Is Kate Spade Fast Fashion
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Fast fashion is the duplication of recent trendy fashion items at low prices whether it be clothes, jewelry, or furniture. The thing is, they don’t do it from the generosity of their heart but because it benefits them. How? Fast fashion is a business model that mass-produces items from low-quality substances that are not sustainable. Alongside this, they use products that are not eco-friendly either.
Mostly, the fashion market is dominated by females. Accessories like shoes, handbags, earrings, and such have a particular fame among them. Kate Spade is a fashion brand that is specifically popular for its handbags. Although it gives out a variety of things including furniture and clothes, handbags are what Kate Spade is famous for.
Kate Noel Brosnahan who was later known as Kate Spade used to work as a style editor for Mademoiselle in New York. Her craving for a fashionable, utilitarian handbag was what led to the creation of this fashion brand. Kate researched the fabrics, styles, and potential production costs of her handbags in the local flea markets and secondhand stores. Slowly yet steadily, this brand made a name for itself.
Kate Spade New York was founded in 1993 by Kate Spade and her husband Andy Spade who was also her fellow business partner. It originally started with the launch of six versions of the Sam Handbag which became the it-pieces for adolescent women living in the city. Taking advantage of its popularity, Kate Spade New York also launched a clothing and jewelry line to complement its aesthetics.
In 2006, Spade sold her shares of the company to Neiman Marcus Group and operated only 13 stores in the United States. In 2018, Tapestry Inc. took over the brand. Kate Spade New York has over 180 stores around the world and is sold in more than 400 stores worldwide. It went from the production of a simple black bag to the creation of chic personalized purses and home décor.
The brand continues its legacy even after the passing of its beloved founder in 2018. Its collections are still synonymous with style, cheerful fashion, and optimistic femininity. It features elements like graphic prints, playful sophistication, and crisp colors.
Sustainability Rating: 4/10
Category: Clothing, Bags, Accessories
For: Women
Products: Handbags, Dresses, Jewelry
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
Kate Spade has always been about color, optimism, and having fun with fashion. It has always talked about promoting individuality but it could never outright display its support of it. However, in a recent fashion show, the brand was able to cast women from diverse backgrounds and ages to carry the brand’s items, reflecting the brand’s ideology of everyone being unique.
It is quite easy to establish that Kate Spade is not fast fashion because it does not fit into many traditional features of a fast fashion brand. Firstly, fast fashion brands introduce new clothes into their portfolios almost every other day to keep the cycle going throughout the year. Those clothes do not last very long which leads to the customer having to update their wardrobe again.
As opposed to this, Kate Spade launches only a few collections each year and they are not cheap. They are quite pricey because the brand uses high-quality materials in the manufacturing process. As a result, Kate Spade’s items are durable and do not lose their color after a few wears. Its items are made to be timeless and stay with customers for a long time.
However, not being a fast fashion brand does not mean a brand is sustainable. We will be taking a look at Kate Spade’s sustainability efforts now. The brand believes that sustainability is the responsibility of everyone involved in the fashion industry because it contributes to a lot of greenhouse gas emissions and harmful toxic chemicals every year. It mentions how it is still on a sustainability journey and has a lot more to do.
However, Kate Spade began this journey with the original Sam bag. It has been redesigned to incorporate eco-friendly materials. Its outer shell is now made with a 100% nylon shell with a 100% recycled polyester lining. KSNYL is said to be the brand’s new material, made of 90% recycled nylon.
It has also brought changes in packaging. All of Kate Spade’s boxes, shoppers, and garment bags have been made of recycled materials or can be reused. This is a huge step because plastic waste from the fashion industry is a serious issue that has detrimental effects on the Earth. The brand has a plan to use leather sourced from either gold or silver LWG tanneries by 2025. It also hopes to reduce its carbon emissions by 20%.
However, it is quite disappointing to see that the brand has factories in China and Africa. These countries are known for their inhuman treatment of the workers and for not even paying them a livable wage. This makes these countries a favorite for many brands as their clothes are made at the lowest cost possible.
The GoodOnYou directory has given the brand a rating of “Not Good Enough” because it is not as transparent as it claims to be. It does not use enough eco-friendly materials and provides no proof about minimizing waste or the elimination of toxic waste. Moreover, its biodiversity protection policy only applies to some of the supply chains.
As for the brand’s ethicality, it has not certified its supply chain by credible labor standards. It is already apparent that it does not pay a livable wage to factory workers. Also, it sources cotton from Xinjiang, a place where Uyghurs are forced into labor in terrible conditions. A positive is that Kate Spade does not use down, fur, or angora but it does use leather and exotic animal hair.
This proves that Kate Spade has a lot to do to become a sustainable brand and achieve 95% transparency in its supply chain as it hopes to. Currently, it received a score of 21-30% only by the 2022 Fashion Transparency Index, highlighting the long sustainable journey that lies ahead for the brand.
Everything you need to know about: Kate Spade (fashionunited.uk)
Kate Spade - Sustainability Rating - Good On You
Kate Spade - Sustainable Brand I Fashion Show & Look Book (luxiders.com)