The expression fast fashion first appeared in the 1990s. Though in principle it simply refers to the process of speedily moving designs from catwalks to mass markets, the increasingly recognized environmental trade-off means that the term now has rather negative connotations, also because of the poor working conditions of those employed in the manufacture of cheap clothes in developing countries. Like fast food, it might seem like a good idea in the moment, but can have undesirable and possibly unforeseen consequences.