The fashion industry is rapidly evolving. Many new trends, innovations, and brands have entered the online arena in the last few years. This has been fueled by rising consumer demand for fast fashion. But do you know what else low prices and high customer demand can do? They have the potential to harm the environment.
So the question we’d want to answer is, is Bershka fast fashion? Absolutely, Bershka is fast fashion, and we’ll discuss the factors that make it so. Read on to find out more.
About Bershka
Bershka is a Spanish fashion retailer founded in 1998 by Amancio Ortega in A Coruña, Galicia, Spain. It is a member of the Spanish Inditex group, which also includes the labels Stradivarius, Massimo Dutti, Pull & Bear, Oysho, and Uterqüe.
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Initially, Bershka was conceived as a brand-new retail concept and a line of clothing with a focus on a young audience. With national and worldwide growth, it has consolidated at all levels as a group and now has more than 1,000 outlets in 71 different nations.
Today, Bershka is implementing cutting-edge technology across all facets of the business model as part of a digital and sustainability transformation that will update its entire network of retail locations.
The clothing retailer produces clothing, accessories, and footwear and sells a range of essentials, including denim, knitwear, undergarments, loungewear, and outerwear.
Is Bershka Fast Fashion?
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Yes, Bershka is a fast-fashion retailer. This Inditex-owned brand was founded as a brand-new retailer with a “fast fashion” concept to appeal to its young target market.
Again like other fast fashion brands such as Abercrombie, given how quickly it creates its apparel, how many different clothing styles it offers, and how quickly it sells it, Bershka is considered a fast fashion brand.
Other Factors That Make Bershka a Fast-Fashion Brand
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- Based on revenue, Inditex is the largest fast-fashion corporation in the world, and it has more than three million workers throughout its supply chains. Bershka accounts for 10% of total sales.
- Bershka’s full design process can be completed in as little as 15 days, and new styles can be designed and prototyped in as little as five days. The fast production of the brand’s products indicates that it is fast fashion.
- Again, this Inditex-owned brand frequently opts to hire local labor in countries such as Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and Morocco to speed up its production further. This represents fast fashion at its finest.
- Its environmental rating is ‘insufficient.’ It utilizes only a few environmentally friendly materials. It has established a science-based target to minimize greenhouse gas emissions from its operations and supply chain, but there is no proof that it will meet that target.
- Bershka does have a sustainable series called Join Life, which touts over 380 pieces that are more environmentally friendly than their main collection. However, the Join Life items sold at Bershka have questionable credentials, such as a coat of at least 25% recycled polyester and socks of “at least” 75% ecologically grown cotton.Ecologically grown cotton is not organic cotton. Rather, Inditex claims that their sustainable cotton is cultivated using natural pesticides and fertilizers, which limit CO2 emissions, and that no genetically engineered seeds are used during its growth. The question is: Why not use organic cotton instead?
- Bershka’s supply chain has earned certification from labor standards that guarantee worker health and safety, a living wage, and other labor rights. However, there is no way to verify how the people who create Bershka’s clothing are handled.
- In 2021, Bershka was implicated in obtaining cotton from the Chinese province of Xinjiang that was (and is still likely to be) produced through forced labor.
- Furthermore, Inditex stopped paying its garment factories in 2020, citing COVID-19 as an excuse. The group promised to pay their garment factories due to COVID-19 after external pressure, but it should have done so anyway if its “sustainable business model” was truly that.
- Bershka, as part of Inditex Group, has a number of sustainability objectives centered on the concept of “more.” Examples include using 100% more sustainably sourced cotton by 2023, 100% more sustainably sourced man-made cellulosic fibers by 2023, and 100% more sustainably sourced linen and recycled polyester by 2025.
- Its animal rating is inadequate. It has a formal animal welfare policy that is in line with the Five Freedoms; however, it lacks defined implementation procedures. It’s made of leather. It has a policy only to purchase non-mulesing wool, but it doesn’t show how that policy is actually carried out. It doesn’t contain or use exotic animal hair, angora, exotic animal skin, or fur. There is no proof that any animal products were used in the first stages of manufacture. This indicates that, first, they do not already use items that are entirely sustainable and that their aims cannot be met by making modest improvements.
- Inditex aims to achieve net zero emissions by 2040, ten years after the United Nations warned that the world should achieve net zero.
Is Bershka Ethical?
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As we mentioned earlier, Bershka was established as a new store and fashion concept aimed at a younger demographic, but is it good enough for people, the environment, and animals?
