Yes, Fashion Nova is a fast fashion brand.
Fashion Nova is a US-based fast fashion retailer. The brand was founded by white American businessman Richard Saghian (who is worth $2 billion) and the company is wholly owned by him. The fashion business makes over $1 billion in revenue each year across website and four US locations. It has 600 employees.
Fashion Nova is a fast fashion brand due to the speed it produces its clothes, the huge scale of clothing styles that it offers, and the complete lack of transparency around its supply chain.
Fashion Revolution Transparency Rating: 0/100
Good On You Sustainability Rating: 1/5
Remake Fashion Accountability Report Rating: 4/150
Additional Reasons Why Fashion Nova Is A Fast Fashion Brand
- When I looked at the Fashion Nova site in January 2023, I found them selling 22,035 womenswear styles, 3,519 menswear styles, 1,340 children’s wear styles, and 6,050 items in the sale. These huge product ranges demonstrate the brand’s fast fashion business model and focus to profit from the overproduction of clothes.
- I also found items being sold for as little as £2. It is not possible to make clothing for this price without some form of exploitation of people and planet – at the very least, it’s made at a quality so low it will not last.
- The brand is also known to produce new collections in as little as two weeks at a time, implying they can launch 26 seasons per year. This is 20 more than the standard 6 fashion seasons per year.
- Fashion Nova scored 0/100 in the Fashion Revolution Transparency Index 2022, indicating a complete lack of effort to provide information about its supply chain or prove it treats its workers fairly. As shoppers, we deserve to know who makes our clothes.
- Good On You reports that “None of its supply chain is certified by labour standards which ensure worker health and safety, living wages or other labour rights.” and “There is no evidence it implements practices to encourage diversity and inclusion in its direct operations or supply chain” and “There is no evidence it ensures payment of a living wage in its supply chain.”
- In Remake’s Fashion Directory, it notes that “Fashion Nova is among the lowest-scoring companies we evaluate.” with zeroes across the board except for Governance, where it scored a measly 4/42.
- In late 2022, they were accused of stealing designs from black-owned fashion brand Hanifa.
- In March of 2022, the Fashion Nova was ordered to pay $4.2 million to the US Federal Trade Commission to settle allegations that it blocked negative reviews of its products from being posted to its website.
- Despite pledging $1 million to social justice organisations such as Black Lives Matter, Fashion Nova has been criticised for “exploiting women of colour, mis-appropriating black women’s bodies and ripping off designers from the African community.”
- In March 2020, Fashion Nova stopped paying garment factory workers altogether due to covid-19 and are yet to return to paying them. Find out more about the #PayUp campaign and how you can support these workers.
- In December 2019, Fashion Nova was investigated for paying illegally low wages to its US workers, as little as $2.77 an hour.
Sustainable Alternatives To Fashion Nova
If you’re looking to stop shopping at Fashion Nova, I recommend switching to shopping second-hand, or shopping for Fashion Nova garments on sites like Reliked* (and you can get an additional 10% off with code: CURIOUSLY).
You could also check out my guide to 150+ sustainable fashion brands to find more affordable ethical clothing.
This post 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, Wikipedia, and sites linked throughout. All information is assumed correct at date of publication. Last updated: January 2023.