Fast fashion as an industry has been through a lot. Since the advent of Zara across Europe and the US, customers have grown accustomed to a way of shopping that is fast, convenient, and affordable.

With players like Shein and Temu coming into the fold, Dana Thomas, a journalist and author of the book Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion, says the industry has only gotten worse, both in terms of sustainability and labor standards since its heyday.

Despite regulations since the tragic Rana Plaza collapse in Bangladesh and the widening discourse around the environmental impact of the industry, Thomas believes the industry still has a long way to go.

According to recent estimates, the global fast fashion market is worth $103.2 billion in 2022 and it is only going to continue to grow. But at what cost?

In an exclusive chat with Retail Brew, Thomas discussed the failings of the industry and why she holds little hope for change in the future.

Keep reading here.—JS

In case you were wondering what problem AI should solve next, Amazon has an answer: helping you decide what to buy next.

On Thursday, Amazon introduced a new AI-powered “Help Me Decide” button that recommends products based on shopper browsing history and preferences. Amazon said the idea is to offer a clear product recommendation with explanations.

The goal is to help shoppers save time and offer confidence in their purchase decisions, Daniel Lloyd, Amazon’s VP of personalization, said in a statement. The tool taps into AWS tech like Bedrock, SageMaker, and OpenSearch to make those calls.

Keep reading here.—VC

Sure, the UK makes sodas sound fun and festive by calling them “fizzy drinks,” but new regulations aimed at reducing their consumption are no joke. New regulations on high-sugar drinks that took effect on October 8 ban both free refills and multibuy deals (like buy one, get one free) in restaurants and supermarkets.

British tabloids have shown their characteristic restraint in covering the ban, with The Sun—referring to South African grilled-chicken chain Nando’s, which is extremely popular in the UK—intoning in a headline: “FINAL STRAW: Nando’s fans devastated as chain limits Coca-Cola refills to ONE glass saying ‘we are living in the end of times.’”

Keep reading here.—AAN

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