SHEIN Does Not Care
By logging into TikTok and spending merely a few minutes on the app you will stumble across #SHEINcares being used in the captions of creators to try and gain more views. You may also find yourself being shown specific SHEINcares adverts from SHEIN itself, trying to convince you that the $15 billion fast-fashion retailer is doing all it can to be ethical. The humorous thing, however, is the mere juxtaposition of the words SHEIN and cares.
In August, SHEIN launched its latest social media bombardment, SHEINcares, encouraging its devoted fans to buy products from them, because SHEIN would now be giving $300,000 to various animal welfare charities. That number seems almost pittance when you remember how many billions the retailer brings in each year, it’s almost as if they’re doing the bare minimum.
As the Chinese retailer has expanded and grown exponentially over the past couple of years, it has become a favourite amongst Gen Z and millennials alike, and it’s not hard to see why. Founded in 2008 by Chris Xu, the team behind SHEIN were frankly ingenious in their use of social media marketing, luring their desired customers by assaulting them with adverts and endorsements via Instagram, and later TikTok, influencers. It is simply impossible to go one day online, especially as a young woman of 20 years old, without seeing at least one glaringly obvious advert for the brand. It is everywhere, and it has an almost cult-like following, its Instagram having over 21 million followers, and shipping to 220 countries. It is truly global.
However, there is absolutely no way to argue against SHEIN having a significantly negative impact on the environment, it’s fast fashion on steroids. Uploading about 1,000 new items every single day, the amount of available clothing, homeware and miscellaneous items are beyond overwhelming. If this doesn’t sound too much, take into context that other infamous fast fashion brands like Misguided, release that same amount in the space of a week. With so many items available at such minuscule prices the draw of SHEIN is obvious. People want things cheap and in big quantities, thus SHEIN thrives. However, its impact does not.
The fashion industry is responsible for at least 8% of all global emissions (UN Environment, 2019). From garment creation to distribution, the impact of having so many fast fashion brands is becoming catastrophic, and as one brand rises to stardom the others try to follow suit. We find ourselves stuck in a vicious circle of fast fashion destruction. As a brand and business, SHEIN has never taken purposeful steps to reduce its carbon impact and harmful use of microplastics. Funnily enough, given the emissions sent out into the atmosphere by so many SHEIN orders you’d like to think your order would actually arrive...they often don’t. Without explaining any more, I think we can all agree that SHEIN does not care about the environment.
The company has landed in hot water for many things, including selling highly inappropriate and deeply offensive items on its website, a consequence of rushing out so many items per day. From necklaces in the shapes of swastikas and decorative Islamic prayer mats and so, so much more, SHEIN’s philosophy of “everyone can enjoy the beauty of fashion” is oxymoronic. SHEIN does not care.
SHEIN throws new items of clothing onto its website at a speed never before seen, and one way to achieve this is obvious. Stealing. SHEIN, alongside other various fast fashion brands, has become notorious for its habit of stealing designs from small businesses. Sure, sometimes a design is similar and may have been used as inspiration but a disturbing amount of times these designs are exact copies. SHEIN does not care.
According to Fashion Checker, 2020, “93% of brands surveyed by the Fashion Checker aren’t paying garment workers a living wage”. It should come as no surprise this far into this article that SHEIN is not open and honest about the conditions its workers live under, failing to disclose to the UK government its working standards, leading one to the assumption that it is not good. SHEIN does not care.
But what about animal welfare? It’s clear that with #SHEINcares, the brand wants you to believe it’s making waves in this department. Sure, it’s donating a microscopic amount of money to some charities and doesn’t use leather, exotic animal fur or skin in its products, but this is quite literally the bare minimum. Go girl, give us nothing. SHEIN does not care.
Surely you cannot say you are an advocate for animal welfare when you couldn’t give two monkeys about your workers and the impact of your environmental screw-ups on both humans and wild animals, whose habitats are being massacred. Say it with me, SHEIN does not care.
Fast fashion will never go anywhere, no matter how hard we try, but we managed with, quote-unquote, normal fast fashion, like Zara and Primark, for years. SHEIN is taking that problem and completely blowing it out of the water. Don’t be fooled here, this isn’t wholly the consumer’s fault, it is the fault of the billionaires running these exploitative businesses. While we can be taking steps to limit how much fast fashion we purchase, we must also call on these businesses to do better. SHEIN does not care, but perhaps, the day pigs fly, it actually will.
