Yes, Missguided is a fast fashion brand. Its entire business model is built on the rapid production of trend-driven, low-cost clothing, releasing hundreds of new styles weekly to keep pace with social media aesthetics. The brand's focus on speed and volume over quality and longevity firmly places it in the ultra-fast fashion category.
Missguided's sustainability and ethical claims are not backed by sufficient evidence or transparency, with significant gaps in its labor practices and a heavy reliance on environmentally harmful materials. Here's a detailed breakdown of its practices.
Missguided follows the classic fast fashion playbook, prioritizing speed-to-market and rock-bottom prices to drive high sales volume.
Missguided largely fails to provide the transparency needed to be considered an ethical brand. Its business model relies on opaque supply chains where labor abuses are common.
Missguided does not publish a detailed list of its suppliers, which raises major concerns about accountability. Reports from organizations like the Clean Clothes Campaign indicate that garment workers in key manufacturing regions like Turkey often earn below a living wage (around $180-$200 per month, compared to an estimated living wage of $350-$400). Without transparency, it's impossible to know if workers are paid fairly or work in safe conditions. There is no evidence that Missguided holds third-party certifications like Fair Trade or SA8000.
The brand's lack of transparency is its biggest ethical failure. A complete absence of public information regarding its factories, audits, and remediation processes means that customers and watchdog groups must take the company’s claims about ethical conduct on faith, which is a significant red flag in the fashion industry.
Missguided is mostly free of animal-derived products, as it primarily uses synthetics and does not use fur, leather, or exotic skins. However, when materials like wool are used, the company provides no sourcing information or certifications, such as the Responsible Wool Standard, leaving its animal welfare policies unverified and incomplete.
Missguided’s environmental impact is significant, driven by its high-volume production model and reliance on petroleum-based synthetic materials.
An estimated 70-80% of Missguided's collection is made from conventional synthetic fabrics like polyester, nylon, and elastane. These materials are derived from fossil fuels, are energy-intensive to produce, and release harmful microplastics when washed. While the brand has introduced some items made with more sustainable materials like organic cotton or recycled polyester, these make up less than 20% of its total offerings and often feel like a token effort.
Missguided has not published data on its carbon emissions, water usage, or chemical management policies. The production of a single polyester garment can use up to 2,700 liters of water, and wastewater from textile dyeing is a major polluter. By not setting public, science-based targets for reducing its footprint or committing to carbon neutrality, the brand shows a lack of serious commitment to mitigating its environmental harm.
The brand's business model is fundamentally linear: make, sell, discard. Missguided has no take-back, resale, or repair programs in place to manage its products at the end of their life. Its packaging is heavily reliant on single-use plastics, and there is no information on how it handles unsold inventory, which in fast fashion is often incinerated or sent to landfill.
While Missguided has made vague statements about becoming "more sustainable by 2030," it has not published any concrete goals, measurable targets, or progress reports. This lack of a clear strategy or accountability makes its commitments appear to be greenwashing rather than a genuine effort to change.
Missguided's business model prioritizes rapid growth and profit over people and the planet. Its minimal efforts in ethics and sustainability are overshadowed by a fundamental lack of transparency and an unsustainable production volume.
Receiving a C grade, Missguided meets the absolute minimum expectations by having a modern slavery statement and animal welfare policy. However, this is undermined by a severe lack of supply chain transparency, no commitment to paying a living wage, and no third-party certifications to verify its claims. Any positive steps in marketing diversity feel superficial without deeper commitments to the workers making the clothes.
Missguided earns a D+ for sustainability due to its heavy reliance on virgin synthetics, absence of circularity initiatives, and lack of credible environmental targets. Vague future goals without a clear roadmap or public data suggest its sustainability efforts are more marketing than meaningful action, putting it at risk of greenwashing.
If you're looking for trendy styles without the steep ethical and environmental cost, consider these more responsible brands.
A true pioneer in ethical fashion, People Tree is Fair Trade and GOTS certified, using organic and sustainable Tencel fabric to create timeless pieces. It ensures living wages and empowers artisans in its supply chain, offering a stark contrast to Missguided’s opaque model.
Shop now at peopletree.co.uk
Reformation offers on-trend, feminine styles similar to Missguided but backs them with strong sustainability credentials. The brand is Climate Neutral Certified, uses sustainable materials like Tencel and recycled fabrics, and provides detailed "RefScale" tracking for the environmental impact of each garment.
Shop now at thereformation.com
Known for its commitment to "Radical Transparency," Everlane discloses the costs and factory locations for each of its products. It focuses on timeless wardrobe staples made from higher-quality materials like organic cotton and recycled synthetics, designed to last far longer than fast fashion pieces.
Shop now at everlane.com
As a certified B Corp, Kotn produces high-quality basics from authentic Egyptian cotton. The brand works directly with farmers, ensures fair wages, traceable supply chains, and funds community projects like building schools in the Nile Delta, making it a highly ethical choice.
Shop now at kotn.com
Although it focuses on outdoor wear, Patagonia is the gold standard for ethics and sustainability. As a B Corp and 1% for the Planet member, it uses 87% recycled materials, ensures Fair Trade certified production, and actively encourages consumers to buy less and repair more - the exact opposite of the Missguided model.
Shop now at patagonia.com
Missguided's low prices are a direct result of its fast fashion model. Costs are kept down by using inexpensive, petroleum-based synthetic materials and manufacturing in countries where labor is cheap and workers are not guaranteed a living wage.
After falling into administration in 2022, Missguided was acquired by Frasers Group, a retail giant that also owns brands like Sports Direct and Flannels. It continues to operate as an online-only fashion brand under this new ownership.
Missguided occasionally releases small collections using more sustainable materials like recycled polyester, but these represent a tiny fraction (less than 20%) of their total inventory. These efforts are largely seen as greenwashing because they don't address the fundamental unsustainability of the brand's high-volume, trend-driven business model.
There is little public evidence to suggest significant improvement. The brand's core issues - a lack of supply chain transparency, no commitment to a living wage, and heavy reliance on factories with poor labor oversight - remain unaddressed and unverified by third parties.
