Is Oysho Fast Fashion? An Expert Breakdown!
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Women are the #1 consumer of fast fashion and that is why we can see that a lot of brands focus specifically on women. It is also why fashion has become a race in recent times with brands competing to come up with more innovative and creative designs than their competitors.
Oysho is another such brand that was established in 2001 as a women’s apparel brand specializing in lingerie, sportswear, beachwear, and home wear. Oysho is not an independent brand, rather it is a part of the Inditex Group which is one of the biggest apparel retailers in the world. Inditex is based in Spain and owns some of the most known brands like Zara and Massimo Dutti. Even if you may not know it, Inditex is behind some of the trendiest fashion items you may own.
Inditex started Oysho as a lifestyle brand for active people, who seek comfort during adventure. It aims at bringing innovation to sportswear so that customers can get the ultimate comfort while also being able to explore the extent of their flexibility. However, sportswear brands often forget a key point while producing clothes and it is that people who love sports may also be attracted to fashion. Oysho wants to introduce premium-quality activewear that also embodies the spirit of fashion.
While Oysho started as a small brand, it quickly grew and expanded to 40 countries with over 457 stores. No doubt, the name of Inditex had a strong part to play in this matter because Inditex is known for having some of the best brands under it. Oysho’s collections are centered around providing maximum functionality and durability to the wearer so that they can undertake the most physical of activities without the fear of any tears.
It came as a surprise that Oysho started as an underwear brand but all brands have to start somewhere, don’t they? Oysho’s rapid growth from 2001 from an underwear brand to a lifestyle brand is admirable and can be attributed to its high-quality garments.
Sustainability Rating: 4/10
Category: Clothing, Accessories, Shoes
For: Women
Products: Lingerie, Sportswear, Home wear
Style: Casual, Contemporary
Quality: Low
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
The demand for Oysho is at an all-time high. Even though it operates in 40 different countries, there are still many more that do not have access to an Oysho store. To combat this issue, Inditex opened the Oysho online store in 2021 immediately got flooded with traffic, and contributed a large sum to Oysho’s overall monetary gain. Even though Oysho may not have a very loud presence on social media, customers who are well-versed in online shopping know that it is the destination for quality clothes.
However, Oysho proves itself to be a fast fashion brand when it proudly declares to “renew collections as fast as the fashion trends change” on its website. This categorizes Oysho immediately into the fast fashion category because the quick turnover of fashion is attributed to fast fashion brands. These brands may have made fashion accessible for all individuals through their low prices, but the other price that the Earth has to pay is far greater. Fast fashion is not only contributing to the continued destruction of the environment of the Earth but also has a huge hand in wasting natural resources and violating human and labor rights.
This is why ethicality and sustainability are not generally attributed to fast fashion brands but with the current global attention on climate change, people are demanding more transparency and initiatives of sustainability by all fashion brands.
Oysho is not completely ignorant of what the people demand from it in terms of sustainability. This led it to open the first sustainability department of Inditex in 2014. With the commencement of the department, Oysho promised to take part in the building of a more sustainable future through responsible fashion. Oysho considers the customers as the heart of the brand and considers their best before making any decision. As sustainability is an issue that affects not only the Earth but its inhabitants as well, Oysho has promised to make its processes eco-friendly.
Oysho’s care for its customers is apparent in the way that in 2017, it held a women’s racing competition, and all the money earned from this initiative was donated to the fight against breast cancer. As Oysho’s main target audience is women, it was a good step to take to earn the loyalty and respect of the customers.
Inditex has a sustainable collection that is launched in all of its brands called “Join Life” and Oysho is no different. It focuses on eco-conscious fashion and all of the garments launched in this collection are made of sustainable materials like organic cotton or Tencel. It also aims to make use of recycled materials because they use a reduced number of natural resources and reduce waste material.
The new Oysho collections feature garments made of recycled polyester and recycled plastic bottles which are found dumped in landfills and the oceans. This not only reduces waste but also helps clear out oceans and rivers which are clogged by plastic and harming marine life. Moreover, Join Life is not only about garments. It is about heading towards a more sustainable lifestyle. That is why under Join Life, Oysho aims to operate eco-friendly stores, and have eco-conscious packaging and delivery methods.
The brand is also working to reduce its energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions yearly. The elimination of toxic wastes and greenhouse gases is attributed largely to the fashion industry. At the moment, 91% of Oysho stores are eco-efficient and Oysho has more plans to reduce energy consumption.
Dow Jones Sustainability Index has even named Inditex as the most sustainable retail company and the Fashion Transparency Index seems to agree giving Oysho a rating of 51-60%. However, the GoodOnYou directory has its suspicions regarding the brand. It agrees that the brand is transparent by publishing its list of suppliers but it is only the bare minimum. Oysho does not reveal whether it is on track to meet its sustainability goals and whether it pays a living wage to its workers or not. It also uses materials like leather and wool that are derived cruelly from animals even though it has a policy aligned with the Five Freedoms.
Thus, Oysho is a fast fashion brand that has taken some good steps to become more sustainable but there is a lot more that it needs to do to be called a sustainable brand and transparency is one of those first steps.
Oysho's Page | BoF Careers | The Business of Fashion
How Ethical Is Oysho? - Good On You
Oysho unveils ambitious sustainability initiative (fashionnetwork.com)