Fine. I’ll say it.
I am a SHEIN warrior. A SHEIN feen, if you will.
But, please, spare me the lecture. I have shopped there in the past, I have an order on the way and I will continue to buy clothes from SHEIN.
SHEIN, although I certainly do spend a lot of money on their products, is a terrible corporation, and I will admit that right off of the bat. Fast fashion, not just SHEIN, contributes to pollution, worsens clothing waste, exploits and underpays laborers and promotes the stealing of designs. These are facts that I cannot and will not deny.
But, no one is saying SHEIN is a fabulous example of everything a fashion giant should be and you would be hard-pressed to find someone who would be shocked if you told them that SHEIN was not going to place as a top 50 place to work. So tragic!
What environmentalists and activists fail to recognize when blowing a fuse at SHEIN shoppers and at SHEIN is that most people who purchase clothing from places like SHEIN, Romwe, Forever 21, Amazon, Fashion Nova and H&M cannot afford more environmentally conscious clothing with safe, ethical labor practices.
Over fifty percent of Baby Boomers, over seventy percent of Gen Xers and Millenials and almost seventy percent of Gen Zers feel as though they are living from paycheck to paycheck. If the average American makes around $1,139 per week, that leaves very little extra money for clothing after things like rent or mortgage payments, food, utilities, a phone bill, car payment, car insurance, gas, student loan payments (if applicable), credit card payments, health insurance, childcare or school expenses (if applicable), pet care, savings and more. If someone is truly living paycheck to paycheck, I hate to say it, but I think they might go for Target’s $20 Wild Fable jeans (a personal favorite) over a $100 pair of Good American jeans. Inflation under the Biden administration is “on track to average 5% a year,” which makes essentials unaffordable. In 2021 and 2022, the inflation rate was almost two percent higher than that. Economics for dummies (my newest obsession) says that when inflation is high, prices are high and your money buys less and less, which includes when it’s time to buy new clothes.
High quality clothing from high end brands is often out of budget for the average American, and can we blame them? No one is choosing an Abercrombie suit over groceries when SHEIN has a similar design for probably less than half the price.
Some more hot takes: I am not responsible for the failings of international corporations and governments when it comes to environmental protections and climate change because I ordered nail glue, press-on’s and a tank top from SHEIN. I am not responsible for the failings of international corporations and governments when it comes to ethical labor and worker protections because I ordered a pajama set from SHEIN. That’s just not how it works.
I wish that I, a college student taking eighteen credits and participating in too many extracurriculars to count (did I mention an internship and a killer LSAT study schedule? Throw in some service trips, oh, and maybe a class presidency, too.), had time to work a steady part-time job, but alas, I do not. I wish I could afford to buy $100 jeans and ethically sourced sweaters, or to get my nails done for $80, but I cannot.
I can afford a $3 set of nails and a pair of $8 jeans from SHEIN, and while we’re here again, please just save your breath.