China was the Global Leader in the Production of Fast Fashion Brands

China was the Global Leader in the Production of Fast Fashion Brands
China, the second biggest economy in the world, makes for one of the most lucrative markets for producing and consuming fast fashion brands of clothing and other fashion apparel. Its population of over 1.3 billion people, coupled with the availability of low-wage workers, makes it one of the most attractive markets and ideal destinations for the manufacture of fast fashion brands, respectively. Fast fashion brands refer to the cheap or affordable clothing designs developed from the observed fashion trends on runway shows by fashion entities for profit maximization. These fashion brands are also characteristic of equally affordable production, designing, and manufacturing procedures associated with widespread manipulation of labor laws and disregard for environmental conservation toward meeting the growing consumer demand for trending fashion.
According to Simpson (2020), China was the global leader in the production of fast fashion brands in 2019. Both domestic and international fashion entities such as Zara, H&M Group, Forever 21, and UNIQLO are major contributors to the country’s leading trend in fast fashion brands CITATION Sim20 \l 1033 (Simpson, 2020). However, international fast fashion brands are currently facing different challenges affecting their competitiveness in the lucrative Chinese market. For instance, H&M Group closed approximately 60 stores across China due to the Xinjiang cotton controversy in 2021 CITATION Goo21 \l 1033 (Goodman, 2021). The Xinjiang cotton controversy led to a backlash from Chinese consumers who held that H&M’s failure to buy cotton from Xinjiang was an attack on the country’s economy and overall well-being CITATION Goo21 \l 1033 (Goodman, 2021). International fast fashion brands such as Zara and UNIQLO have also faced their equal share of challenges, including the shifting consumer demands in China and the growing influence of nationalistic tendencies in purchasing decisions. It is, therefore, imperative to explore the challenges faced by international fashion brands in China toward developing effective interventional measures for surviving the rapidly shifting Chinese market.
The fashion industry makes for one of the global economic sectors influencing and shaping the perspectives of individuals and groups across the social, political, and economic domains worldwide. For instance, the industry plays a significant role in developing socio-cultural perspectives on what, how, and when to wear certain clothing and apparel while dictating the socio-cultural representations of the fashion clothing and apparel designs available in the market. Business organizations in the fashion industry have to keep up with the demand for outfits or fashion wares that meet the consumers’ expectations of the perceived appealing socio-cultural fashion trends. Meeting such expectations often reflects increased sales volumes and long-term profitability and revenue generation leading to sustainable growth and development in the glamourous and highly lucrative industry. However, sustainable growth and development in the highly competitive industry demands more than creating appealing or trendy designs in clothing a...