Is Victoria's Secret Fast Fashion? How Ethical & Sustainable is Victoria's Secret

While not a textbook fast fashion brand like SHEIN, Victoria's Secret exhibits many of the industry's problematic characteristics. Its business model resembles traditional retail more than ultra-fast fashion, but it falls short on both ethical and environmental fronts. The brand suffers from a significant lack of supply chain transparency, faces criticism for poor labor conditions, and relies heavily on unsustainable materials.

Many experts consider its sustainability efforts to be weak and its ethical record concerning, making it a brand to approach with caution for conscious consumers. Here's what you need to know about Victoria's Secret's practices.

What Makes Victoria's Secret Exhibit Fast Fashion Characteristics?

Victoria's Secret operates a model that blends traditional retail with some of the volume-driven aspects of fast fashion. While it doesn't drop new collections weekly, its scale and manufacturing approach raise similar concerns.

• Moderate Production Speed: Unlike brands that launch thousands of new items weekly, Victoria's Secret releases collections seasonally. Its product development cycle is typically 4 to 6 months, focusing on major launches for holidays like Valentine's Day and Christmas rather than chasing micro-trends.
• Mid-Range Pricing: The brand is not rock-bottom cheap, positioning itself in a higher price bracket than typical fast fashion. Bras range from $35-$70 and lingerie sets from $50-$100, encouraging quality over single-use wear but still driving significant sales volume.
• Trend-Aware Designs: Victoria's Secret adopts popular styles and runway-inspired designs but relies more on its iconic branding than on rapid trend replication. This slower approach distinguishes it from brands that turn social media trends into products in days.
• Opaque Manufacturing: The brand sources heavily from countries like China, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka to outsourced contractors. However, it provides very limited public information about its factories, audit results, or the working conditions within its supply chain.

Is Victoria's Secret Ethical?

Victoria’s Secret receives poor marks for its ethical practices due to its lack of supply chain transparency and documented issues with worker exploitation. The company has failed to demonstrate a meaningful commitment to paying living wages or ensuring fair labor conditions.

Labor Practices

Numerous reports from NGOs highlight violations of labor rights in factories supplying Victoria's Secret. These include allegations of unpaid wages, excessive hours, and unsafe environments. For example, workers in regions like Sri Lanka reportedly earn an average of $180–$250 per month, which is well below the estimated living wage of $350–$400 for the region.

Supply Chain Transparency

The brand does not publish a list of its suppliers or factory locations, making it impossible for third parties to verify its claims about ethical conduct. While Victoria's Secret is a member of the Fair Labor Association (FLA), it provides little to no specific information about its factory audit results or what corrective actions are taken when violations occur.

Animal Welfare

Victoria's Secret uses animal-derived materials like silk and wool but has no stated animal welfare policy. The company is not certified cruelty-free by any major organizations like PETA or Leaping Bunny, leaving its sourcing and testing practices unclear.

Where Victoria's Secret Falls Short Ethically

• Lack of Living Wages: There is no evidence the brand is taking steps to ensure workers in its supply chain are paid a living wage.
• Poor Transparency: The refusal to publish a comprehensive supplier list prevents independent verification of working conditions and fair labor practices.
• No Fair Trade Certification: Victoria's Secret does not carry any Fair Trade certified products, which would guarantee fair wages and ethical treatment for workers.
• History of Exclusionary Marketing: For years, the brand promoted narrow and exclusionary beauty standards, though it has recently made efforts to diversify its representation.

Is Victoria's Secret Sustainable?

Victoria's Secret's sustainability efforts are minimal and fall far short of industry best practices. The brand relies heavily on environmentally damaging materials, lacks clear goals, and shows a concerning lack of transparency about its environmental impact.

Materials & Sourcing

A large portion of Victoria's Secret's products are made from synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon, which are derived from fossil fuels and shed microplastics when washed. The brand provides very little information on the origins of any of its materials and has no significant commitment to using recycled fibers or certified organic cotton.

Environmental Impact

The company does not publish data on its carbon emissions, water usage, or chemical management in its supply chain. Without KPIs or goals, it's impossible to track progress. As a global retailer, its transportation and logistics contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, yet it has not announced concrete targets for carbon reduction.

Circularity & Waste

Victoria's Secret has no significant initiatives for circularity. It does not offer a take-back or recycling program for old lingerie or apparel, and it has not disclosed how it manages unsold inventory, a major source of waste in the fashion industry. Efforts to switch to more sustainable packaging are inconsistent and not widespread.

