SHEIN IS MUCH WORSE THAN ALL OTHER FAST FASHION BRANDS // here is why

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[Gittemary]

This video is sponsored by Wren! Offset your carbon footprint on Wren: wren.co/start/gittemary The first 100 people who sign up will have their first monthly donation covered by Wren for free!

[paolaferrero]

I discovered about the existence of Shein through my middle school students. Talking with them I realized, in horror, that they use it to buy clothing and accessories every single week....My students argued that since it is so cheap they too can afford it, otherwise they wouldn't be able to buy any clothes. I counterpointed by saying that should simply buy less but it didn't register with them, they are obsessed with being trendy (Tik Tok and Instagram are to blame for that...). So, I will use your video in class next year to spark a debate, maybe they'll listen to you! 😅😂

[mnmgirl]

They’re also clogging secondhand shops which is driving me crazy. Yes all clothes should be given a second life, but no one should’ve bought it in the first place 😭

[missw.]

I hate the “I deserve to be happy!” exscuse when it comes to overconsumption. Happiness cannot be bought, that’s the biggest lie consumerism is telling you. Sadly, there’s a lot of brands/influences/etc. trying to convince you it’s true because their paycheck depends on it.

[smilingleoz]

I recently had a wedding to go to and was having trouble finding a second hand dress for it that I liked. I live in Spain where second hand clothes shops are relatively few and far between and coupled with hte fact that sizing in Spain is generally not very inclusive, finding anything in my size is always difficult, both in second hand clothes shops and in regular shops. When I talked to a friend of mine she recommended Shein because they have a line of fashionable, trendy clothing specially for curvier, bigger sizes without making them look just plain and boring, but actually have bright colours, patterns and trendy styles. I told her I didn't want to support such a terrible company and she also said that "there is no ethical consumption in capitalism". I'm afraid it didn't work for me, I couldn't bring myself to do it and I ended up buying a dress from a local shop in their sales just 3 days before the wedding, but I was so happy that I avoided the Shein trap! I'm sending this video to my friend right now, because she still doesn't understand why I was so against buying in Shein. Thank you for your wonderful, informative, easy to follow and understand videos, they help me a lot!

[melinnamba]

We really need a shift in mindset. If people don't feel the need to look trendy and current all the time, companies can't convince them they need to buy a new wardrobe every week. I have developed my own unique style and I get compliments for it all the time. That never happened when I was wearing fast fashion and desperatly tryed to look trendy and current. People don't actually appreciate mainstream fashion. They just think they do. Find your own style, use your clothes to express yourself and not blindly model the latest trends. It's so much more rewarding. And it makes you love that old sweater, that is so last year, but refects your personality perfectly. At the pace fast fashion is going no one can keep track of the latest trends anyway.

[JANUARY]

I'm equally scared and intrigued by Shein's popularity. In last two weeks alone, I've overheard or been a part of three conversation regarding Shein. From what I've gathered, majority of people have some understanding of how bad it is, especially environmentally, but don't care enough to quit shopping there. Conversation a) someone says to my coworker 'wow, nice top, where did you get it?', 'oh, thanks, I got it from Shein. I kind of know it's bad for the environment but couldn't resist some of the clothes' (this was followed by a number of excuses and reasons why she wanted to buy from them and why it's ok because she tries to do other things for environment, regardless the conclusion was, she'd still purchase from shein. Conversation b) again between two of my co-workers, one of them is a plus-size person and was explaining to another she struggles with 'traditional' shopping in regular shops therefore mainly shops online and found Shein super high quality. Again, she mentioned she's aware it's bad for environment but she likes their clothes so meh, she'll keep buying. She also said, she buys her daughter's clothes off Shein because the child looks cute in them 🥴 third conversation was between me and my family member, who was very excited to tell me that she found this website with cheap clothes and I must try, enter the Shein. I told her all I've heard about how bad Shein is but again I've been met with another 'meh' moment. She said it's so cheap that she'll keep buying as she can get so many designs for price that cannot be compared to any other outlet.
I think as you said, we need a shift in our thinking in order to see a change in big brands' behaviour but these few conversations I've had or heard recently have left me somewhat pessimistic. I don't sit in anyone's wallet but these people don't struggle financially to have to depend on shein to buy clothes. It's mainly because Shein offers so many designs (many of them apparently stolen from small designers) for so cheap, it offers so much more possible outfit variations than any other brand. I also get it's frustrating to shop when you're not in a standard size range but is Shein really the only choice?
I also remember helping during welcome week at university I work at, I was assigned to do some little jobs around student halls like greet new students etc and I saw massive amounts of Shein deliveries every day for two weeks I was there. I feel like we are all desensitised to impact fast-fashion has on fellow humans and environment. We kind of know it's bad because we've heard already that children in China work for proverbial 'bowl of rice' but we just accept it is what it is because we can't see and feel the actual struggle so all we get is this pretty product for super low price. We don't see polluted water, piles of thrown away clothes and more, all we see again is a pretty product for cheap. I don't know why we don't make connections and can't be a bit more mindful about what we consume. I always feel like a party pooper for ever bringing up the topic of fast fashion because I always get dismissed, called boring or hypocrite because I also wear clothes 🥴 well, thank you for talking about it.

