My definition could be totally off base from the "real" definition, but I think of it as the stores that sell very cheap clothes with very fast turnover, i.e. where there's a whole new set of items from one week to the next. I associate the "fast" aspect more with stores like F21 than Gap, for example, because I feel like Gap maybe has 20 different sweater styles over the course of the season whereas F21 has hundreds. I would think this encourages buying more quantity and not wearing items as long or trying to make them last. It seems like huge variety + super trendy items + low quality is a recipe for getting consumers to buy a new sweater every week, in contrast to a store like Gap with a bit more classic styles and less variety, but of course this is a gross generalization. I don't equate fast fashion and unethical production.

For those of you who are trying to buy less fast fashion, what do you consider acceptable brands vs. unacceptable? Do you make the distinction along price/prestige lines at all?

I just focus on avoiding low-quality clothes and I don't consider whether they're fast fashion or not, so this might not apply to me, but I generally try to avoid all mall stores like F21, H&M, Zara and all the way up through Gap, BR, J.Crew. If I am going to buy a lower end item, I'd usually choose Zara or H&M over the mid-range stores because I find the quality:price ratio to be better.

If we spend a lot on something, do we feel we're buying the right not to worry about where/how it was produced?

This is really interesting. I don't feel this way, but I think the more we spend on something, we more likely we usually are to take care of it and make it last longer. And theoretically, the more expensive items are higher quality and will last longer. So then it's a question of: is it really any better to buy a slave-labor-produced sweater that lasts me five years instead of one season? Is buying one high-quality, not-ethically-produced item better than buying five lower quality ones?