Shein is a popular fast fashion brand that caters lost cost clothing, but at a price to workers and the environment.
In the Time article; Shein Is the World’s Most Popular Fashion Brand—at a Huge Cost to Us All, Shein added anywhere between 2,000 and 10,000 individual styles to its app each day between July and December of 2021!!
Shein works very much like Amazon where it has a large online marketplace with 6,000 factories in China under its label.
The low prices and vast array of clothing options comes at cost for it’s workers and the environment.
With regards labor laws, U.K.’s Channel 4 documented Shein’s employees were forced to work 17 hour shifts. In one of the factories, workers’ base salary was $20 but were docked $14 if garments were made incorrectly.
Shein has since made “significant investments to improve the working conditions of our suppliers’ facilities and will now be conducting regular audits of its factories’ working conditions.
Environmentally, Shein leaves a trail of 6.3 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere which is far below the 45% target to reduce emissions by 2030 as directed by the U.N. for the fashion industry to limit global warming.
After heated backlash, Shein announced it would spend $7.6 million on a partnership with the nonprofit, Apparel Impact Institute, which works with manufacturers to set and implement energy efficiency programs.
According to the Time article, the fashion industry is responsible for releasing more than 10 percent of carbon emissions. With the fashion industry coming into the spotlight due to its affects on the environment, many brands have become signatories of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action—the industry’s flagship climate initiative spearheaded by the U.N.
It looks as though everything comes at a price beyond the price tag of a shirt. When we buy an article of clothing we are also affecting people living on the other side of the globe and the air we breathe.
That is a lot to take in but making smarter purchases can help humanity and our planet.
To read more click here;
https://time.com/6247732/shein-climate-change-labor-fashion/
Photo from Time article; Shein Is the World’s Most Popular Fashion Brand—at a Huge Cost to Us All
