The Real Product in Fast Fashion Is Speed, Not the Shirt

The cheapest thing about a fast-fashion shirt may be its price. A French government infographic says the advantage of ultra-fast platforms rests as much on controlling attention, data and speed as on low prices. That reframes the problem. Shein's prospectus, as Reuters reports, lists 4,700 new apparel styles a day, and France's new fees are calculated partly on volume of products on offer. Brussels is now trying to define ultra-fast fashion as a business model rather than a garment. That is the right instinct. Cotton is not the villain; the rhythm is. We have built a system where clothes are disposable because buying never stops, and the shirt is only where that habit lands. Defining speed in law will be messy, but it is more honest than taxing fibres.