Nearly half of furniture waste is burned in incinerators or buried in landfills. Fast fashion has come under the spotlight in recent years with many consumers making an effort to avoid buying cheap, mass-produced clothing. Now, another environmentally damaging market is emerging.
Fast deco, as it has been dubbed in a recent report, refers to low-cost furniture and home decorations produced in bulk. Like clothing, they are a cheap imitation of high fashion trends and are replaced quickly by the next craze. A recent by French environmental associations has called out the growing environmental impact of fast deco.
Zero Waste France, Les Amis de la Terre and the Réseau National des Ressourceries et Recycleries say the ecological problem is comparable to that of . The authors report that fast deco and fast share the same business model: huge quantities of low-cost products and rapid collection renewals. Commercial holidays such as Valentine's Day and Mother's Day are used to launch new collections and stimulate purchases.
As with fashion, they take advantage of social media by encouraging “unboxing” and “haul” videos. This business model is exploited by chains such as Zara Home, H&M and Shein. “Obviously, the giants of fast fashion, e-commerce and mass distribution, but also the emerging players in clearance and e-commerce, have done everything to strengthen this trend in order to make the most profit, with disastrous consequences for the ,” says Pauline Debrabandere.
