According to the Britannica, Mass production is the application of the principles of specialisation, division of labour, and standardisation of parts to the manufacture of goods. Such manufacturing processes attain high rates of output at low unit cost, with lower costs expected as volume rises. Mass production was first initiated to markets during the industrial revolution where industries like textile, medicine, automobile and so on that sparked the beginning of mass production.
In fashion, during world war 2, there was increased demand for uniforms for soldiers, this was the spark of mass production machinery that we see today. Just like the baby boom that happened after the war, the same was with the demand for a commercial lifestyle that led to the rise of many fashion factories in the USA and Europe. By the end of the 20th Century, mass production in fashion had made the industry into a trillion dollar industry to date. In the 21st century, the trend shifted to Asia seeing an uprise of mass scale production factories in countries like Bangladesh, Vietnam and China.
Mass Production is run on 2 elements,
1.The division and specialisation of human labour. This means that a human being is trained and specialised to repeat an action of production over and over again, for example if it is a pair of shoes that is being manufactured, the sole, the skin, the laces are all installed by different people performing specific actions that match the required order from the factory.
2.The use of tools, machinery, and other equipment, usually automated, in the production of standard, products.
Mass Production also thrives on using automated machines also repeating functions that can not be fulfilled by humans to make tens of thousands of pieces at short periods of time.
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The problem
Underpaid workers: Due to the amount of pieces demanded by fast fashion brands, in short periods of time (fashion seasons), local communities are paraded by huge factories that bank on the advantage of cheap labour. Notably, is the lack of transparency in governance and social politics of such areas which enable fast fashion brands not to be accountable due to lack of documentation of human rights abuses.
Poor working conditions: Understanding that many of these factories are not supervised, it is common in many instances for the workers to be over worked to mean insane deadline in orders, as well as pollution that goes on during production that puts the health of workers at high risk.
Waste of resources: It is very apparent in most fast fashion labels to have left over stalk that will be carried on to the seasons sales and if not bought, these end up on the streets on Africa as second hand clothing, in many cases very low quality and value. This is a waste of resources and also aids the degradation of resources and environment. Producing what people can not consume is a total disaster for our humanity and the future, as we should get from the environment what we need.
The solution:
It is our responsibility as consumers to educate ourselves on such topics in which we hold a lot of power. It is our ignorance that allows for such unethical brands to exist and even profit through conducting business right under our noses. We can do research on many brands and find out where they manufacture their clothing, what are the policies and what is the societal benefit of such brands having factories in specific den-franchised communities. Let us support fashion with a purpose.
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Cheers
Turah Eco
TURAH ECO 
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