When buying anything, different questions come to our minds. To make an informed purchase decision, one has to get answers to those questions before a purchase is made. With the increased popularity of Jing clothing and apparel, one of the common questions asked is whether J.ING is fast fashion.
Jing is fast fashion since the company has new products released every 2-3 weeks. In addition, it offers trendy designs at lower prices, has production in China, and uses synthetic fabrics in most apparel.
This article focuses on J.ING as it discusses whether Jing is fast-fashion or not. By reading the article in full, you will understand different reasons why Jing qualifies to be categorized as a fast fashion brand.
Overview Of J.ING
J.ING Limited Inc. is an American-based apparel retailer. The company was established in 2017 by Jing Zenge. J.ING head offices are based in Los Angeles, California.
J.ING focuses on women’s fashion and products, including clothing, accessories, shoes, and yoga wear. The company’s mission is to create coveted couture for women at an accessible price point.
Products sold by J.ING are well-designed, high-quality, and cost-effective. The company’s online store sells women’s clothing and accessories. Some of the popular products sold by J.ING comprise; dresses, tops, denim, jackets, knitwear, bottoms, coats, innerwear, and accessories.
What Is Fast Fashion?
Fast fashion entails a business model becoming common among many fashion brands. The model involves imitating the latest catwalk trends as well as high-fashion designs, producing the trends at a mass scale so that economies of scale can be exploited, and then making sure that the trends are swiftly stocked in the retail stores so that they can be sold when the demand is still high.
As the name hints, every aspect of a fast fashion model is ‘fast.’ Specifically, apparel is designed, manufactured, and stocked in the retail stores within a few weeks. Moreover, even after the consumers have bought the apparel, they dispose of it after wearing it a few times since it becomes out of fashion.
For fashion brands, the fast fashion model offers them the opportunity to increase their sales and generate more revenues. The constant introduction of new products entices the customers to visit the stores regularly, implying more regular purchases. As the products get out of stock, fast fashion brands introduce new products instead of replenishing the stock. As a result, the cycle continues.
For the consumers, fast fashion model offers them the opportunity to buy trendy apparel at affordable prices. However, fast fashion products are not meant to be durable and quickly wear down after being used for a short period.
So, if fast fashion is good for the fast fashion brands and the consumers, why are there concerns about it?
The main concern about fast fashion is contributing to ‘a race to the bottom’. The workers working at garment factories manufacturing fast fashion products are paid meager wages and work in unsafe conditions.
To keep the prices of different fast fashion products low, synthetic fabrics that are cheaper and have devastating impacts on the environment are used.
Indeed, the production of fast fashion products results in hundreds of tons of microfibers being released into the ocean. At the same time, water supplies are polluted by wastewater discharged by garment industries producing fast fashion apparel.
Why J.ING Fast Fashion?
From the discussion of what fast fashion is and some of its features, a close look at any fashion brand can make us determine whether a particular brand qualifies to be considered as a fast fashion brand or not. So let’s see some of the reasons why J.ING is a fast fashion brand.
Cheap Prices
A key feature of fast fashion that makes it appealing to target customers is the low prices charged for the latest fashion design products sold by the company.
Thus, the fact that J.ING openly declares that its mission is to create coveted couture for women at an accessible price point shows that price is a critical factor in its product offering.
As explained in subsequent paragraphs, the company uses different practices common with fast fashion brands to ensure that it keeps its prices low.
Most J.ING products are priced from $15 to around the $50 mark. However, that price mark is low for the latest fashion trends since the starting price of other J.ING competing brands is $85.
Use Of Synthetic Fabrics
Synthetic fabrics are made in the lab, and as a result, they are cheaper than most natural fabrics.
Thus, fast fashion brands prefer to use synthetic fabrics since they are cheap and can make the companies higher profits than natural fabrics. A look at most of the garments sold by J.ING shows that synthetic fabrics are the most common fabrics used by the company to make different pieces of clothing.
Indeed, apart from cotton fabric, other common fabrics used by J.ING comprise polyester and spandex, leading pollutants to the environment.
Regular New Product Release
One of the central precepts of fast fashion is trendy designs. Looking at J.ING trends shows that the company is determined to offer its target customers the latest fashion trends.
Thus, the fact that J.ING constantly introduces new products to its product line every 2 – 3 weeks implies that the company is a fast-fashion company. Moreover, the fact that J.ING does not restock most designs when they become out of stock suggests that the company is fast fashion.
Production In China
Fast fashion brands mainly outsource the production of their products to countries with low production costs to sell the trendy products at low prices and still make good profits.
Even if J.ING head offices are based in Los Angeles, USA, the company’s production takes place in China. The clothes are made in China and then shipped to the USA. Thus, from that perspective, J.ING can be categorized as a fast fashion.
Unclear Statement On Ethical Practices
In modern times, companies are expected to come out and clearly explain the measures they have put in place to ensure that they operate ethically.
For a company that is the size of J.ING, you would expect to find a specific website that specifies the company’s measures to ensure that all its suppliers adhere to a particular code of ethics.
Apart from claiming that it offers sustainable guilt-free fashion for the environment and the customers, J.ING has not explained how it upholds ethical values.
Is Jing Sustainable?
Different factors have to be considered when determining whether a fashion brand is sustainable. Specifically, the company’s measures to ensure that it is sustainable have to be evaluated so that an informed conclusion can be made on the issue.
J.ING is not fully sustainable. For example, the company does not have any recycling programs, as is the case with other fashion brands such as Lululemon, where customers are provided with the opportunity to return their old jeans for recycling.
In addition, the fact that J.ING does not detail measures undertaken to ensure the company implements sustainable practices is an indicator that the company does not have a practical, sustainable approach in place.
Conclusion
Fast fashion has its advantages and disadvantages. Some people are happy to buy fast fashion apparel. In contrast, other people will only purchase fast fashion apparel if they are convinced that the fashion brand selling fast fashion products is sustainable and ethical.
In the article, different reasons why J.ING qualifies as fast fashion has been discussed. However, the fact that the company is fast fashion does not imply that one should not buy their products. On the contrary, J.ING is undoubtedly one of the fashion brands that have women’s interests at heart since it offers women quality trendy products at affordable prices.
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