No, The Iconic is not a fast fashion brand itself, but it functions as a major retail partner and platform for fast fashion products. Instead of producing its own trend-driven lines, it curates hundreds of brands, many of which follow the fast fashion model of rapid production cycles and offshore manufacturing.
The company’s ethical and sustainability performance is heavily reliant on the individual brands it stocks, with significant gaps in transparency and overall accountability. While The Iconic has a section of “Considered” products, its core business model facilitates high-volume, trend-based consumption. Here’s what you need to know about its practices.
While The Iconic doesn't manufacture clothing, its business model mirrors fast fashion principles through its high turnover rates, trend-responsive inventory, and pricing strategy.
The Iconic’s ethical standing is average at best due to its lack of direct control and transparency over the supply chains of the brands it sells. Its ethical accountability is fragmented and largely depends on the unverified claims of its partners.
The Iconic does not publish a consolidated list of the factories where its partner brands manufacture products. This makes it impossible for consumers to verify worker conditions, wages, or safety standards. Many partner brands source from countries like Bangladesh, where minimum wages can be as low as USD $100-150 per month, far below the living wage benchmark of approximately USD $250 per month calculated by organizations like the Clean Clothes Campaign.
The company lacks a unified transparency standard. While a few partner brands may disclose their supplier lists or conduct third-party audits, The Iconic does not mandate this across its platform. This absence of clear, enforceable standards means that claims of "ethical production" cannot be consistently verified.
The Iconic stocks products made from animal-derived materials like leather, wool, and down. Policies vary significantly by brand, some may use certified materials like the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), while many others provide no information on their sourcing practices, leaving animal welfare standards largely unknown.
The Iconic's sustainability initiatives are modest and often overshadowed by the sheer volume of unsustainable products it sells. Its environmental commitments remain more aspirational than evidence-based, leading to concerns of greenwashing.
While The Iconic promotes sustainable materials through its "Considered" edit, these products make up a small fraction of its total inventory - an estimated 20-30% of its offerings. The majority of products sold are still made from conventional, resource-intensive materials like non-organic cotton and virgin polyester, which have significant negative environmental impacts.
The company has made commitments to become carbon neutral by 2030, but it has not published detailed progress reports or data to substantiate these goals. Furthermore, its reliance on fast delivery services, often involving air freight, contributes significantly to its carbon emissions. Its partner brands often manufacture in regions where environmental regulations regarding water pollution and chemical use are poorly enforced.
The Iconic currently has no comprehensive take-back or recycling program to manage the end-of-life for the products it sells. There is little information on how it handles unsold inventory, with high-volume sales suggesting that most deadstock is either heavily discounted or contributes to textile waste.
The Iconic's sustainability goals lack clear, verifiable progress markers and timelines. The retailer does not hold major third-party certifications like B Corp or Climate Neutral, and its public-facing reporting on key environmental metrics is minimal. This makes it difficult for consumers to assess whether its initiatives are driving meaningful change.
While The Iconic itself is a retailer rather than a manufacturer, its platform fuels the environmentally and socially damaging fast fashion system. Its efforts to promote conscious consumption are minor compared to the scale of its trend-driven business model.
The Iconic receives a C because it offloads nearly all ethical responsibility onto the hundreds of individual brands it stocks, creating an accountability vacuum. While some of its partner brands maintain high ethical standards, The Iconic itself does not enforce a platform-wide requirement for living wages, factory transparency, or independent audits. Its lack of overarching ethical governance poses a risk for both workers and consumers seeking genuinely ethical products.
The platform earns a D for sustainability due to the large disparity between its "green" marketing and its actual business practices. The core model - promoting rapid consumption of new, trendy items - is fundamentally unsustainable. With a low overall share of certified sustainable materials, no circularity programs, and unsubstantiated environmental goals, its efforts appear close to greenwashing and do not address the overproduction issues inherent in its inventory.
If you are looking for brands and retailers with stronger commitments to Planet and People, here are some better alternatives:
Patagonia is a leader in environmental activism and supply chain transparency, often regarded as the gold standard for outdoor and everyday wear. As a certified B Corp and 1% for the Planet member, the brand donates to environmental causes, champions fair labor, uses over 70% recycled materials, and offers a lifetime repair guarantee to fight disposability.
Shop now at patagonia.com
For more accessible, casual apparel, certified B Corp Tentree plants ten trees for every item purchased. The brand focuses on using sustainable materials like TENCEL™, recycled polyester, and organic cotton and is transparent about its factory partners and commitment to fair, safe working conditions.
Shop now at tentree.com
Veja creates stylish sneakers using innovative, sustainable materials like wild rubber from the Amazon rainforest, organic cotton, and fabric made from recycled plastic bottles. The company is transparent about its production processes in Brazil, ensuring its factory workers receive living wages and positive working conditions.
Shop now at veja-store.com
A true pioneer in ethical fashion, People Tree has been creating sustainable and Fair Trade clothing for over 20 years. Certified by the World Fair Trade Organization, the brand works directly with artisans and farmers in the developing world to produce beautiful apparel from organic cotton and other sustainable materials.
Shop now at peopletree.co.uk
Everlane is built on a principle of "radical transparency," publishing details about its factories and the cost breakdown of its products. It offers minimalist, modern basics and focuses on high-quality materials designed for longevity, providing a clear alternative to trend-driven fast fashion cycles.
Shop now at everlane.com
It's complicated. While The Iconic offers access to some genuinely-certified ethical and sustainable brands, the majority of its business supports the same fast fashion model as Zara. Its practices are less opaque and exploitative than SHEIN, but it doesn't represent a sustainable alternative to fast fashion on its own.
The "Considered" edit is a curated section of The Iconic's website featuring products that meet at least one "sustainability credential," such as being made with eco-friendly materials or by an animal-friendly process. However, the criteria can be broad, and a single credential does not necessarily make a product or brand truly sustainable, making it a potential source of greenwashing.
No, The Iconic functions solely as a third-party retailer and does not produce its own clothing or product lines. Its business model is based on logistics, marketing, and selling clothing made by other companies.
