standards set out by International Labour Organization. Thus, the profits margins in fast fashion are huge at the cost of collateral damage to environment and exploitation of labour. Consumers driven by latest fashion trends patronize fast fashion all over the world without realizing that they are inadvertently undermining the efforts to accomplish the sustainable development goals by 2030. Indeed, fast fashion and sustainability are dichotomous. Hence, when Zara, the market leader in fast fashion, announces its plan to make clothes with 100% sustainable fabric, the critics naturally view it with suspicion as yet another marketing gimmick or a well thought out public relations exercise to woo the consumers who are equally interested in fast fashion and being an evangelist in the ongoing eco-friendly movement across the world, * Associate Professor & Head, General Management & International Business Area, Apeejay School of Management, New Delhi, India E-mail: jha.srirang@gmail.com ** Assistant Professor, Centre for Management Studies, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, India E-mail: veeramanis@jmi.ac.in Journal of Management & Public Policy, Vol. 12, No.2, June 2021 55 which is no less than a fad. This case study examines the responsible business practices at Zara to figure out how far fast fashion can contain its adverse impact on the environment.