In 2021, SHEIN, a retailer based in China, overtook Amazon as one of the most downloaded applications for fashion and beauty products in the US. Its influence did not stop there. Now, SHEIN ships to more than 150 countries and is continuously expanding its outreach to customers, quickly becoming one of the largest online fashion sites globally.
(Source: https://wwd.com/sustainability/business/shein-responds-launch-targeted-investigation-following-public-eye-shopping-shein-hauls-labor-sustainability-1234999151/)
The success of SHEIN lies in its ability to surpass its competitors in its production speed, and also extremely effective marketing to Gen Z shoppers, which is its main target audience. The Atlantic alludes that SHEIN is revolutionising the fast fashion industry, turning it into ultra fast fashion. By owning its own supply chain, the producers at SHEIN are able to control the manufacturing of its products from production, distribution and to eventual sale. This has enabled it to provide around 2,800 new styles each week, at price points that are significantly lower than its counterparts (Oxford Analytica, 2021).
It is almost impossible to not encounter this brand on social media. The title of this post ‘My #SHEINhaul’, is inspired by the hashtag that has 2.6 billion views on TikTok. Many of such hauls show teenagers spending a few hundred dollars, purchasing giant orders of trendy collections. SHEIN has also partnered with many celebrities to promote its brand, encouraging their followers to purchase more by using their referral code as a means to support them. Needless to say, the proliferation of SHEIN hauls on popular social applications has essentially provided free marketing that has extended its outreach to a huge pool of consumers (me included!).
Additionally, the business model of SHEIN encourages overconsumption. The more customers spend, the more rewards they get. $150 worth of purchase buys you a 20% discount voucher, for example. Consumers are also urged to participate by leaving reviews, which they are then awarded with points that can be used to exchange for more goods.
Well, kudos to SHEIN for their marketing campaign, but no kudos to the effects they cause on the environment. These hauls reinforce consumerist cultures, encouraging buyers (often, impressionable youths) to cultivate a habit of buying and disposing as these products go out of trend quickly.
As ultra-fast fashion leverages on celebrity culture and is generally targeted at the Gen-Z, the proliferation of ultra fast fashion could jeopardise the generation’s fast fashion avoidance efforts (Utbys Nerac and Niemi, 2021).
With these massive hauls happening, what kind of culture are we perpetuating? And what happens to these garments after the hauls become irrelevant? Most importantly, how will our planet suffer from this?
COMING UP
Now that I have set the context of SHEIN and the rise of ultra fast fashion, I will continue to show how this multi-billion company has resulted in extensive environmental pollution for our planet in my next post.
Stay tuned and stay concerned,
Hui Jie
References:
Gan, Tammy. (2021, June 24). Why are massive Shein hauls so popular on TikTok?. Green Is The New Black. Retrieved from https://greenisthenewblack.com/shein-ultra-fast-fashion-consumerism-tiktok-influencer/
Hanbury, M. (2021, October 6). How China's most mysterious billion-dollar company, Shein, won over US teens and became TikTok's most-hyped fashion brand .Business Insider. Retrieved fromhttps://www.businessinsider.com/shein-china-billion-dollar-company-fast-fashion-brand-2021-8
Monroe, R. (2021, February 6). ULTRA-FAST FASHION IS EATING THE WORLD. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2021/03/ultra-fast-fashion-is-eating-the-world/617794/
Oxford Analytica. (2021). Ultra-fast fashion risks eroding sustainability gains. Emerald Expert Briefings, (oxan-db).
Utbys Nerac, A., & Niemi, V. (2021). I Would Not Buy From That Brand!: A Comparative Study of Generation X, Y, and Z’s Brand Avoidance Behaviours Towards Fast Fashion Brands.
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