Is Jack Wills Fast Fashion?
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Fashion brands have recently shifted their focus from quality and creativity to mass production and rapid sales. While fashion brands were far and few between in the past, countless new brands have opened up in the past few decades and their goal is to churn out the trendiest outfits at a rapid pace to gain as much revenue as possible.
One of the brands that has gained massive popularity is Jack Wills, which was founded in 1999 by Robert Shaw and Peter Williams. The duo wanted to capture the feelings and aura of being at a British University and all the amazing things that came along with it. That became the reason that Jack Wills was primarily marketed to university students. It had the slogan “University Trademark” for quite some time to sell this image.
The brand saw rapid success, with a second store opening quickly after the first. Presently, it has over 70 stores in the UK and has opened many more worldwide as well. The signature logo used for Jack Wills is a pheasant holding a walking stick and wearing a top hat. The image given to the brand is more of a private school one which is quite expensive in comparison to a public school. Similarly, Jack Wills is more expensive than other retail brands.
Its products range from casual clothing like tops and sweaters to traditional British formalwear including blazers and jackets. Moreover, it also consists of apparel related to sports like rugby and polo. Although the brand was mainly targeted at university students, it also attracted school kids. The unique feature of Jack Wills is that it does not have a proper marketing strategy, instead, it depends on people spreading news about it through word of mouth.
The brand wants to embody a youthful and carefree spirit reminiscent of the youthful university days. Its garment range exudes a sense of freedom and independence by using effortless designs and featuring heritage-inspired pieces.
Sustainability Rating: 2/10
Category: Clothing, Accessories, Footwear
For: Women, Men, Kids
Products: T-shirts, Jackets, Blazers
Style: Casual, Contemporary
Quality: Medium, High
Prices: -
Size: -
Fabrics: Polyester, Organic Cotton, Spandex, Viscose, Elastane, Linen, Leather, Nylon
100% Organic: No
100% Vegan: No
Ethical and Fair: No
Recycling: No
Manufacturing Countries: Not Transparent Enough
Certifications: Not Transparent Enough
After some leadership changes, Jack Wills became part of the Fraser Group and the brand has continued to grow since then. It is astonishing to think that at the very start of the brand’s opening, the owners used to sleep above the shop to stay vigilant at all times and make the brand grow. By opening its stores near private schools and universities, Jack Wills was able to evolve itself into the brand it is today.
Sustainability has become a major factor for people when buying from fashion brands. They want to spend their money on a brand that is not instrumental in the destruction of the planet. Climate change has become a significant issue in recent times and is leading to increasing health problems and the Earth becoming uninhabitable. In such turmoil, fashion brands are continuing to employ practices and materials that are contributing to the emission of toxic substances and chemicals that are seriously detrimental to the planet.
When it comes to fast fashion, Jack Wills may be using better quality material and selling it at expensive prices, but it can still be considered fast fashion because the brand mass-produces items and rapidly sells them. Fast fashion brands can't adopt sustainability initiatives as the very business model of fast fashion is based on the exploitation of the environment and people. Even though such brands can try to incorporate some sustainable practices through the supply chain, they can never be truly sustainable.
Keeping this in mind, we can assume that Jack Wills may not chart quite high on the sustainability scale either seeing its unethical manufacturing practices. There is no information about sustainability on Jack Wills’ website. It does not provide information about using organic or recycled materials in any of the products and neither does it talk about the brand’s carbon emissions and waste production.
Jack Wills is not part of any sustainability association or initiative and has never recognized its responsibility to the environment and people. Customers have always been at the center of all brands and are for Jack Wills as well, but not recognizing one’s duty to protect the Earth is negating customer care as well. This is because every single one of us is affected by the changes in the environment.
Fashion brands contribute about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions and waste materials on Earth. This is quite a significant portion in retrospect and fast fashion brands are the biggest contributors to this. They need to regulate their practices to produce as little amount of waste as possible.
According to the GoodOnYou directory, the brand has received a rating of “Not Good Enough” which indicates insufficient information about sustainable and ethical practices. The brand uses synthetic materials and has no eco-friendly initiatives in place. Moreover, Jack Wills is considered outdated in terms of fashion as it is still stuck to more traditional designs in a world where people demand to wear the latest trends. Coupled with the lack of environmentally-friendly initiatives, Jack Wills’ consumer perception is extremely poor.
It also has factories in developing countries like China and Bangladesh which indicates poor unethical conditions in the factories. People in such countries are generally paid meager amounts of pay and provide terrible working conditions such as overworking the employees and making them work unreasonable hours. This is because labor is quite cheap there and people are ready to work for little amounts of money.
It is said that Jack Wills is quite strict about which factories to work with and only works with those that provide proper certifications and audit certifications as well. However, there is no proof of the brand providing any information about this.
In conclusion, Jack Wills cannot be considered a sustainable brand as it adopts no practices that can be considered eco-friendly. It has no initiatives or goals to become better either. Currently, Jack Wills is not doing enough for the environment.
Jack Wills - Sustainability Rating - Good On You
*compressed-brand-concept-Jack-wills1.pdf (manchester.ac.uk)