Amazon: The New Wave of Fast Fashion
Written by Cassidy Ratner
Everyone who finds themselves scrolling on Tik Tok or stumbling upon one of today’s Instagram influencers is likely well aware that Amazon has evolved into more than a convenient outlet for ordering school supplies or apartment necessities. Amazon has evolved into a new wave of fast fashion, the perfect combination of realistic prices and nearly instant delivery that has made the fast fashion industry into what it is. Amazon is now a pub for dupes of popular items from significantly more expensive brands, as well as additional types of athleisure and loungewear.
Not only has Amazon become a form of fast fashion over the past decade, but it has become the form of fashion in America. Amazon has grown to be the country’s leading retail producer, even over largely accessible companies such as Target and Walmart. From the year 2017 to 2020, retail has gone from Amazon’s fourth most popular category to its first. Not only is Amazon seizing control of the fashion industry, but it seems as if fashion is taking a hold of Amazon.
So now that people can purchase a plethora of trending items for cheaper and get them faster at just the click of a button with their credit card already on file, what does this mean to other popular distributors selling the authentic versions of these items without the perks? Amazon has clearly been detrimental to large fashion brands such as Nike and Birkenstock. In order to combat Amazon’s seizure of the fashion industry, they have stopped selling their products via amazon. Despite these efforts to encourage customers to shop directly from the original brand’s websites, counterfeit producers and third-party sellers have continued to list them on Amazon anyway. Since Amazon makes a profit from the sales of these parties, Amazon has failed to stop this from occurring.
It can be predicted that the reach of Amazon’s fast fashion will continue to expand. Since its newest trending items are often promoted by Tik Tok and Instagram fashion influencers, their large fan bases are able to be catered to due to the mass production of items that prevents clothing and apparel from being quickly sold out. Despite environmental consequences of fast fashion production as well as the risk of third-party sellers promoting knockoffs and counterfeit items, young adults eager to follow the most recent trends and shop on a budget will continue to support Amazon’s rapidly growing industry.
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