This article is authored by Garvita Shringirishi, a first year LL.B. student at Law Centre 2, Faculty of law, University of Delhi.  

Introduction

In FY24, Indian fast fashion showed a remarkable growth rate of 30-40%, which would burgeon into a massive market of $50 billion in FY31, according to Redseer strategy consultants.

Fast fashion refers to the rapidly evolving fashion, which is trendy as well as inexpensive to meet the demand for latest styles. These trends often stem from viral content on social media, influencers and fashion brands. Fast trendsetters like Zara, H&M and Shein, along with domestic retailers like Tata, Reliance, Aditya Birla are on top of this cart.

What is fast fashion and its effect?

Fast fashion is a business model that launches cheap and quick production of clothing that meets the rapidly changing fashion trends. It relies on a global network of suppliers and manufacturers, who produce clothes at low prices affordable for all. But this model functions at a significant cost, the massive production, changing trends and low tag value manipulates consumers to buy more and more, which leads to over consumption and unsustainable practices. Even though India already has environmental and labour laws, the legal system struggles to regulate the fast fashion industry. This blog explores the environmental and consumer aspect of fast fashion in India, the legal frameworks in place, the gaps that exist, and how an informed consumer can drive meaningful change.

 Legal Challenges in fast fashion industry

Counterfeiting 

Counterfeiting is illegally using another person’s trademark without their permission. This is one of the most common practices in Indian fashion. Fashion brands replicate the design of luxury brands and sell them at low prices. Eventually, when consumers buy such products, damage shifts to legitimate brands damaging their hard-earned reputation in the market. Counterfeit goods tarnish the reputation of global and Indian brands and also results in massive economic losses, exploit labour, and mislead consumers.

India has a strong legal framework to prevent counterfeiting and protect intellectual property rights which include trademark, design and copyright obligations. Legal framework includes:

• Trade Mark Act, 1999 
• Copyright Act, 1957 
• Designs Act, 2000 

Despite such foundation, legal framework enforcement remains a significant challenge due to several factors including: the difficulty in identification of counterfeiters, the complex transnational nature of counterfeiting operations, there are often low penalties for offenders which doesn’t pose them with deterrent , limitations in enforcement capabilities, and the rapid evolution of online marketplaces where counterfeits are easily distributed, requires a multi-faceted approach involving brand protection strategies, consumer education, and robust international cooperation alongside legal measures.

Labour exploitation in fashion supply chain

Due to fast fashion, consumer demand for larger quantities of clothing but at a cheaper rate. This has led to dangerous exploitation of the labour force which makes fast fashion Company’s wish to have cheap labour which leads to human rights violation in such places as with low wages they are asked to works hours in unsafe working conditions and in return labour falls short with even basic necessities of food, housing and healthcare.

Exploitation may include:

• Meagre minimum wage
• Forced labour
• Excessive working hours
• Lack of contracts and social security
• Lack of safe working conditions
• Neglecting health and safety measures
•  Harassment of women workers
• Child labour

For a long time, workers have protested for fair wages and safe working conditions, demanding for laws which can protect them from persistent exploitation. The complex global supply chain has given opportunity to firms to shrink their responsibilities, leaving workers helpless. Indian legal framework safeguards these rights through 

• Article 23 & 24 (Right against exploitation):  This fundamental right guarantees every citizen protection from any kind of forced labour and forbids employment of children below 14 years in any hazardous industry or factories.

• The Factories Act, 1948
• The Mines Act of 1952
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986
• Minimum wages act of 1948: This law fixed a minimum wage that employers are legally obligated to pay to their workers, preventing them from exploitation through extremely low wages. 
• Payment of wages act ,1936: Ensures timely and complete payment of wages to workers preventing unauthorised deductions 

Many times, even legislation of the country may fail to protect them. That’s why we need stricter regulations for companies.

Environment Impact 

Fast fashion focuses on quick production of clothes at low cost to deliver frequent new collections inspired by celebrities on the runway. Retailers put all efforts to tempt consumers to buy new clothes and convince them that what they already have is no longer fashionable.

Fast fashion also has a significant environmental impact, primarily through water consumption, pollution, and energy use. The fashion industry is the second-largest consumer of water, requiring vast amount of water to produce garments—approximately 700 gallons for a single cotton shirt and 2,000 gallons for a pair of jeans. Further, textile dyeing is a major source of water pollution, as untreated chemical-laden wastewater is often discharged into rivers and streams hence polluting the resources.

