To keep up with the ever-changing trends propagated by runway shows, influencers and frenetic social media fads, fashion connoisseurs and avid clothing shoppers can be quick to turn to the most convenient — and budget-conscious — options out there.

Often, that’s “fast fashion” offerings, from e-tailers with their endless feeds of wallet-friendly and of-the-moment garments or big box stores offering that knee-length trench coat or oversized flannel at sale prices.

But while cheap chic may seem like the way to go, the fast fashion industry sees clothing pushed out on a scale that is even too large for most consumers to keep up with. Plus, the materials used can last for as few as just seven to 10 wears, according to the non-profit environmental data platform Earth.org.

Why is fast fashion so popular?

Fast fashion is a business model that focuses on the production of garments in bulk, and as quickly as possible, in response to current trends, according to Dr. Preeti Arya, an assistant professor of textile development and marketing at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York. The term was first popularized in a New York Times article in 1989 to describe retail store Zara’s first opening in the United States — the retail brand’s goal, the Times said, was to have a design developed from concept to consumer in only 15 days.

Generally, fast fashion designs are “dupes”— a popular term on social media used for garments inspired by (and in some cases, outright copied from) luxurious looks work by celebrities and trendsetters, or showcased on designer runways from New York to Paris. The goal of brands and manufacturers is to get these designs in the hands of consumers while the clothes are still at the height of their popularity, and at all-too affordable prices.

While the biggest brands today include large-scale brick-and-mortar retailers with an online presence, like Zara and H&M, fast fashion has increasingly allowed for e-tail only brand and sellers to take charge — like Shein, an online retailer from Singapore, as well as Temu from China, Boohoo, ASOS and PrettyLittleThing from the UK and Fashion Nova from the US, among others.