Scrolling through Shein feels like an insane sensory overload. There are a dozen different versions of the exact same top — some in different colors, some strapless, some with sparkles and some without. Most college girls choose to shop off Shein because it’s cheap, always has new styles and if something doesn’t fit, you just return it. However, Shein and its counterparts are part of an ever-growing fast fashion industry creating disastrous effects on our environment and their labor pools.
Shein is a part of the fast fashion culture that is rapidly taking over the world. The low prices and convenience work well for people living busy lifestyles. The company releases nearly 10,000 new products a day. This high volume encourages terrible environmental practices and has caused countless workers’ rights violations within their factories.
The company has long been under fire for having questionable standards for their workers. This past June, a viral TikTok pointed out concerning messages written on Shein clothing tags. These tags were littered with messages like “Help Me,” “SOS” and “I am in pain.” Shein responded to these messages and claimed that they were just awkwardly worded translations.
These messages were just the initial signs of the questionable and illegal activity happening within China’s Shein factories. Channel 4, a UK broadcasting company, recently went undercover in two of Shein’s factories in Guangzhou, China. They uncovered a myriad of workers’ rights violations and disturbing details about how the company operates.
According to Sangeeta Singh-Kurtz, a reporter from The Cut, the undercover investigation revealed that Shein workers receive a base salary of 4,000 yuan per month. This is roughly $556 per month to make 500 pieces of clothing on a daily basis. If workers make any mistakes, their first month’s pay is withheld from them. Employees work nearly 18 hours a day and get one day off per month. Conditions in these factories are so bad that women were seen washing their hair during their lunch breaks.
Consumers of Shein products are woefully unaware of the terrible impact this corporation has not only on its workers, but also on the environment. Dilys Williams, a reporter from The Guardian, writes about the disturbing truth behind this throwaway form of fast fashion. The sheer amount of products that Shein releases promotes a culture of “wear it and throw it away.”
Shein also practices the “test and repeat” model; the company produces 50 to 100 of each item, and if an item doesn’t sell, all those products go straight to the landfill. This is immensely wasteful and leaves an atrocious carbon footprint for the corporation. Williams refers to Shein as going beyond fast fashion — becoming an “ultra fast fashion” corporation.
Shein has become one of the largest e-commerce giants, surpassing both Zara and H&M. This past year, Shein passed Amazon as the most-downloaded online shopping app. The rise of Shein brings up major concerns about the future of fashion and wardrobe trends. Overconsumption, constantly evolving fads and unethically produced clothing have taken over the face of modern fashion. Our spending habits are bringing us closer and closer to catastrophic environmental concerns.
Continuing to purchase off Shein only promotes the company’s unethical behavior. Convenience is not worth the cost of human lives. At the end of the day, you vote with your dollar. A couple bucks for you can cost another person’s life and compromise the future of the planet.