Sustainability Goals & Progress

The company’s stated sustainability goals are vague, lack deadlines, and do not align with science-based targets. It holds no major sustainability certifications like B Corp, Climate Neutral, or Bluesign. This lack of concrete commitment raises serious concerns about greenwashing.

Where Victoria's Secret Falls Short on Sustainability

• Reliance on Synthetics: The heavy use of virgin polyester and nylon from fossil fuels is environmentally harmful and contributes to plastic pollution.
• No B-Corp, Climate Neutral, or other Certifications: They are not verified by credible, well-known certifiers such as B-Corp.
• No Take-Back or Recycling Program: The company offers no solutions for its products at the end of their life, contributing to landfill waste.
• Vague Commitments and Greenwashing: Without specific targets, percentages, or deadlines, their sustainability claims feel more like marketing than a genuine strategy for improvement.

Our Verdict: Victoria's Secret's Ethical & Sustainability Grades

Victoria's Secret's efforts do not align with the benchmarks for a responsible brand. Its profound lack of transparency and reliance on unsustainable practices are major red flags that cannot be ignored by conscious shoppers.

Ethical Practices: D

The company receives a D for its profound lack of transparency regarding factory conditions, audit results, and wages. Persistent reports of worker exploitation, the clear gap between reported wages and living wages, and the absence of any Fair Trade certifications show a failure to prioritize ethical conduct in its supply chain. Its recent pivots in marketing have yet to be accompanied by meaningful, structural changes for its garment workers.

Sustainability: D

Victoria's Secret earns a D for its minimal engagement with sustainability. The brand's dependence on virgin synthetic materials, combined with no disclosed targets for reducing its carbon, water, or chemical footprint, places it far behind industry competitors. Vague goals, no circularity initiatives, and an absence of third-party certifications indicate its environmental commitments are critically insufficient.

Ethical & Sustainable Alternatives to Victoria's Secret

If Victoria's Secret’s lack of ethical and environmental commitment concerns you, here are several better brands offering similar styles with transparent and responsible practices.

PACT

PACT offers affordable basics and underwear made from GOTS-certified organic cotton in Fair Trade Certified factories. The brand is committed to clean manufacturing processes that use less water and avoid harmful chemicals, ensuring fair wages and safe conditions for its workers.

Shop now at wearpact.com

Organic Basics

This B Corp certified brand creates underwear, activewear, and basics from sustainable materials like organic cotton, Tencel, and recycled fabrics. Organic Basics maintains transparent supply chains and ensures its factory partners pay living wages and provide safe working environments.

Shop now at organicbasics.com

Aerie

As a leader in body positivity, Aerie also makes strides in sustainability, increasing its use of materials like recycled polyester and organic cotton. The brand has set public goals for reducing its environmental impact and shows greater transparency than its competitors regarding its commitments and progress.

Shop now at ae.com/aerie

Girlfriend Collective

Known for activewear and undergarments made from recycled plastic bottles, Girlfriend Collective operates in SA8000-certified factories that guarantee fair wages and safe working conditions. The brand is transparent about its materials, processes, and has a take-back program called ReGirlfriend.

Shop now at girlfriend.com

TomboyX

A B Corp-certified brand specializing in size-inclusive underwear for all genders, TomboyX uses sustainable fabrics like Tencel Modal and OEKO-TEX-certified cotton. They are committed to ethical manufacturing and transparently list information about their factory partners.

Shop now at tomboyx.com

Naja

Naja is a lingerie brand that champions women’s empowerment by primarily employing single mothers and female heads of households, paying them well above market wages. The company uses sustainable materials, including recycled PET, and utilizes digital printing technology to reduce water waste.

Shop now at wearnaja.com

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Victoria's Secret rebrand a sign of real change?

While Victoria's Secret has updated its marketing to be more inclusive and diverse, these changes are largely superficial. The company has not implemented corresponding structural changes in its supply chain to improve labor wages or environmental practices, leading many critics to call the rebrand an act of performative allyship and greenwashing.

Are any of Victoria's Secret's products sustainable?

Currently, the brand has very few products made with sustainable materials and no formal "sustainable collection." Any claims about sustainability are difficult to verify due to the overall lack of transparency and an absence of respected third-party certifications for its materials or processes.

Why isn't Victoria's Secret considered full-on fast fashion?

Victoria's Secret isn't considered "fast fashion" in the same way as SHEIN or Zara because its product turnaround is slower (seasonal collections vs. weekly drops) and its prices are higher. However, its massive production volume, reliance on cheap offshore labor, and limited transparency share many ethical problems with the fast fashion model.