Last month, a small Meesho parcel landed on our desk. Inside was a floral crepe top; light, synthetic, and already fraying at the edges. My colleague examined it, shrugged, and said what has become the most defining sentence in India’s mass-fashion era:
“The quality isn’t great. But for ₹200, it’s good enough.”
That offhand remark captures the new psychology of India’s fast fashion boom. We’re dressing for people we don’t care about, paying for it with money we don’t truly have.
Clothing has become so cheap, so abundant, and so instantly available that consumers now evaluate garments not on longevity or craft, but on whether they are “good enough” for a single wear. The cost of returning it, in time and effort, often outweighs the cost of simply keeping it.
But where does that “good enough” garment go after it has been worn once? It goes to the landfill. Multiply that by millions of such purchases, and you begin to see the shape of the crisis.
The Scale of the Waste
India generates an estimated 7.8 million tonnes of textile waste annually, with less than 1% ever recycled. As Prime Minister Narendra Modi admitted in his Mann Ki Baat address on March 30, 2025:
"India is the third country in the world where the maximum textile waste is generated. This means that we also face a huge challenge."
While the Prime Minister also highlighted at Bharat Tex 2025 that global fashion waste is projected to hit 148 million tons by 2030, framing it as an economic opportunity for Indian recyclers, the domestic reality is far grimmer.
India is already drowning in excess. Our landfills are bursting, and our rivers run thick with dye and chemical runoff. The people who clean our waste, already among the most vulnerable, bear the brunt of this toxicity. In hubs like Panipat, over 300,000 workers inhale toxic dust and microfibers every day, effectively subsidizing our cheap wardrobes with their health.
The Economics of Excess
With Meesho’s December 2025 IPO, one thing is clear: this engine of overproduction is not slowing down. Platforms built on ultra-low pricing are becoming the market standard.
Meesho’s Regulatory Filings (RHP) revealed a startling trend: their Average Order Value (AOV) dropped from ₹336 in FY23 to ~₹274 in FY25. Yet, volume is exploding; the platform now handles 3-5 million orders a day, with peak surges climbing even higher.
The industry defends this volume as the "democratization of fashion." But keeping prices this low has pushed the mass market almost entirely into synthetics. The Changing Markets Foundation reports that 69% of global textiles are now synthetic. In India’s sub-₹300 segment, industry estimates suggest nearly 80% of new garments will soon be plastic.
A Warning Sign
A stagnant or falling Average Selling Price (ASP) in a growing economy is a red flag. In mature markets, ASP typically rises with quality, brand value, and inflation. India is moving in the opposite direction, drifting into a two-speed system: hyper-disposable at one end and hyper-premium at the other, with the middle collapsing.
Fashion under ₹300 now behaves like FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods), while fashion above ₹3,000 is treated as a luxury asset. The mid-market, once the backbone of Indian retail, is being hollowed out.
Can We Break the Cycle?
We are caught in a vicious cycle of excess, a loop built on our disregard for nature, human effort, and even our own money. The very things consumers love most, speed and price, are the forces pushing us deeper into this crisis.
We have proven that millions of consumers in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities can now afford to participate in trends previously reserved for the urban elite. But the victory of access is an environmental defeat.
Without immediate regulatory intervention, such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) mandates that force brands to pay for the end-of-life management of their goods, the ₹200 top will remain the most expensive item India ever bought.