Is Urban Outfitters Considered Fast Fashion? Here’s What We Know About the Retailer

In the vicious battle for brick-and-mortar and online fashion retail supremacy, many of the biggest names on the market are guilty of the damaging practices associated with fast fashion. From Shein to Temu to other popular, affordable fashion brands, planet-destroying practices and labor rights violations abound.

Might Urban Outfitters, another fashion retailer, be a suitable alternative?

By any measure, Urban Outfitters’ trendy inspired looks, damaging environmental practices, and other factors make it a sure bet as an offending fast fashion retailer.

According to the ethical and sustainable fashion rating app Good On You, Urban Outfitters is rated “not good enough” (i.e., their second-worst rating) due to several factors, including an unsustainable model that features “quickly changing trends and regular new styles.”

Let’s explore their assessment more in-depth: Urban Outfitters ranks poorly in Good on You’s “Planet” rating, “People” rating, and “Animals” rating.

This is due in part to the harmful chemicals used in their manufacturing methods; the poor protections for their employees and the workers within the supply chain; and their use of leather and wool, to name a few.

Additionally, Urban Outfitters remains stubbornly reliant on an unsustainable fast fashion model and has taken no tangible steps to reduce its carbon footprint. Their labor rights violations are well-documented, and there is no assurance of the welfare of the animals within their supply chain.

In another damning move, Vestiaire Collective added Urban Outfitters to the list of banned brands from whom they do not accept items, labeling them among fast fashion’s biggest culprits.

Finally, according to the fair wage advocacy and environmental justice nonprofit Remake, former employees have noted Urban Outfitters’ practice of destroying unsold products among the parent company’s other damaging practices and disregard for the environment.

Free People is unfortunately a fast fashion retailer that does not deserve your money. The company is just another business in a long line of fast fashion retailers suffering from hapless leadership.