In a world that gets more expensive every day, is going against our values and accepting inhumane treatment of others worth the money we are saving ourselves? Is contributing to climate change and millions of tossed pieces in landfills worth the $5 you spend on a shirt?
Fast fashion is clothing created by various companies globally such as SHEIN, H&M, Forever 21, Zara, Fashion Nova, etc, that use unethical practices to make them for a cheaper, more affordable price. SHEIN, a particularly notorious company that engages in this, has been overworking their employees, making them endure unhealthy long shifts and overall abusing them.
PBS host Iman Amrani says, “We discovered that there were people who were working 18-hour days, which is against the law in China, it’s also against SHEIN’s code of conduct. People were given one day off a month.” To put this into perspective, they go to work at 5am (just a guesstimate), they work the 18-hour shift, get off at 11pm, and then they have to go home and eat, shower or do whatever they do after. At this point, it’s most likely around 12-1am and they have to wake up and be at work again by 5. Most people in the US would never agree to work like this. So why should these fast fashion workers have to? This is their reality and we’re doing nothing about it. We should care about other people’s well-being and admit that the dehumanizing conditions they go through are not worth the cheap prices.
“If you want to take a day off or go back to your hometown, your wages will be deducted.” said a SHEIN worker in a PBS news hour clip. SHEIN is punishing their workers by completely taking away their wages if they want to take a day off or go home with zero leniency. This is keeping them tied to the company and unable to leave.
Although fast fashion seems great if you ignore the mistreatment of those helping to produce the items we buy, this isn’t just about poor labor practices. It harms the planet and contributes to climate change because they use synthetic fibers like polyester, nylon, and acrylic which are not the best quality so the products are not made to last. According to Stephani Safdie, a copywriter at Greenly Institute, a platform trying to help brands become more economically sustainable, says these materials “aren’t biodegradable friendly and can end up in our oceans and harm aquatic life. In fact, around one third of microplastics in the ocean are from the materials used to produce fast fashion.” Carla Martinez, a previous SHEIN shopper and an interviewee chosen to give their opinion on this topic says, “Due to the affordability, a lot of times it is cheap quality so we can only wear it 2-4 times before it falls apart and we have to trash it.” People probably figure that now that their clothing is ripped or faded, they can just get another because it’s just that easy. Fast fashion “Encourages a ‘throwaway’ consumer mentality” as Adam Hayes in ‘Fast Fashion: How It Impacts Retail Manufacturing’ would put it.
Companies like SHEIN produce low-cost clothing items that are sought after, trendy, and easily accessible. Due to the economy, these are things teens and adults alike look for. Are these low-cost items deserving of our money? The harm we are all doing to the planet? We can all play a role in slowing down the progression of climate and standing up for the rights of the people working hard to manufacture the items that we want/ need. We need to start putting our money where our mouth is. Companies only listen to the dollars; so if we pull our consumer funding, things will have to change.