The so-called “ultra-fast fashion” has won the hearts of the young generation because they can dress up very quickly and cheaply with it. Activists, on the other hand, complain that this trend leads to environmental problems.
Ultra-fast fashion companies Boohoo from the UK, Shein from China and Emmiol from Hong Kong are the main culprits in this industry where items and collections are produced at breakneck speed and at rock-bottom prices.
With their purely internet-based business model, they are fiercely competing with the better-known and older “fast fashion” chains with physical stores, such as Sweden’s H&M and Spain’s Zara.
According to Bloomberg, Shein made $16 billion in global sales last year.
However, environmental activists have criticized the “throw away clothing” phenomenon as a gross waste – it takes 2,700 liters of water to make one t-shirt that is soon to be thrown away.
“Many of these cheap clothes end up (…) in huge landfills, burned in open fires, littered in river beds and washed into the sea, with grave consequences for people and the planet,” Greenpeace said.
However, with global inflation at its highest level in decades, there is tremendous demand for affordable clothing.
And in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, companies with physical stores and their high costs are finding it difficult to compete.
quantity instead of quality
With T-shirts selling for just $4.80 and bikinis and dresses selling for just under $10, the ultra-fast fashion seems unbeatable for young people like 18-year-old Lola from the French city of Nancy to offer bargains.
Ignoring the cost to the environment, she says brands like Shein allow her to follow the latest trends “without spending astronomical sums”.
Lola says she typically places two or three orders a month with Shein, averaging a total of $70 for about ten items.
The young target group of ultra-fast fashion is looking “for quantity rather than quality”, says economics professor Valerie Guillard from the University of Paris-Dauphine.
Founded in late 2008, much of Shein’s success has come from its massive presence on social networks like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube.
In so-called “Haul” videos, young people unpack Shein packages, try on clothes and rate them online.
On TikTok alone, there are 34.4 billion mentions of the hashtag #Shein and six billion for #Sheinhaul.
Brands are also expanding their reach through low-cost partnerships with so-called social media influencers to build trust and increase sales.
Irish influencer Marleen Gallagher, 45, who works with Shein and other companies, praised them for offering a wide range of sizes.
“They are unrivaled when it comes to plus size choices,” she told AFP.
carbon footprint
But the industry doesn’t just have a reputation for wasting valuable resources and damaging the environment. The ultra-fast fashion companies have also been plagued by scandals over allegedly poor working conditions in their factories.
The Swiss-based non-governmental organization Public Eye discovered in November 2022 that workers at some Shein factories were working up to 75 hours a week, in violation of Chinese labor protection laws.
The British company Boohoo saw itself according to media reportsalleging that it underpays its workers in subcontracting factories in Pakistan.
Not surprisingly, the industry’s carbon footprint is also catastrophic.
The French agency for ecological transition estimates that fast fashion is responsible for two percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions per year – as much as all air and sea transport combined.
It is therefore not surprising that climate activist Greta Thunberg is suing the companies.
“The fashion industry is a significant contributor to the climate and environmental emergency, not to mention the impact it has on the countless workers and communities that are being exploited around the world to allow some people to enjoy fast fashion that many treat as disposable.” , Thunberg wrote last year.
Authorities are also beginning to scrutinize brands’ practices.
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority has launched a greenwashing investigation into Boohoo, Asos and Asda over concerns that some of the environmental claims made about their products are misleading.
Charlotte, 14, says she has decided to stop ordering from Shein and Emmiol.
“I was happy to have new clothes, but then I felt bad,” she says. “Now I’m looking for her on Vinted,” an online marketplace for buying and selling new and used items, the teen said.(AFP)
This article was previously published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