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I only ever hear about Shein in a negative light. It's never been entirely clear to me why Forever21's and H&M's disposable clothing is somehow morally superior

I only ever hear about Shein in a negative light. It's never been entirely clear to me why Forever21's and H&M's disposable clothing is somehow morally superior to Shein's.

llsf 3y ago
Not 100% sure, but it look like with "Shein drops up to 10,000 new items on its website daily" (source: https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1204983212/shein-america-fast-fashion-legal-issues https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1204983212/shein-america-fast...), it is H&M and Zara on steroids. The expiration date on clothes is so short that now transporting it by boat is not too slow, and they have to take plane. (writing this post, while wearing 4yo jeans, and 5yo t-shirt)
- tcdent 3y ago
  I think people just look at the price and assume it must be terrible, somehow. Fast fashion gets a bad rap because of the assumptions about consumer behavior and labor. Almost all clothing is terrible for the environment and for the people manufacturing it, anyway. I have many H&M items that are nearly a decade old and are still wearable.
  - llsf 3y ago
    As long as the piece is durable, it should be fine. I might be extreme, as I prefer fewer stuff of better quality, that last years. Like a pair of jeans that I can wear every day for years.
flappyeagle 3y ago
They are remarkably less disposable. That's how bad Shein is. I worked in the industry in a past life and I've seen how the sausage is made. Shein has got the nastiest sausage.
StopHammoTime 3y ago
It has been alleged that Shein uses forced labor to make its products (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/01/shein-china-congress-forced-labor-inquiry.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/01/shein-china-congress-forced-...). Anecdotally, I have heard that there is three towns where a predominant amount of Shein clothes are made and while people are free to leave, they’re paid in “company bucks” akin to company towns in the late 1800s/early 1900s US.
- ceejayoz 3y ago
  H&M (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/business/xinjiang-china-cotton-brands.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/business/xinjiang-china-c...) and Zara (https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Retail/Uniqlo-Zara-owners-face-new-Paris-lawsuit-over-Uyghur-forced-labor https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Retail/Uniqlo-Zara-owners-f...) have been accused of the same. Forever 21 has a direct parnership with Shein (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/24/shein-strikes-deal-with-fast-fashion-retailer-forever-21.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/24/shein-strikes-deal-with-fast...). If you're buying a t-shirt for under $20, forced labor is probably somewhere in the supply chain.
  - ntsrnrrt 3y ago
    [dead]
spondylosaurus 3y ago
I still have a few things from F21 and H&M that I bought 7-10 years ago. Definitely the exception and not the rule, but I don't think any Shein clothing can last even a fraction as long as that.
pikelet 3y ago
They steal designs from independent fashion designers (because designing their own clothes would cost too much I guess). It's also the volume with Shein. They produce so much crap at such low prices and it's all just dumped into an already struggling environment. Shein is far from the only one, but it's the most obvious and well known example.

I only ever hear about Shein in a negative light. It's never been entirely clear to me why Forever21's and H&M's disposable clothing is somehow morally superior to Shein's.

llsf 3y ago

Not 100% sure, but it look like with "Shein drops up to 10,000 new items on its website daily" (source: https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1204983212/shein-america-fast-fashion-legal-issues https://www.npr.org/2023/10/13/1204983212/shein-america-fast...), it is H&M and Zara on steroids. The expiration date on clothes is so short that now transporting it by boat is not too slow, and they have to take plane. (writing this post, while wearing 4yo jeans, and 5yo t-shirt)

tcdent 3y ago
I think people just look at the price and assume it must be terrible, somehow. Fast fashion gets a bad rap because of the assumptions about consumer behavior and labor. Almost all clothing is terrible for the environment and for the people manufacturing it, anyway. I have many H&M items that are nearly a decade old and are still wearable.
- llsf 3y ago
  As long as the piece is durable, it should be fine. I might be extreme, as I prefer fewer stuff of better quality, that last years. Like a pair of jeans that I can wear every day for years.

flappyeagle 3y ago

They are remarkably less disposable. That's how bad Shein is. I worked in the industry in a past life and I've seen how the sausage is made. Shein has got the nastiest sausage.

StopHammoTime 3y ago

It has been alleged that Shein uses forced labor to make its products (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/01/shein-china-congress-forced-labor-inquiry.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/01/shein-china-congress-forced-...). Anecdotally, I have heard that there is three towns where a predominant amount of Shein clothes are made and while people are free to leave, they’re paid in “company bucks” akin to company towns in the late 1800s/early 1900s US.

ceejayoz 3y ago
H&M (https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/business/xinjiang-china-cotton-brands.html https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/06/business/xinjiang-china-c...) and Zara (https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Retail/Uniqlo-Zara-owners-face-new-Paris-lawsuit-over-Uyghur-forced-labor https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Retail/Uniqlo-Zara-owners-f...) have been accused of the same. Forever 21 has a direct parnership with Shein (https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/24/shein-strikes-deal-with-fast-fashion-retailer-forever-21.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/24/shein-strikes-deal-with-fast...). If you're buying a t-shirt for under $20, forced labor is probably somewhere in the supply chain.
- ntsrnrrt 3y ago
  [dead]

spondylosaurus 3y ago

I still have a few things from F21 and H&M that I bought 7-10 years ago. Definitely the exception and not the rule, but I don't think any Shein clothing can last even a fraction as long as that.

pikelet 3y ago

They steal designs from independent fashion designers (because designing their own clothes would cost too much I guess). It's also the volume with Shein. They produce so much crap at such low prices and it's all just dumped into an already struggling environment. Shein is far from the only one, but it's the most obvious and well known example.