manufacturing differences lie in production and in the companies’ values. Fast manufacturing is produced in poor working conditions with no regard to workers’ safety and health and is also made with materials that are extracted through unsustainable methods. Meanwhile, slow manufacturing is produced in an ethical working environment with fair wages, and the products are ultimately created with sustainably extracted and organic or local materials. While fast manufacturing tends to appeal to consumers through adhering to the latest internet micro-trend cycles and selling at lower price points, slow manufacturing emphasizes a more timeless, minimalistic, and environmentally and socially friendly approach to consumerism. 

Keywords that highlight the characteristics of fast production cycles include: mass-produced, machine-made, inferior quality, lower prices, and accelerated production cycles. Fast manufacturing often adheres to the latest micro-trend cycles that are bred by the internet, trends that are quick to come but also quick to go, resulting in the incessant trashing of masses of non-sustainable and non-biodegradable clothing items. When fabrics are not biodegradable, they often take hundreds to thousands of years to deteriorate, taking up an exponentially increasing amount of space in landfills while also releasing harmful chemicals into the air as they slowly decompose. Due to the speed of its production cycles, companies’ sustainability initiatives, workplace ethics, and garment qualities are often compromised and neglected. 

On the other hand, the goal of slow manufacturing, aka ‘lowsumerism,’ is to make the production process more transparent. The priority of the product shifts from ‘quantity’ to ‘quality’, and usually, slow production disregards the need to follow trends. Slow manufacturing cycles prioritize generating a positive impact on people and the planet. These ambitions usually result in smaller batches of higher quality products, usually artisanal and handmade, with the goal of preserving heritage traditions, financially supporting local crafts communities, and also creating less of a negative environmental footprint. The term “slow production” was coined due to the larger amount of time sustainable and ethical companies spend on the design and production processes of each product. Companies take care to meticulously choose the materials they work with, only selecting ingredients that are organic, free of harmful chemicals and toxins, cruelty-free, or have any quality that places them on a pedestal in the spectrum of sustainability. While this practice does take longer to produce, slow fashion highlights a vision of timelessness and minimalism, promoting products with simple and classic designs that can be worn or used for years because sometimes “less is more.” 

LEARN MORE: Slow vs. Fast