The most important factor in determining whether Bershka is ethical is to check whether they use environmentally friendly materials. Although some good steps are being taken toward sustainability and reducing textile waste, there isn’t enough evidence that they significantly reduce textile waste.
According to Good On You, there are no public statistics on the amount of waste produced by each garment sold or the number of times clothing gets recycled into new products. Also, there is no evidence that they are making any significant efforts to include cutting-edge and eco-friendly materials in their designs. For instance, they have not disclosed whether they employ sustainable materials like hemp, linen, or recycled water bottles.
Is Bershka a Sustainable Fashion Brand?
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When purchasing a fast fashion item, you must consider more than just the cost of the clothing; there are numerous other costs to consider. For example, in America, approximately 37kg of clothing is discarded each year, with 85% being discarded in landfills or burned.
Although Bershka is not the only company that has come under fire for unethical behavior, it is one of the biggest, with more than 2,500 locations globally. Given this, campaigners looking to draw attention to the issues with fast fashion will often target it.
Bershka’s affordable and low-cost quality clothing comes at a high environmental and social cost. Almost two-thirds of all apparel ends up in landfills as a result of poor-quality clothing. Furthermore, emissions from the never-ending cycle of production and consumption contribute significantly to climate change.
Aside from that, Bershka has not been completely clear about its supply chain: while they say their items are created in Spain, they have not stated which manufacturers they utilize or their working conditions.
What Are the Advantages of Buying from Bershka as a Fast Fashion
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1. Speedy Production
This industry phrase alludes to the fact that fast fashion is typically produced in a few months. As a result, the things are manufactured in a timely manner. As a consequence, they may be introduced into the market quickly.
2. Availability
Unlike designer brands like All Saints, fast fashion includes popular things that are made in a matter of months. This means that anyone, regardless of income, can go shopping for new clothes.
3. Varieties
Another reason fast fashion is so popular is that it provides a lot of diversity. This implies that when it comes to each season’s collections, you have a lot of options.
Fast fashion allows you to experiment with many styles and the latest trends in a short period of time. It allows you to tweak, explore, and refresh your style without breaking the bank! Fast fashion also allows you to be a different person every time you go out with your friends!
4. Cost-Effectiveness
Fast fashion gives you a lot of products for your money. This means you’re less likely to overspend, allowing you to buy more products over time. Even individuals with limited resources may buy fashionable new outfits regularly, indulge in fun or frivolous goods, and wear something different every day.
5. Helps to Democratize Fashion
Fast fashion will never be dull, monotonous, bland, outdated, or out of date. It will continue to make a fashion statement with each new line, trend, and product it introduces. Fast fashion constantly manages to fascinate and hypnotize its clients. It leaves you wanting more! Furthermore, fast fashion is simple, comfy, and extremely fashionable.
What Are the Disadvantages of Buying from Bershka as a Fast Fashion
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1. Inadequate Quality
Fast fashion has the disadvantage of not being long-lasting. This implies you won’t be able to locate high-quality things as you would with slow fashion.
2. Uniqueness
Another disadvantage of quick fashion is that it is not as distinctive as alternatives such as thrift shopping or upcycling. As a result, fast fashion items may generally be purchased at a variety of retailers all over the world.
3. It Promotes a “Throw-Away” Consumer Mindset.
This is why it is sometimes referred to as throwaway fashion. Many fast fashion consumers in their teens and early twenties, the age bracket targeted by the business, admits to wearing their purchases only once or twice.
4. Linked to Exploitative and Abusive Labor Practices
Manufacturers are typically headquartered in underdeveloped nations, and some have been neither severe nor transparent in their oversight of subcontractors. As a result, opponents claim that fast fashion is based on terrible working conditions, low pay, and other abusive and exploitative behaviors.
5. Unethical and Unsustainable
Ultimately, the most serious disadvantage of rapid fashion is that it may be harmful to the environment and employees. This is because it is not built to last, and low-profit margins force corporations to employ cheap labor and supplies that do not last.
Here’s also an article answering the question is Banana Republic fast fashion?
Conclusion
Bershka is a Spanish fashion brand owned by Inditex, which also owns Zara and other well-known brands. It is true, as stated on its website, that Bershka creates its own collections, which is a common occurrence with fast-fashion businesses. And from what we have discussed in this guide, it’s clear that Berska is a fast-fashion brand. But nonetheless, the firm is working hard to enhance its sustainability rating.
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