In a new world where shopping for clothes is a daily activity for some, it is no doubt that companies have to change their business models to keep up. The ever-increasing demand to buy forces companies to come up with new ways to meet expectations from consumers to keep their businesses afloat. Most things are not always as good as they seem on the outside, and big companies in the fashion industry are no exception, sometimes at the cost of the workers who make their business possible.
One of the most notable fast-fashion companies, SHEIN, rose to popularity in just months, rivaling companies that have been in the industry for decades. SHEIN takes the concept of fast-fashion, and takes it to the extreme, releasing roughly 6,000 items per day, which counts to over 2 million items per year. With so many items in their catalog, how do they keep up in factories? The answer lies in forced labor factories in primarily China's clothing market. People working for them were reportedly paid 4 cents per garment, and their shifts could last up to 18 hours. These factories ignore working laws and abuse workers who have no other jobs to turn to keep a roof above their heads.
In addition to bad working conditions, SHEIN has also been caught in controversy for stealing art and offensive designs. A painting by Vanessa Bowman was stolen by the fast-fashion company and put on a garment without her knowledge, and she only found out when another company reached out to her to make sure she gave SHEIN permission to use her design. Vanessa is only one of the many cases of stolen artwork with the company. They have also been under fire for offensive items such as a necklace featuring a swastika and phone cases with racist imagery. The company does not attempt to take proper accountability, either posting vague, disingenuine apologies or just flat-out ignoring concerns in order to bring as little attention to the situation as possible.
Another infamous fast-fashion company is Fashion Nova. Similar to SHEIN, the company was found to have bad working conditions. Mercedes Cortes, a worker who made garments for Fashion Nova for a few months recalled having to deal with rats and cockroaches while only being paid $4.66 an hour. Though it is better than SHEIN's rates, it is not enough to live comfortably at all.
With the harsh demands of fast-fashion companies, workers have to create garments as quickly as possible to put food on the table. This often leads to poor quality in the garment. Not only are they generally provided with low-quality fabrics to work with, but the overall construction of the garment will also suffer as they have to make clothing so quickly. Consumers will often have to throw out or donate clothes after only a few uses. Though donating clothes is a great thing to do, donating these bad-quality garments clogs second-hand stores. People who can only afford to buy second-hand now have to resort to cheaply-made clothing that is already worn down.
Why do companies have such a big disregard for their effect on our world? Money is often the reason. The little money workers are paid leaves all the more money to go to the people higher up in the company. I feel as though it is important to pay workers well because without them, the company would not be able to function. The workers do all the hard work while the people who benefit from them do little to none to contribute. The least fast-fashion companies can do is to properly reward their workers for allowing their company to grow to what it is today. But at the end of the day, as long as higher-ups get their paychecks, nothing is going to change.
- Sandy
Sources:
https://www.eco-stylist.com/its-time-to-find-ethical-alternatives-to-fast-fashion-giant-shein/
https://www.ivpressonline.com/open/the-struggle-between-consumerism-and-sustainability/article_fba8a33e-6c24-11ec-90ee-e345b5fa426d.html
https://hbr.org/2019/07/the-elusive-green-consumer
https://observer.com/2022/12/after-a-uk-documentary-revealed-abuses-shein-says-it-will-spend-15-million-improving-labor-conditions/#:~:text=The%20documentary%20reported%20Shein%20garment,last%20up%20to%2018%20hours.
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/mar/06/they-took-my-world-fashion-giant-shein-accused-of-art-theft
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/business/fashion-nova-underpaid-workers.html
Your blog was very cool to read and I can definitely tell you've done a lot of research and know what you're talking about! I agree with you, I feel like fast fashion needs to be talked more about and more well known. Good blog! C:
ReplyDeleteI really like this blog because it looks like you've compiled a lot of research to support your point, making it even better. I like the use of personal accounts of people in order to show the real experience of someone impacted by fast fashion, and it makes your topic feel more real. I never really knew that much about fast fashion, and this was an interesting narrative that introduced me to its flaws.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting blog! Super well written, and on a really cool topic! I always see people with $600 Shein hauls and I find it really disgusting that they're willing to spend that much money on something so poorly made. The polyester (basically plastic) clothes fall apart and are thrown away in weeks, and this waste of plastic plus the packaging, with all of the clothing wrapped individually in plastic bags, is super bad for the environment. That was always my main problem with the company but I never knew how poorly the workers are treated! This blog was super well written and brought up some really good points. Great job!
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting! I knew about SHEIN underpaying their workers, but I had no idea Fashion Nova did it too or that SHEIN had other controversies. Fast fashion is really difficult to manage because of how many people have supported and still support these companies. I think you did a good job bringing awareness about what fast fashion does to people!
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