Is Lucky Brand Fast Fashion? An Expert Breakdown!
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Jeans are one of the greatest innovations of the Western world that have even managed to grip the Eastern world with its charm. Today, jeans are one of the most-selling items with more than 4.5 billion pairs sold worldwide.
Lucky Brand is one of the brands that has been known for jeans since its inception in 1990. The aim behind the opening of the brand was to sell jeans with some reinventions. The owners of the brand, Gene Montesano and Barry Perlman, wanted to introduce unique denim designs in jeans, sometimes going vintage and sometimes having a few rips and tears, just to keep the look new.
Lucky Brand describes itself as a brand rooted in “premium denim, Americana, and self-expression…” It believes that jeans are meant for creative and free people who like to take risks and experiment with new styles and designs. While previously, it used to alter vintage jeans with trendy designs to create something new, now the brand makes jeans inspired by the different personalities crowding Southern California. It wants to capture the free spirit of the people there and represent the dancers, the singers, the dreamers, and everyone through the perfect pair of jeans.
Its collection “The Luckening” is based on the idea that even if you’re having the worst day, there is always one ray of light that reminds you that you still have it way better than others. And Lucky Brand’s jeans are meant to play this part of bringing light into your darkest days. This may not sound like much of a solution for bad days but it is still something. Lucky Brand just wants to help you feel lucky and happy.
This California-inspired style is not only found in its garments but also in its stores. Even though jeans are the main selling point of the company with almost 60% of the sales being attributed to it, the brand sells other items as well like t-shirts, shorts, and hoodies.
Sustainability Rating: 3/10
Category: Clothing, Accessories
For: Women, Men
Products: Tops, Shirts, Sweatpants, Hoodies, Jeans
Style: Casual, Contemporary
Quality: Low
Prices: -
Size: -
Fabrics: Polyester, Organic Cotton, Viscose, Elastane, Linen, Leather, Nylon, Denim
100% Organic: No
100% Vegan: No
Ethical and Fair: No
Recycling: No
Manufacturing Countries: USA, Indonesia, China, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Haiti
Certifications: Not Transparent Enough
Lucky Brand uses the symbol of a four-leaf clover in its logo and all of its jeans have the symbol etched on them with the phrase “Lucky You!” Four-leaf clovers are associated with good luck and Lucky Brand adopting it as a brand symbol is quite a fun idea. The brand has come to be known for this logo and symbol as well.
Although Lucky Brand began with the ideas of reinvention, it soon fell short of the mark when it failed to reinvent its styles with the years and the rapidly demanding and changing fashion styles. However, the coronavirus led it to bankruptcy and it was brought by the SPARC Group in 2022 which also owns brands like Aeropostale and Nautica.
Lucky Brand is a fast fashion brand because its supply chain reflects the typical fast fashion model. Fast fashion brands are based on the quick turnout of the trendiest designs by quick manufacturing of products using low-quality materials in developing countries where labor rights are regularly violated. Fast fashion has proved to be a huge threat to the planet because the entire idea of fast fashion revolves around leeching the Earth’s resources and causing further harm to it through water, energy, and chemical waste.
Lucky Brand used to manufacture most of its products in the USA but now it has factories in Indonesia, Peru, China, and Sri Lanka. Some of the jeans are still being made in the USA but they are special hand-stitched jeans whose every detailing is done by hand. China and Indonesia are some of the countries where human rights are not respected and people are forced to work in deplorable conditions to make minimum wage.
The Lucky Brand talks about sustainability on its website and how it has been making a positive impact on the Earth. It lists three things it has been doing to be more sustainable; using responsible fabrics, TENCEL, and hemp. Lucky Brand strives to use materials that consume less water and energy to reduce its water usage and wastage.
TENCEL is another great material that is being used by sustainable brands because it is essentially wood curated from carefully managed forests. Hemp is also a durable and biodegradable material that consumes little water. However, using these three materials is not enough. Lucky Brand does not use these materials in all of its collections so most of its garments are made of ordinary cotton and polyester which is harmful to the Earth.
A great initiative taken by the brand is that it urges customers to come to the stores to buy its latest items and the staff teaches them how to properly reduce, reuse, and recycle old and new materials so that we can collectively reduce our waste materials. This is the only initiative for sustainability that we could find taken by Lucky Brand.
The GoodOnYou directory has given it a rating of “Very Poor” for its labor and environmental performance. According to them, it does not use enough eco-friendly materials to make a change worthy of such a big brand. It also does not provide any proof that it does use the responsible fabrics that it claims or not.
Overall, Lucky Brand is not transparent about its processes at all. It does not publish any Code of Conduct or yearly report regarding audits or its progress in its sustainability journey. It reveals nothing about its greenhouse gas emissions, water usage, or even energy usage. It does not take necessary steps to combat the negative effects caused by its supply chain, nor does it take any responsibility for it.
The Rise and Fall of Lucky Brand, the Once-Beloved Mall Brand (businessinsider.com)
Lucky Brand - Sustainability Rating - Good On You
LUCKY BRAND SUSTAINABLE CAMPAIGN - Portfolio (cargocollective.com)