Disruptions to the fast fashion supply chain give us a unique glimpse into what it takes to keep that system going and highlight the true cost of our clothes.
I was reading coverage of the emerging conflict in Iran and the Gulf countries a few weeks ago. I saw this Reuters article about how fast-fashion clothes were piling up in countries like India and Bangladesh as Gulf-owned airlines grounded planes. If we didn’t have this interruption, we wouldn’t be able to see the sheer volume of clothes these countries are producing and how high the demand is in the recipient countries.
When supply chains pause, whether that’s due to war, a pandemic, or something else, the parts we’re not supposed to see can’t help but become visible. It forces us to evaluate how we value what we buy. Does this visibility lead to lasting change, or is it just a momentary pause?
What Happens When The Fast Fashion Supply Chain Breaks
Setting Context: The Ways of Fast Fashion During Normal Times
Fast-fashion brands are undoubtedly major players in the fashion world. Brands like Shein and Temu have become the primary online marketplaces for American consumers, according to data from The State of Fashion 2025, a McKinsey report. Part of the appeal for customers is how easy and affordable it is to find new clothes that reflect current trends.
According to this excellent article from McKinsey, what sets fast fashion apart from “slower” fashion is the following:
- They have a large network of suppliers who often manufacture only for a specific company
- They use data-driven trend modeling (think: current trends, customer perception, and trends)
- They leverage marketing influencer networks and cultivate communities, lowering customer acquisition costs
- Some have even gamified their app experiences to entice people to buy
To achieve their breakneck manufacturing speed, fast fashion brands today, such as Zara, H&M, and Primark, rely heavily on factories in Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan. This is partly because materials and labor are cheaper there, and partly because these countries have a long and rich history of textile and cotton manufacturing.
To understand how fast fashion became the way it is, read this article for more background.
The Current Conflict: Breaking The Supply Chain
The supply chain is complex even under the best circumstances. The conflict in the Middle East, which started with the United States and Israel launching strikes in Iran on February 28, complicates that even more. Countries in the Gulf (specifically, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, and Kuwait) have been the recipients of retaliatory attacks from Iran, which has caused them to halt flights. England’s Foreign Office even listed them on its no-go list.
While some flight restrictions have been loosened since February 28, restrictions change frequently, and it’s certainly not the way it used to be. Before the attacks, Dubai (where Emirates is based), Abu Dhabi (Etihad), and Doha (Qatar Airways) were major hubs, well positioned to connect Asia, Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.
In addition, attacks on key oil and gas refineries across the Middle East have raised concerns about supply. Adding to the strain on oil and gas reserves, the Strait of Hormuz, a major shipping route that runs through Iran to the north and the UAE and Oman to the south, has seen traffic drop by 97% since March 2026.
In a system designed for speed, grounding flights shows the pace at which goods were sent to and from these regions. It also highlights the reliance that other parts of the world have on them. For example, in India, more than half of the country’s textile manufacturers, according to The Hindu, saw a 15-30% surge in the cost of oil-related materials such as polyester, chemicals, and dyes.
The headlines I’ve seen in the last few weeks focused on the economic (and even environmental) costs of this conflict, but I’ve only seen a few that address the human cost of the war, which is already coming due.
What the Conflict Reveals About Supply Chains
The conflict has exposed parts of the global supply chain that were typically invisible (at least to us consumers). It offers a rare glimpse at how dependent fast fashion is on tightly coordinated transportation, steady oil prices, and uninterrupted movement.
As I mentioned at the start of the article, Reuters reported that cancelled flights from Qatar Airways and Emirates caused clothes to pile up in airports in Bangladesh and India. Speaking to the news outlet, Shovon Islam, a managing director of a manufacturer whose European clients include Primark and Inditex, lamented, “They [the apparel consignments] were supposed to be flown to the UK via Dubai, but with operations at Dubai airport suspended, we are now in a very difficult position. We’re trying to figure out alternative routes, but none of them are simple or cost-effective.”
People – tourists, businesspeople, and manufacturers like Islam – have had to scramble to find alternate plans, not just for flights, but also for the increasing cost of oil. The Middle East, or Western Asia (to use a less Eurocentric term), is one of the world’s fastest-growing luxury markets. The conflict will drive oil prices up, further increasing prices.
The sudden closure of stores across the region also reveals how dependent fashion retail is on geopolitical stability. Companies rely on stability beyond simply production, including where and how to sell goods. As of March 4, many brands have closed their stores across the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Qatar. These include Apple, Amazon, Kering (the owner of brands like Gucci and Bottega Veneta), and the Chalhoub Group (which operates Sephora and Versace). A day before, a bomb reportedly landed on an Adidas store in Israel.
These disruptions are unusual, but the systems they expose are far from that. The conflict reveals a supply chain reliant upon constant motion, and even a short pause makes its underlying fragility impossible to ignore.
How the Disruption Ripples Across People and Prices
The effects of a disruption in the fast-fashion supply chain don’t hit all at once. Instead, they spread in phases.
First, manufacturers will feel delays and increasing airline freight costs. Some are having to consider rerouting their shipping routes to include using cargo ships instead of airlines.
Next, brands will feel the pain, and we’re already seeing it with the store closures I mentioned. In addition, groups such as Richemont (owner of brands including Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, Piaget, and Chloé) and Zegna (an Italian luxury fashion house headquartered in Milan) have much to lose, as 9% of both companies’ total sales occur in the Middle East.
