The Top 11 Fast Fashion Brands to Avoid

Fast fashion and ultra-fast fashion is everywhere. From online ads to thrift stores, these brands are focused on selling as many clothes as possible, cutting every corner to get there. 

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Ultra-fast fashion brands like Shein and Cider and fast fashion brands like H&M and Zara have built business models that rely on overconsumption, plastic fabrics, and underpaid labor. 

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Good On You is a company that quantifies the sustainability of all kinds of fast fashion brands. They rank the brands based on People, Planet, and Animals. 

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• People: This category evaluates a brand's labor practices, considering factors such as worker rights, fair wages, and working conditions.
• Planet: The environmental impact of a brand is assessed in this category, covering aspects like the use of sustainable materials, energy efficiency, and waste management.
• Animals: This category focuses on a brand's treatment of animals, including whether they use animal-derived materials and if they have cruelty-free practices.

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Good On You’s ultimate ranking of each brand is on a 1-5 scale: 

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1. We Avoid

2. Not Good Enough

3. It’s a Start

4. Good 

5. Great

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Here’s how Good on You scores the top fast fashion brands:

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1. SHEIN

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Good On You Rating: 1

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In the People and Planet categories, Good on You ranks Shein 1 out of 5.  In Animals, they’re rated 2 out of 5. 

An expose revealed their exploitative worker practices, underpaying and overworking employees to produce thousands of styles every week to encourage microtrends. 

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Their clothes are made predominantly made from plastic materials, contributing to microplastic pollution.

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Read a full analysis from Good On You —> 

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2. CIDER

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Good On You Rating: 1

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In the People and Planet categories, Good on You ranks Cide 1 out of 5.  In Animals, they’re rated 2 out of 5. 

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Cider is considered an ultra-fast fashion brand, churning out new items very quickly and charging very low prices, incapable of properly compensating its workforce.

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Their clothes are made predominantly made from plastic materials, contributing to microplastic pollution.

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Read a full analysis from Good On You → 

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3. REVOLVE

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Good On You Rating: 1

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Revolve is a fast fashion brand that prides itself on producing 1,500 new styles per week in 2022.

In the People and Planet categories, Good on You ranks Revolve 1 out of 5.  In Animals, they’re rated 2 out of 5. 

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Like the other brands on this list, they show intention to reduce their use of detrimental materials or practice fair worker treatment.

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Read a full analysis from Good On You —> 

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4. Forever 21

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Good On You Rating: 1

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Forever 21 is a fast fashion retailer founded in 1984. Over the past 40 years, they’ve continued to encourage mass consumerism with poorly made garments that are not made to last. 

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In the People and Planet categories, Good on You ranks Forever 21 1 out of 5.  In Animals, they’re rated 2 out of 5. 

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According to the review, they’re lacking in financial support to suppliers paying living wages payment to employees. They’re also linked to forced labor.

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Read the full analysis on Good On You —> 

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5. H&M

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Good On You Rating: 3

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H&M is a global fast fashion giant known for its wide range of trendy clothing. 

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Across all categories — People, Planet, and Animals — H&M got a 3 out of 5 from Good On You.

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On the upside, they use some eco-friendly materials and has a decent score in the Fashion Transparency Index. Unfortunately, they’re still producing far too many styles, promoting overconsumption. They have sustainability goals with no feasible evidence of how to meet them. And there’s no evidence that they pair their employees fairly.

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Read the full analysis on Good On You → 

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6. Zara

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Good On You Rating: 2

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Zara is a fast fashion retailer acclaimed for its quick turnaround of runway-inspired styles, offering a blend of high fashion and accessibility.

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Across all categories — People, Planet, and Animals — Good on You gave Zara 2 out of 5.

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The biggest hit on Zara is that they’re not paying their workers a living wage. In addition to that, they don’t use eco-friendly materials, and they’re churning out new styles at an unsustainable pace.

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Read the full analysis on Good On You → 

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7. Nasty Gal

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Good On You Rating: 2

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Nasty Gal is a bold and edgy online fashion retailer recognized for its daring and trendsetting styles that appeal to a confident and fashion-forward audience.

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Across all categories — People, Planet, and Animals — Good on You gave Zara 2 out of 5.

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While they use renewable energy in their stores and offices, there’s little evidence of any other sustainability efforts. Their Fashion Transparency Index score is low, there’s no evidence of living wages in its supply chain, and there’s no evidence they’re attempting to reduce water use.

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Read the full analysis on Good On You → 

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8. Asos

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Good On You Rating: 2

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Asos is a versatile online fashion destination, providing a vast selection of clothing, accessories, and beauty products with a focus on diversity and inclusivity.

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Unfortunately, there’s little effort of their diversity and inclusion efforts in their actual supply chain. In addition, their supply chain lacks crucial labor standards. 

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While they use some low-impact materials, there’s no evidence that they’re making any attempts to minimize textile waste or protect biodiversity.

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They have some claims for animal freedom, but they lack actual implementation or transparency.

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Read the full analysis on Good On You → 

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9. boohoo

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Good On You Rating: 2

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Boohoo capitalizes on micro-trends with low-cost, low-quality pieces.

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Boohoo received a score of 2 across all categories — People, Planet, and Animals.

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Its supply chain lacks labor standards and transparency. The brand doesn’t seem to be making efforts to use eco-friendly or non-hazardous materials or eliminate textile waste.

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Read the full analysis on Good On You → 

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10. Primark

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Good On You Rating: 2

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Primark is based in Ireland, with a large UK audience. The fast fashion brand manufactures clothes, accessories, and home goods. 

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Across all categories — People, Planet, and Animals — Primark only got a 2 out of 5.

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Among its shortcomings, Good On You calls out Primark’s lack of labor standards throughout the supply chain with no evidence of mitigating textile waste. 

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Overall, they rate the brand “Not Good Enough.”

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Read the full analysis on Good On You → 

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11. Uniqlo

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Good On You Rating: 3

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At first glance, this Japanese casual wear brand may not seem like fast fashion. They release fewer styles than ultra-fast fashion brands, and they have decent quality. 

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Still, Uniqlo is considered a fast fashion because of its fast pace of new styles. 

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Across all categories — People, Planet, and Animals — Primark only got a 2 out of 5. Good On You acknowledges some of their progress, like using low-impact materials like renewable energy in some operations. But, they fail to meet certification standards for labor practices or living wages. 

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All in all, they give the brand a rating of “It’s a Start."

Read the full analysis on Good on You →