Yes, ASOS is a fast fashion brand.
ASOS is one of the largest online fashion retailers in the UK, selling clothes to over 22 million customers annually. It was founded by three white British men, Nick Robertson, Andrew Regan, and Quentin Griffiths (who are collectively worth over £100 million).
ASOS is a fast fashion brand due to the speed of production and scale of clothes that it sells.
Fashion Revolution Transparency Rating: 47/100
Good On You Sustainability Rating: 2/5
Additional Reasons Why ASOS Is A Fast Fashion Brand
- In 2021, the Changing Markets Foundation found that 89% of ASOS’ green claims were greenwashed.
- ASOS is going backwards in transparency, dropping from 55/100 to 47/100 in the Fashion Revolution Transparency Index 2021.
- ASOS has a huge gender pay gap in its UK offices, with women earning 55p for every £1 that men earn when comparing median hourly pay.
- In 2020, ASOS stopped paying its garment factories, using the excuse of covid-19 reducing demand (despite signing contracts for the work, and legally owing payment). After external pressure, the brand promised to pay their garment factories, but it should never have come to that in the first place. It continues to not commit to keeping workers safe.
- In terms of sustainability, the company admits to using only 34% of sustainably-sourced fibres, and they provide only basic supply chain transparency.
- In May 2019, ASOS unveiled their Responsible Edit, which was essentially a re-skinned version of their Eco Edit, but sadly did not include many of the independent sustainable brands on the site, and instead dumped all of ASOS’ clothes into the mix, because they are made with Better Cotton Initiative-approved cotton. This is not sustainable, or responsible.
This snippet is part of a larger guide to UK fast fashion brands, which goes into more detail about the issues with fast fashion, why it will never be sustainable, and how to make your wardrobe more sustainable.
Data for this review is taken from the brand’s website, corporate website, and Wikipedia. The Transparency Rating is from Fashion Transparency Index 2021. The Sustainability Rating is from Good On You.