No, Quince is not considered a fast fashion brand. Its business model is built on slow fashion principles, focusing on creating high-quality, timeless basics rather than rapidly producing trend-driven items. Quince releases collections seasonally, emphasizes durable materials, and follows a more deliberate design-to-production calendar than typical fast fashion companies.
While the brand makes notable efforts in sustainability by using eco-friendly materials, it faces challenges with supply chain transparency and lacks key third-party certifications. Here’s a detailed breakdown of Quince's practices:
Quince's operations stand in direct contrast to the high-volume, trend-focused model of fast fashion. Its focus on value, quality materials, and classic design places it firmly in the slow fashion category.
Quince shows a solid commitment to ethical manufacturing principles, but it falls short in crucial areas of transparency and third-party verification, making it challenging to fully audit their claims.
Quince states that it works exclusively with factories that meet or exceed global standards for workplace safety and equitable wages. However, it sources from countries like China, Vietnam, and Turkey, where labor violations can be common. Without specific, publicly available audit results or third-party certifications, consumers must rely on a company’s word.
This is a significant area of weakness for Quince. The brand does not publish a list of its suppliers or the results of factory audits. This lack of disclosure prevents independent verification of its ethical claims and makes it difficult to assess the actual conditions workers face in its supply chain.
Quince maintains a strong animal welfare policy. The vast majority of its products are made from plant-based or synthetic materials like organic cotton, Tencel, and recycled polyester. The brand does not use fur, exotic skins, or down, aligning with vegan and cruelty-free standards.
Quince has made impressive strides in using sustainable materials, but its overall sustainability profile is weakened by a lack of emissions data, circularity initiatives, and key certifications.
Quince shines in its material choices, with 70-80% of its collection made from sustainable or recycled materials. The brand extensively uses GOTS-certified organic cotton, Tencel™ Lyocell made in a closed-loop process, and recycled polyester, significantly reducing its reliance on resource-intensive virgin materials.
The brand claims its partners use eco-friendly production methods like water conservation and wastewater treatment aligned with OEKO-TEX standards. However, it does not publish data on its carbon footprint, water usage, or chemical runoff, making it impossible to measure its actual environmental impact or track progress.
Quince does not have any formal take-back, repair, or recycling programs for its products at the end of their life. Its primary waste reduction strategy is creating durable, long-lasting products, which is a key tenet of slow fashion but not a comprehensive circularity solution.
Quince has set a goal to become carbon neutral by 2030, a commendable ambition. However, it has not published any concrete interim targets, a clear roadmap, or public progress reports, making it difficult to gauge its commitment and hold the company accountable.
Quince is undoubtedly a superior alternative to traditional fast fashion brands. However, for a brand that centralizes conscious consumerism in its marketing, there are significant gaps in transparency and verification that must be addressed.
Quince earns a B for its apparent commitment to ethical production, strong animal welfare policy, and focus on partner vetting. This grade is held back by a critical lack of third-party certifications (like Fair Trade) and a failure to publicly disclose its factory list and audit results, which are essential for true accountability.
The brand deserves credit for its impressive use of sustainable materials (70-80%) like organic cotton and Tencel, earning it a C+. This score is held back by the complete absence of environmental impact data, a lack of circular programs, and a carbon neutrality goal that lacks a clear, public roadmap for accountability.
If you're looking for brands that offer a similar minimalist aesthetic but with stronger transparency, living wage commitments, and third-party certifications, consider these alternatives:
A certified B Corp, Kotn offers high-quality basics made from authentic Egyptian cotton with full supply chain traceability from farm to factory. The company invests in the communities it sources from by building schools and is transparent about its wages and labor practices.
Shop now at kotn.com
ABLE is a B Corp deeply committed to empowering women and ending generational poverty. It is one of the few brands to publish its lowest wages in its supply chain, championing transparency as a tool for creating living wage jobs.
Shop now at ableclothing.com
Known for its radical transparency on pricing and factories, Everlane provides classic wardrobe staples with a commitment to reducing environmental impact. The brand uses an increasing amount of recycled materials and has set science-based targets for carbon reduction.
Shop now at everlane.com
Founded with a focus on sustainability, Outerknown is Fair Labor Association accredited and guarantees fair wages for 100% of its garment workers. They use innovative, regenerative materials for their classic, coastal-inspired styles and offer a take-back program for their S.E.A. JEANS.
Shop now at outerknown.com
The gold standard in ethical and sustainable apparel, Patagonia is a B Corp that uses a high percentage of recycled materials, guarantees its supply chain is Fair Trade Certified, and invests heavily in environmental activism. Its Ironclad Guarantee promotes repairs over replacement.
Shop now at patagonia.com
Quince operates on a direct-to-consumer, factory-direct model. This means they design products, partner directly with factories to produce them, and ship them to the customer, cutting out traditional retail costs like warehouses, distributors, and physical storefronts.
Quince primarily manufactures its products in China, Vietnam, and Turkey. While the brand states it vets these factories for ethical practices, these regions are widely known to have challenges with labor rights, which makes third-party audits and transparency particularly important.
Quince is not engaging in blatant greenwashing, as its use of high-quality sustainable materials is real and impactful. However, its marketing can be misleadingly simple by not acknowledging its significant gaps in transparency, such as unpublished emissions data and unverified labor claims, which prevents full accountability.
