Is Zara Fast Fashion, Ethical or Sustainable?

Konstantina Antoniadou
9 min readFeb 14, 2023

Is Zara fast fashion? How ethical are their labor policies? Is Zara harming the environment in ways we haven’t even thought of? Let’s zoom in on Zara’s sustainability issues.

It’s no secret that Zara is one of the largest fast-fashion brands on the planet. And much like all fast fashion’s major players, the way they are treating their workers in the supply chain is as terrifying as their blatant environmental negligence. Zara’s owner, the Inditex Gropu, has been accused multiple times of greenwashing, exploitation, and environmental distraction. Yet, still, many consumers have absolutely no clue how terrible this highly unsustainable business model actually is to people and the environment.

Is Zara Fast Fashion?

Zara might be the talk of the town in 2023, but the brand actually dates back to 1975, when the first store in Northern Spain was officially opened. With over nearly 3000 stores in 96 countries, the flagship brand of the Inditex Group brings in billions of dollars each year. In fact, Zara is ranked as the seventh biggest clothing company with a brand value of $12.99 billion.

Zara hauls have been flooding our social media feeds for years all while celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Kate Middleton, and Emily Ratajkowski are spotted donning affordable basics from the Inditex…

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