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SHEIN. Cheap. Convenient1. Trendy.
If you have the Internet, you know what SHEIN is. It is the fast fashion2 e-commerce retailer, well-known worldwide for its low-priced fashionable items. In 2020, during the global pandemic, SHEIN exploded in sales when shoppers were quarantined3. The unicorn company4 (valued at $150 billion AUD) has invested online using Google and Facebook, as well as partnering with 5social media influencers to reach a global following of consumers.
#SheinHauls6 is a popular trend on TikTok where online personalities model the multiple clothing items that they bought inexpensively from SHEIN. Who says cheap, thinks “I want it, I buy it.” This attitude towards consumerism7 isn’t so cheap for the people who make the clothes or the planet.
In recent years, SHEIN has been under a lot of scrutiny8 for not abiding9 by China’s labor laws. There’s a documentary by Channel 4 that uncovers some interesting facts about SHEIN’s factories. One factory expected its workers to make 500 pieces of clothing per day. These workers were paid a base salary of 4000 yuan monthly (or $850 AUD). The first month’s pay was also withheld10, meaning that they worked for free for their first month.
Other sources suggest that when a person buys something at such a low cost, they tend to think of it as less valuable and therefore separate from the item more easily. Where is the item after that? You guessed it, in the landfill11. 100 billion tonnes of clothes are produced each year, and of that, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills. The SHEIN business model is unsustainable12 for the future of the planet as it encourages a damaging13 attitude towards things as being disposable14. Although SHEIN stated that it would invest $11.3 million AUD in energy-efficient15 programs, we have yet to see the company do the right thing for the planet.
- convenient fitting in well with a person’s needs, activities, and plans ↩︎
- fast fashion cheap stylish clothing that are quickly made to reach stores ↩︎
- quarantined remained apart for a period of time to prevent transmissions of viruses ↩︎
- unicorn company a privately held startup valued over $1 billion ↩︎
- partnering with (to partner with) to take part with one another in an activity ↩︎
- #SheinHauls An online trend where SHEIN buyers presented their purchases on video ↩︎
- consumerism the idea that increasing consumption is a desirable goal ↩︎
- scrutiny critical observation or examination ↩︎
- abiding (to abide) accept or act in accordance with (a rule, decision, or recommendation) ↩︎
- withheld refuse to give, hold back ↩︎
- landfill the disposal of waste material by burying it ↩︎
- unsustainable not able to be maintained at the current rate or level ↩︎
- damaging causing a detrimental, negative effect ↩︎
- disposable intended to be thrown away after use ↩︎
- energy-efficient the use of less energy to perform the same task ↩︎
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