shein, sheout: the horror industry that is fast fashion

A fun fact I learned today is that it takes approximately 2700 tons of water to make one cotton shirt. That’s enough water for one person for 2 1/2 years! (1) I never realized just how much water and energy goes into making one single item of clothing, but the more I looked into it, the more I was horrified at what I discovered.

The first time I heard about Shein was in high school. I had long since stopped letting my mother buy my own clothes (who else was a sassy 2-year-old that insisted on dressing themselves?), and needed to find cute styles but for cheap. Some friends at school had mentioned this site, and since then I started receiving ads for it all over the Internet.

Before Shein, I frequently shopped at Forever21. Again, I was heavily on the lookout for cute styles and CHEAP.

Little did I know that cheap came with a price.

Soon after graduation, once I became more interested in the thrifting scene, I started noticing a lot of Shein lying around the thrift stores: cute but low-quality graphic tees, blouses with thin material, and no identifiable tag in sight. Don’t get me wrong. I’d much rather these pieces of clothing end up in a thrift store to be bought and worn again instead of ending up in a landfill, but the general idea got me thinking. Now this is just speculation, but it’s almost as if people are getting rid of their Shein purchases because they don’t last as long as good quality clothing should.

I get it. The price tag is super appealing. Especially when you don’t have a lot of shopping cash just lying around. But if you have the funds to buy higher-quality that is a) going to last you a much longer time, and b) stay in style long enough for you to get your money’s worth out of, then DO IT!

I firmly believe that no one is a bad person for purchasing clothing from sites like Shein, Romwe, etc. For a lot of people, even people like myself, that’s all we can afford. The best way to purchase fast-fashion guilt-free is to actually get your money’s worth out of it. Don’t purchase a $3 shirt from Shein just to wear it once and then never again. Buy styles that a) pair well with other clothing & accessories you already have, and b) you know you will wear for a long time.

You may have heard the term, “You vote with your dollars.” In this economy, this could not be more true! Nowadays, it takes a LOT for consumers to trust brands. Everyday, more and more information is coming out about companies and brands who don’t operate ethically, and/or may tell some little white lies. For example, the food that we eat. We can choose better options to show brands that we want MORE affordable/accessible options, and the same goes for fashion. Rather than spending $200 on a Shein haul for a bunch of items of clothing that you will end up throwing out in a few weeks, why not use that money to buy a handful of pieces that are better quality and will be closet staples for you for years to come?

“But Allie, why is fast fashion so bad?” I’m so glad you asked. Consider the below reasons when it comes to fast fashion. At the very least, I want you to shift your mindset around fast fashion, and encourage you to be a more mindful consumer—something everyone, myself included, could be better at.

Fast fashion gets its name from just that: it’s quite literally, fast fashion. Have you noticed how quickly some brands are pumping out new styles? Because of this, so much clothing is thrown out. And if you weren’t aware by now, recycling in the US is a myth. “The fast fashion model leads consumers to view clothing as disposable; thus, while the average consumer spends less for twice the amount of clothes, a significant amount of textile waste is also being generated, posing a threat to water quality.” (2)

Did you know that “washing clothes releases 500,000 tons of microfibres into the ocean each year, the equivalent of 50 billion plastic bottles?” (3) These microfibers come from low-quality textiles that fast fashion brands like H&M, Forever21, and Shein use. As you can see, the environmental impact from this alone is massive.

A report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (self-defined as “a non-profit organisation that creates evidence-based original research on the benefits of a circular economy, and how it can contribute to solving global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss.” (4)) revealed that $500 billion is lost every year due to clothing that is “barely worn and never recycled” and could potentially cause fast fashion to be responsible for a quarter of the world’s carbon budget by 2050. (5) What this means is that if these clothing companies don’t start making better efforts convert to greener, sustainable business models, carbon emissions from fast fashion are only going to exponentially increase and it will be too late to reverse any of the damage.

Aside from the many, many, many negative environmental impacts that come from fast fashion, there are social impacts as well. Child labor, inhumane work conditions, working for nothing, the list goes on. Millions of young women and children are forced into factories for hours on end without food, water, restroom breaks, or a breath of fresh air. I found this really interesting website by the US Department of Labor where you can search a list of goods produced by child labor and where it is produced. After searching “Garments”, I was able to scroll through a list of countries that produced garments (and other goods) by utilizing child labor/forced child labor. This information was really eye-opening because it really puts into perspective at what the cost is for fast fashion.

Unfortunately, sometimes that cost is lives. In 2013, a garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing thousands of workers. “Just a day before the collapse, the building was briefly evacuated when cracks appeared in the walls. However, workers were later allowed back in or told to return by the factory owners.” (6)

As much as I’d love to go on and on about the harmful effects of fast fashion, I think my point has been made. All in all, the point of this post is to bring attention and awareness to a subject that I don’t see companies talking enough about. As one person, I cannot change the world. I wish that this post would solve all of the climate change issues and environmental problems that arise as a result of fast fashion. The reality is, the only thing that is going to change the trajectory of this industry and how it’s going to affect the world in the future, is the brands. The clothing companies. It is up to them to change their business models and invest in more sustainable options. And that is why I say, VOTE WITH YOUR DOLLARS! Be a more mindful consumer! LESS IS MORE!

As I mentioned before, one person changing their shopping habits isn’t going to minimize the effects of the FF industry. But there are things that you can do individually that can help other people, by changing their shopping habits or bringing awareness to a topic that they otherwise had no clue about.

Obviously, you can thrift and purchase clothing from better companies. Beyond voting with your dollars, you can…

Vote for politicians who advocate for action to be taken against climate change

Use your social media platforms to be vocal about this important issue

Join a community of like-minded individuals who are focused on making little, every day changes that add up

Do your own research! There is TONS of information about the fast fashion industry on the Internet, and my blog post definitely barely skims the surface.

I challenge you to be a bit more mindful about where you spend your hard-earned money. Do you want to give it to companies like Shein who contribute to fast fashion? Or, do you want to purchase from companies that are making real, genuine efforts to create sustainable products and promote ethical business models?

Again, I don’t want this to come across as shameful if you do purchase from fast fashion brands. I just want to bring awareness to people about a topic that is heavy on my heart daily, and I wanted to share that with others. My goal is for you to leave this with the goal of being a more mindful consumer!

Don’t forget to comment if you learned something! <3