Another critical issue is the widespread use of synthetic fibres like polyester, nylon, and acrylic, which are non-biodegradable and contribute to ocean pollution. Moreover, if we talk about leather production it is highly resource-intensive, requiring large amounts of land, water, and fossil fuels. The tanning process introduces harmful chemicals like formaldehyde and coal-tar derivatives, which contaminate water sources. Fast fashion is also energy-intensive.

To mitigate these harmful effects arising due to the clothing industry, sustainable alternatives like wild silk, organic cotton, linen, hemp, and lyocell offer environmentally friendly options. A shift towards responsible fashion choices can help reduce waste, pollution, and resource depletion caused by the fast fashion industry.

Fraud and cyber security 

Fast fashion’s rapid growth has not only caused significant environmental and labour-related issues but has also become a target for fraud and cybersecurity breaches. As fashion brands increasingly rely on online platforms for sales and marketing, cyber criminals exploit this weakness in digital infrastructures to access sensitive data, including customer payment information and proprietary designs. Fast fashion companies are particularly vulnerable to data breaches due to their high transactional volume and negligence in cybersecurity protocols. Fraudulent activities, including identity theft, credit card fraud, and product counterfeiting, are common in this area and are frequently carried out by organized cyber crime syndicates. Additionally, this rapid evolution of fashion trends in this industry contributes to intellectual property infringement, as counterfeit goods proliferate online marketplaces, harming economic stability and brand reputation. Fast fashion firms are constantly implementing new technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, to manage their inventory and logistics. However, these tools can also become vulnerabilities if they are not well safeguarded. Cybersecurity risks put businesses at risk for monetary losses, legal ramifications, and other harm in addition to undermining consumer trust. Hence, the fast fashion industry faces an urgent need to bolster its cybersecurity frameworks to safeguard against fraud, data breaches, and the broader risks of a digitally connected global marketplace

The Future of fast fashion: Trends meets sustainability 

The fashion sector has been long criticized on its adverse effect, calling for unified policies and regulations that encourages sustainability while countering the afflictions brought about by fast fashion. Over the past few years, the fast fashion sector has seen a renewed focus on sustainable processes, bolstered by growing awareness among consumers for environmental concerns related to due to fast fashion as well as consumer pressure for ethical processes. This section discusses leading sustainable fashion companies which have been able to incorporate environmentally friendly activities into tier business models, highlighting new approaches and the effects of their efforts towards both the environment and customer awareness. Various sustainable fashion brands have come on board, proving innovative practices challenging the traditional fast fashion model through prioritizing ethical production, environmentally friendly materials, and transparency of their supply chain, as it allows consumers to make informed choices and promotes ethical practices among producers. As a reference, H&M is promoting circular fashion, where clothing is designed to reuse, recycle and upcycle. For this instance, company has launched its Conscious Collection, which uses sustainable production of material and promotes garment recycling also offers discount to its customers who recycle their unwanted clothing through their Garment Collecting Program. According to H&M’s 2024 Annual and Sustainability Report highlights that 89% of their materials are recycled or sustainably sourced, with 29.5% being recycled. They also reduced greenhouse gas emissions and plastic packaging, while expanding second-hand options and renewing their Global Framework Agreement. This is seen as an appraising step in fashion industry and is widely promoted. However, critics points out that such initiatives by fashion brands hardly contribute to the industry’s overall environment footprint. Reports depict that despite these collections, fast fashion brands continue to produce clothes in bulk suggesting their involvement in fast fashion, over consumption and irregularities in waste management.

“recycling solutions either do not exist or are not commercially available at scale for the vast majority”

As the pressure from the global climate crisis continues to rise, and consumers increasingly seek to align their purchases with their values, brands are taking action by committing to sustainability, setting goals on climate change, and pledging to use every resource in their power to minimize impact on the planet. But as consumer demand for insight into fashion’s environmental footprint has grown, so has green washing – fake and/or misleading marketing that plays down the real impact a brand has on a product, service, or general policy.

While such Conscious Collection shows an effort towards sustainability, its overall impact appears limited contrasting to the broader context of the company’s fast fashion operations. The ongoing practices of high production volumes and frequent instances of misleading sustainability claims often suggest that the necessity of implementing more comprehensive, transparent, and enforceable strategies is becoming increasingly critical in order to effectively address the complex and far-reaching environmental challenges posed by the global fashion industry.