Finally, the disruption will impact consumers, not just financially but emotionally. With planes grounded and oil prices rising, customers will see higher prices on goods. Nearly every item sold worldwide includes transportation costs in its price, so that any price increases will land squarely on consumers’ shoulders. “Even a moderate increase in oil prices can ripple through supply chains because nearly every product sold globally has transportation costs embedded in its price. For brands that manufacture internationally, rising freight and logistics costs can squeeze margins or push brands to slightly adjust pricing.” That’s according to Isaac Hetzroni, who alternatively goes by “The Sourcing Guy” on social media.
A disruption like the one we’re witnessing in Western Asia triggers anxiety among consumers as well. “People move through the city differently when airspace closures and flight disruptions hit,” Alex Mantziaris, an owner of a fur boutique in Dubai, told Glossy earlier this month.
These shifts, understandably, change prices, but they also change perceptions. If there’s anything positive to come out of this conflict, it’s the reconsideration of our relationship with fast fashion. If we imagine clothes piling up at airports and the cost of polyester rising in tandem with oil prices, is it really worth it to follow the latest trends? If our clothes are made from oil and countries in the Global South are making them at an insane pace, it becomes harder to ignore what is involved in maintaining those low prices.
When Systems Pause: We’ve Seen This Before
When I read the Reuters article I mentioned at the start, I immediately thought of pictures of Venice during the first few weeks of the COVID-19 shutdown. While I’ve never been to Venice, I’ve seen too many pictures and videos of it to count, and the water always looks murky. On March 9, 2020, the Italian government enforced a nationwide lockdown, reducing the use of Venice’s boats (vaporetti) and cruise ships. As a result, the water looked clearer than it had since people first moved there in the 6th century.
In this image from The Copernicus Sentinels, a fleet of EU-owned satellites, we can see that the Grand Canal and the Giudecca Channel appear nearly empty in 2020. Only police officers were on the streets and canals over Easter that year, ANSA (an Italian news agency) shared.
While there are many differences between the water in Venetian canals and the fighting in Iran and the Gulf region, one thing is undeniable: they have forced a complete standstill of systems we used to take for granted. The COVID shutdown showed us what the Venice area would look like without much human involvement. Similarly, the conflict shows what life would look like if the fast fashion supply chain vanished, even if only for a short time.
Interestingly, after the pandemic, Venice imposed new regulations to manage tourism and protect the city. For example, it banned cruise ships from the Giudecca Canal. Plus, as of April 2024, visitors will have to pay a €5 ($5.30) fee to enter Venice during its busiest times. It’s as if experiencing the enjoyable pause in traffic that the pandemic forced reminded Venetians of how important it is to protect their city. Will this conflict-driven pause in 2026 force us to change how we value our clothes, or will we return to how things were before?
Will This Change How We Value Clothes?
We are still in the relatively early days of this conflict, so I don’t expect everyone to boycott fast fashion starting tomorrow. I do, however, wonder whether it’s started to get people to rethink fast fashion, or if the system will reset once the fighting is over. After all, we’ve seen this pattern before, most recently with COVID-related stressors that made systems and supply chains more visible.
The issue is that visibility doesn’t always translate into lasting change. (After all, haven’t we mostly stopped wearing face masks despite their proven ability to limit the spread of airborne viruses?) When the price of goods rises or shipments are delayed, we’re forced to confront the system, but when speed returns, the awareness usually fades.
Right now, people are discussing the lives already lost and the price of oil, shipping, and oil-derived materials like polyester. Those are massive concerns that will impact how the world moves and conducts business. Eventually, if it doesn’t end soon, the conflict will reverberate into more menial parts of our lives, like the shipment of an Amazon order for cleaning supplies or, yes, clothes. Thus, the question isn’t whether our supply chains are fragile; we can already see that they are. Instead, the question is whether disruptions like this one permanently alter our perspectives.
The Role of Imagery and Storytelling In Shaping Perspectives
One thing that encourages me is what previous research suggests about the science of how to make people care. In 2018, the Stanford Social Innovation Review listed five science-backed ways to encourage people to care. Two of them are at play in this conflict, which makes me more optimistic that perceptions could change. These are Communicate in Images and Tell Better Stories.
The images that we have and will see in this conflict have the power to change how we think. As Harvard cognitive scientist Steven Pinker wrote in The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person’s Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, “We are primates, with a third of our brains dedicated to vision, and large swaths devoted to touch, hearing, motion, and space.”
On top of that, I am certain that we will only hear more and more stories of how the conflict is impacting people’s lives and getting in the way of “normal” life. A captivating story has the power to literally create new connections in the brain, lingering with us long after we’re done reading and impacting the reader as if she lived through it.
Yes, people may revert to pre-conflict norms, and we will never stop wanting to find a good deal. But the true cost of clothes is never clearer than during an upheaval, and it’s the perfect opportunity to reflect on the status quo.
The Fast Fashion Supply Chain and What Disruption Reveals
The conflict in the Middle East / Western Asia has already brought unbelievable tragedy to innocent people, and there’s no telling when it’ll stop. What’s unique about this conflict is the area’s dominant influence over commerce, travel, and oil prices. While it’s not stopping the world completely as the COVID-19 pandemic did, it’s not too far off, providing an intriguing counterfactual to the world’s “normal.” With an interruption comes visibility into what made those systems work, forcing a reckoning over whether they’re viable.
While I’m optimistic that the conflict will bring attention to the true cost of clothes and the improvements needed in fast fashion and supply chains, I’m realistic enough to recognize that this may not be the case. Will visibility lead to lasting change, or is it just a momentary chink in modern commerce’s otherwise impenetrable armor? Only time will tell; however, every time we discuss it or share stories and imagery, we’re inching closer towards positive change, and that’s still a win.
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