Hi friends. If you have been on Twitter recently, then you know that there has been a discussion over the ethics of shopping at Shein. If you don't know what Shein is, Shein is an online fast-fashion company that sells just about anything you can think of, but primarily is known for it's trendy clothing. Shein has been around for a while, but I think that in the last two years it has established itself as a mainstream fashion company. So much so that it would be hard to find someone who has not heard of the brand. So, what's the problem with Shein? Let's start with the basics. Shein is a fast-fashion company. Shein is not the only fast-fashion company to exist, I'm sure some of your favorites are on the list such as H & M, Gap, Zara, Forever21, Fashionnova, Express so on and so on. I believe that just about every chain retail store you can find in a mail is the result of fast-fashion. But, wait let me slow down, what is fast-fashion? Fast-fashion is clothing that is made rapidly to meet the demands of popular trends going on in the world at the present moment in time. Fast-fashion is usually made from materials like polyester that are cheap to produce, and as a result cheap to buy. However, the problem with fast-fashion is that it usually generates an excessive amount of waste and relies upon child labor and factories with poor working regulations. Fast-fashion, and companies like Shein, are only aiding in the climate crisis and they need to be regulated immediately.
However, the debate that has arisen on Twitter is whether we as consumers should be buying from Shein. The two sides of the debate, very broadly, go like this: one side says that we should not buy from Shein because it is unethical and we should be buying sustainable fashion, while the other side says that it's understandable why people buy from Shein because poor and fat people should not be denied access to clothing that makes them feel and look good. These are very broad summaries of the arguments and I will get into them more.
Diving deeper into the opposing argument, this group believes that consumers should avoid buying from Shein. They bring up, rightfully so, the harms of the labor required to produce these clothes and the harms the waste produced from people rapidly cycling through these fashions creates to our environment. Again, perfectly valid arguments. However, sometimes where this group faces backlash is when the other side presents the accessibility factor. Yes, Shein's clothes are cheaper than those that appear in other brands. Where else can you buy 10 trendy outfits for under $100 without having to extreme couponing or wait for a sale? No one can deny that Shein, and other fast-fashion brands, present ease and accessibility to in-style options. Yet, Shein is one of the worst, if not, the worst brand when it comes to just how much waste they produce. But, I don't want to ignore the other side. Those in favor of buying from Shein, at least the arguments I've seen, is that Shein presents an option for poor and/or fat people to be included in fashion. Should you be denied the option to feel good about how you look simply because you can't afford it? Should you be denied the option to feel good about how you look simply because the industry chooses to deny you clothing you can actually fit?
And let's not be dense and act like appearance isn't a major factor in how we determine value of other human beings in this world. It's not something trivial that people in support of buying from Shein are trying to protect access to, and for that reason, I truly understand where they are coming from.
At the same time, we must acknowledge that a large amount of the people buying from Shein are middle-class people who can afford to not buy from Shein. That and they can afford to pay a little more for clothing that will last longer. Yes, there is no ethical consumption under capitalism, but must we choose the most unethical option? I feel like we are taking advantage of a cheap option, understandably so, even though we have the means to choose something else. Something that will last, and something that won't hurt other people, and eventually, ourselves.
If all these fast-fashion brands produced the same amount of waste then I wouldn't have much to say, but...friends... The most annoying thing people do with this argument, from the opposing side, is tell people to buy from sustainable brands or brands other than Shein, and then list the most expensive stores with the least inclusive, ugliest, clothes known to man. Like, it makes the whole argument so unserious.
My ask to you is is to just limit what you purchase from Shein. I do not expect you to boycott the brand, if you want to that's great, but that's not what I'm expecting. If the demand goes down, the amount of stuff they produce will go down. I will be transparent and say that I own exactly 5 items from Shein. Two skirts (white and black), a dress, and two shirts. They were all necessities to my wardrobe. The dress was admittedly a stupid buy--I have never worn it. I also have only worn the white skirt once, el oh el. Oh, and the second shirt has never left my home. Wait-
Don't let Shein be your go to, check out the website as a last resort.
I'm sure you know the spiel, but I'll put it here just in case it's useful to someone:
- Thrift, if you're comfortable with that. The bigger stores have some pretty good stuff for some pretty low prices (even still with thrifting being popular now). You never know what you'll find, and it feels good to give a piece of clothing a second life when you know it could've been trashed.
- Speaking of trashed, don't throw your clothes out and don't hoard them if you don't wear em. DONATE!! My mom has always given away our clothes--it was usually to Goodwill, but she is really good at finding specific people or churches she can give them to so we know someone is getting them for free.
- Return shit you don't like. If you return it, they'll realize people don't like it and they'll stop making it. (At least that's how I imagine it happening in my mind, but probably not lolz)
- For my trendy bitches, try to cultivate a wardrobe and not just a dresser full of clothes. Put some thought into what you buy, and invest in the pieces that you can re-wear over and over again. That way in the end, you save money because you don't have to go shopping over and over again.
- Consider borrowing clothes, if it's just a night out. Need something for a party? Don't buy something brand new you'll only wear once, ask a friend first!
All in all, do what you can, but do not defend a corporation that does not give a fuck about you. If you buy everything you own from Shein, get it I guess, but don't be their PR person.
Keep in mind that this does not only apply to Shein.
Overall, this is a result of a deeper institutional problem with poor government regulations of corporations, greenwashing, and capitalism. This is not a problem that will be fixed by only consumers changing where they spend their money, nor should the burden be placed on us. The pressure needs to be on the regulations the government has in place. (What we really need is a complete undoing of corporate personhood, but that is a completely other conversation).
To conclude, I don't know a solution that would appease both sides because both have very valid aspects of their arguments. The powers at be are really letting us duke it out over Shein, ethics, and fashionability and I hate it. At the same time, something has to give. I hope the compromise I provided is taken into account, but let me know what you think.
As my mom loves to quote, stand for something or fall for anything--Malcolm X.
And always side-eye people on twitter who are quick to throw stones just to get a hit tweet and say some buzzwords. Booooo 🍅🍅🍅!
Comments