An economic blow by Chandana Biswas
Do you have the luxury of buying that expensive bag that you always had your eyes on
anymore? Do you get to spend money carelessly on buying clothing/accessories anymore? NO. As fashion is need-to-basis now, consumers have taken a step back, into their tortoiseshell. More focus and money are spent to acquire necessities such as safety needs and food. Thus the failure of money changing from hands to hands resulted in the economic depression.
As for the fashion industry, it has taken a huge blow. The fast-fashion brands have suffered the most, like shopping malls and their outlets were forced to shut down due to safety precautions, not only did they suffer a huge loss due to excessive inventory but also had to cut down on employees which resulted in drastic unemployment throughout the whole industry.
// EDITED.COM // ZARA
Each and every sector and person in the supply chain got affected. Starting from the farmers who provide us with the raw materials such as cotton, linen, silk, etc., the suppliers, the manufacturers, the distributors, all where manual labors are required, ultimately to the consumers. The simple demand and supply chain got affected. As there are no demands of these commodities from the consumers, brands aren't interested in producing more products and add to their excessive inventory. As a result, farmers, the manual labors are all out of work.
And more so to get the excessive inventory cleared out, the brands are giving discounts and sales at this time more than ever, experiencing a huge loss. Here, at The Narration, we have given discounts and promotional campaigns for occasions in the midst.
In spite of the current situation and the difficulties that the smaller businesses and eco-brands had to face, it is actually turning in their favor gradually. As they do not produce excessive commodities at a time, the inventory stored up is quite less. They are getting more recognition in the digital world more than ever, as well as the FDCI (The Fashion Design Council of India), for example, was first to announce a COVID-19 Support Fund for small businesses and young designers in need resulting in #supportsmallbusiness.
// FDCI