[CecilieSHoejberg]

I've never bought anything from Shein, but the brand has popped up on my social media many times. It makes me nauseous to think of the work environment for their workers 😫 Thanks for this video.

[Naomi-rrmf]

I was in a bridal party recently where the group wanted everyone to wear matching PJs 1 night and they really wanted everyone to buy the same pair from shein. Needless to say I got a similar style from somewhere else, and it was totally worth not wearing garbage made by child slaves. A few of the girls in the group were annoyed but really who cares

[YKKY]

I hate Shein with all of my might. But I must say one thing.... they and other fast fashion brands do one thing well, catering to plus size people. I struggle to buy clothes for my frame of 180cm and size 16/46 here in Slovakia and in surrounding countries is no better. I even ventured to say Danish or Dutch websites to buy plus size jeans but they don't ship to Slovakia. So we are stuck in perpetual cycle of shopping shitty clothes in shitty shops if we are not wafer thin and tiny :(

[miramare]

Not to forget how the workers started seeking help through the tags on the clothes, it is so heartbreaking, no human should go through these types of things 😥

[ChueshDash]

The society has needed a video like this for a long while! While China has a massive variety of garment business models, from straightforward sweatshops to niché Shanghai-based brands, the overall situation is: if it's cheap, it's cheap for a reason.

[lucycollison]

I try my hardest to only buy second-hand clothes, mainly from charity shops, but occasionally, I need a specific piece of clothing urgently, so I have to buy from a fast fashion company. However, I will NEVER support Shein.

[madarapuce]

I see many Shein hauls here on Youtube and I choose to not watch them in hope to decrease "the click count" on those videos and affect the algorythm. Also the clothes look so bad, that I (with a fashion degree) can't stand them.
Hoping for a change in the fast fashion industry 🤞

[neurolotte]

Everybody deserves to feel beautiful, that's true... But there is no beauty in what Shein and the fast fashion industry in general has to offer. I wish there was more awareness about all this, so thank you for making this kind of video, Gittemary! Will be showing this around a lot!

[saramorris]

I used to shop at SHEIN and thought it was the best thing because of how many deals you can get on their website. I used to abuse a coupon they had and would buy clothes at the $50 mark (for free shipping) or actively buy clothes and other stuff when shipping was free on a certain day. I thought I was getting such a good deal, like I was sticking it to the man, but man, I don't know where even half the stuff I bought has went (and it was over $500 worth of stuff). Needless to say, the garments (and other things like home decor and kitchenware) turned out to be crap quality in the long run. Since hearing about the impact fast fashion has on the environment, I truly regret making those purchases and I try to make use out of the stuff I bought from them that I still have. At the same time, their marketing design is incredibly addicting and I still thought about traversing the site for weeks after promising myself I would stop buying their products, so I can see how other SHEIN customers can get trapped in their marketing practices.

[anastasijajanaroze]

Great analysis, Gittemary, as always! Makes me very sad though that people care so little about the impact of the cheap fast fashion brands😢

[cristoaldantes]

Overconsumption of fashion is the real issue in my opinion. Even if someone still buys from fast fashion, if they drastically reduce the amount of garments they buy annually from the same fast fashion store (choosing to only buy 20 pieces instead of 60), it makes a huge difference.

I still have several pieces that I wear consistently that I have kept for several years - that were bought from fast fashion stores such as GAP, H&M, Forever21, and Macy's.

The clothes that are from fast fashion that is falling apart or no longer wearable - I repurpose them into a quilt.

Buying second hand and reducing how much clothes we buy overall is the best way of saving our money and planet.

[scarlettsmoak]

I shop quite a bit on Vinted and I’ve seen so much Shein on there, a lot of repeat specific clothing especially. It’s so obvious that people are buying into trends and then discarding them not too long after. Which…as someone who holds onto clothes for at least a few years, it’s crazy to me to buy clothes to wear for a short amount of time.

[flourishplantman]

I'm happy to say that before I cared about sustainability, I always wore my clothes until I couldn't fit or if they broke, and that certainly won't change now. And, I've never shopped at that store, and thats not foing to change.