Shein and Their Environmental Impact

Shein and Their Anti-Environmental Impact

Shein is good for our wallets bad for the planet

• Shein is very appealing to young adults who want trendy clothes but do not have the funds to support them. Through AI Shein can stay trendy by predicting the newest fashion trends.
• The company quickly manufactures these clothes. This causes the clothes to not be of great quality and have a short lifespan. Promoting the wasteful mindset of only wearing these items a few times, throwing them away, and buying new clothes to continue to fit in with current fashion trends. Not to mention all the microplastics that are let out every time you wash these clothes.

• The wasteful mindset is not the only thing they are guilty of:
• Excess carbon emission
• Water and soil pollution and toxic chemicals
• Harm to wildlife and degradation of land
• Unethical practices and working conditions
• Intellectual property infringement and design theft

Sheins claim on their website

https://us.shein.com/sustainability-social-impact-a-1183.html

Reference:

• At what cost? unraveling the harms of the Fast Fashion Industry. At What Cost? Unravelling the Harms of the Fast Fashion Industry. (n.d.). https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/fast_fashion#:~:text=The%20pollution%20introduced%20by%20the,change%20from%20anthropogenic%20greenhouse%20gas
• Bangalore, S. (2023, August 11). Shein’s mounting ethical concerns may be pushing some gen z shoppers to look elsewhere. CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/shein-controversy-why-is-it-so-popular/
• Dawkins, J. O., & Mayer, G. (2023, December 18). Shein has filed to go public and is reportedly seeking up to $90 billion valuation. here’s how the fast-fashion brand chartered a meteoric rise. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-shein-billion-dollar-fast-fashion-company-explained-2023-7#in-2022-shein-was-worth-more-than-hm-and-zara-combined-6
• Gamino, D. (2024, February 9). The environmental impact of Shein: Is fast fashion sustainable?. Eco. https://www.eco-stylist.com/environmental-impact-of-shein/
• Rajvanshi, A., & Johnson, A. D. (2023, January 17). Shein’s fast fashion domination comes at a high cost. Time. https://time.com/6247732/shein-climate-change-labor-fashion/
• Ramirez, I. (2023, November 14). It’s time to break up with fast fashion. Vox. https://www.vox.com/even-better/2023/11/14/23955673/fast-fashion-shein-hauls-environment-human-rights-violations
• Rauturier, S. (2023, August 7). What is fast fashion and why is it so bad?. Good On You. https://goodonyou.eco/what-is-fast-fashion/

Shein is a online retailer that sells cheap trendy clothes online globally through fast fashion.

According to the article "What Is Fast Fashion and Why Is It So Bad?" by Solene Rauturier "Fast fashion can be defined as cheap, trendy clothing that samples ideas from the catwalk or celebrity culture and turns them into garments at breakneck speed to meet consumer demand."

Why is this bad?

According to the article "At What Cost? Unravelling the Harms of the Fast Fashion Industry." by the Center for Biological Diversity.

The process of manufacturing these clothes produces waste at every stage.

• It harms wildlife, degrades land, and pollutes soil and water.
• It adds unnecessary carbon to the atmosphere. Fast fashion is responsible for as much as 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
• It creates a wasteful mindset. People are constantly buying new clothes that do not last because of the poor quality and ultimately end up in the land fields.

How Shein became to be

• 2008 Sky Xu (CEO and Billionaire) started the business
• Shein originally sold wedding dresses online that were made in China.
• 2015 it rebranded to the fast fashion apparel it is now known for
• 2020 the pandemic allowed the brand to boom because of online shopping
• 2022 the company is now worth $100 billion
• The company relies on influencers to promote their brand
• Faces backlash over labor practices and fast fashion's role in pollution

"Shein's mounting ethical concerns may be pushing some Gen Z shoppers to look elsewhere"

By Sanvi Bangalore on CBS News

"Extremely low prices and its expertise in ever-changing clothing trends have boosted Shein to become the world's largest online-only retailer"

"Shein Is the World’s Most Popular Fashion Brand—at a Huge Cost to Us All" By Time Magazine

"Most environmental waste and damage comes from overconsumption, so to be truly green and sustainable, you don't want people to buy as often," Saunders said. "Shein are the ones that are taking fast-fashion to superspeed, leading to an enormous amount of unnecessary and disposable consumption, and that's not great for the environment."

https://time.com/6247732/shein-climate-change-labor-fashion/

"It’s time to break up with fast fashion"

By Izzie Ramirez on Vox

"Its biggest selling point is the low pricing of clothes that are shipped to more than 150 countries and regions worldwide, catering to women in their teens and 20s."

https://us.shein.com/sustainability-social-impact-a-1183.html

"Every piece of clothing comes with two costs: the one we pay as consumers and the actual one, which takes into account the climate effects of production and shipping and the impact on the people who make the production and shipping possible."

"...same amount of CO2 as approximately 180 coal-fired power plants..."