Shein

[Touty]

Has anyone used them. They look like they have some lovely clothes for a good price?
quality?
any feedback?

The choice is not vest and tracky bottoms or slave-produced clothes. Other options are available.

My dd buys from there and the stuff seems to be pretty good, better quality than some more expensive shops.

But I do worry about how the clothes are made and the impact on the environment. That said I see a lot of items bought from uk shops that are made in China

All these suggestions of charity shops are ridiculous.

You can buy online from Vinted etc

Go to charity shops in nicer areas. You won't find everything you need from a charity shop, but you can get a few good items

Or buy from affordable retailers but just look after the clothes, don't constantly throw them away and buy more.

'Other people's cast offs' is a weird way to look at clothes. Do you not own a washing machine? Or something?

Such as?

If you have nothing suitable and the job centre tells you you have an interview in a week?

You don't have endless charity shop browsing time to find something suitable, not from the 80's, in your size.

You have no spare money for the bus or train to town either so have to order online.

There are no sales on.

M&S is too expensive.

New look has nothing suitable.

Primark doesn't do online shopping.

You also have several kids to look after, feed, get to school entertain all day.

Klarna is a god send.

What are you going to do?

Excited to receive your clothes made by people being paid 3p per hour in horrendous working conditions?

You sound lovely 😳

Don't critisie someone for buying from Shien because the clothing is made by slaves, then deem buying smartphones as OK because it is environmentally-sound slavery. That is hypocrisy.

You can't criticise both? Your idea is to ignore slavery so as not to be a hypocrite.

I wouldn't judge someone for buying what they need but this attitude is so terrible. Just say you don't care about ethics.

The frequency of buying 100% makes a difference. There's people who buy the last way iPhone every two years. Then there's people who might buy a phone six years and repair it. Or people who just buy secondhand from the get go.

You can't expect people to go without, but you can be more responsible.

At the barest of minimums don't turn a blind eye to social environmental issues because 'it would be hypocritical' just terrible.

Why care about people starving in other countries when you threw out your leftovers. Hypocritical right?

Shein is a dreadful company. Also Boohoo etc

I’d never buy anything from them

There is of course the moral/ethics argument but right now i need clothes that i can afford.
**
Hav never used it for ethical reasons. I imagine the working conditions are not good...* *

https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/untold-inside-the-shein-machine-documentary

I currently cos my job allows it live in jeans and t shirts (either a work t shirt or my own) since I quit an office job and covid and lockdowns, I got rid of all my office wear. I own precisely one dress that's for a wedding shortly and jeans and t shirts.
Absolutely nothing I could do an interview in. I personally would go to my nearest shopping centre and spend 50 quid or more on a suitable interview outfit. But many many people cant do that. They cant get out so have to get it delivered, they dont have £50+, charity shops are no longer cheap, chances of finding an entire outfit you like, will fit and look decent in one visit, zero, it would take at least 3 or 4 visits to multiple charity shops to find one outfit. And likely cost £50 anyway. We dont all live near a charity shop, or primark.

I dont use shein, but neither do I judge those who do.

Not everyone can just "go to a nicer area" to look in charity shops. That could involve bus fares, petrol money, and extra time that people might not have.

Yes there is Vinted, but then you're looking at paying postage costs for every item you buy and then you have to rely on the seller to post promptly. With places like Shein you can buy multiple items in one go, often with free delivery if you spend a certain amount and it's faster.

Judging poor people for doing the best they can is typical privileged MN behaviour though.

@AnImaginaryCat calm down and yes you did say that. You used the word hypocrite to dismiss ethical issues. Clown.

@Beezknees that's a shitty comment. You have no idea who I am and what I've lived through and I'm certainly not privileged or rich by any stretch. But nice try.

You can still buy from Shein and accept they are a bad company. It's that simple. You can buy from them and still try to be responsible.

Lots of people here already on the ethical issue which is bad I won't lie but you asked about them in terms of quality etc. I have a placed quite a few orders for different seasons and found:

1.Check measurements like most have said, particularly shoes and length of dresses.

1. Material plays a massive role (some things like tees are great but some dresses come up quite cheap in feel). A lot of mine have lasted longer than my New Look, Zara, Primark or H&M items if I buy the right material.
2. Look at reviews for an item and study the pics posted by reviewers in particular.
3. Trousers are the hardest thing I find to buy from there.
4. Returns are quick and easy but (and this does limit some of their waste) they don't return sale or certain items like underwear or earrings for obvious reasons
5. Delivery takes around 2 weeks, often less. Warehouses seem to be China, Europe and the odd bit in the UK as well.

When I was unsure I actually ordered 3 bits from Ebay to see what I thought of them and try them on before I committed.

Good luck if you go ahead OP!

I ordered on Wednesday and they split my order and I've got a notification today to say one package is being delivered today, and they estimated 1st-3rd May.

It’s really disingenuous to say that New Look wouldn’t have clothes suitable for an interview. They sell black trousers and smart tops. They sell shift dresses. They sell blazers. There are a lot of shops selling cheap clothes - H&M, ASOS, Primark, all the supermarkets. Shein is not the only option.

It's fair enough that there are situations and people who really do need quick and v v cheap clothes for an occasional thing. But if Shein etc was ONLY used by people in that situation, it wouldn't be commercially viable. The fact is that thousands of people who could choose to buy better, keep longer, rewear etc don't, just because they think it matters to have a new top or dress every time they go out.

Influencers make careers out of showing off their "hauls" from companies like this. They get sent free clothes as they provide free publicity for the companies. The clothes are so cheap that if you request a refund, you'll get it and get to keep the clothes because it costs more to ship them back. We have become a global economy that is utterly wasteful, mindless consumerism.

@Ourladycheesusedatum just out if interest, why did you get rid of all your office wear? For the sake of one hanger in the wardrobe you could have kept one outfit of trousers, shirt etc just for one off occasions of need.

Please don't use Shein for all the reasons outlined above. It is such a sad thing to prop up exploitation and those who build their trade on human misery and ecological devastation.

It is not privileged or hypocritical to suggest that there are other alternatives. If online shopping is the only option due to time or transport constraints, then eBay is a really great choice, both ethically and environmentally. The variety and selection on eBay is phenomenal. I've just browsed used BuyItNow items and it would take 5 minutes to find a pair of work trousers, a blouse, a blazer and a pair of smart shoes (all of the above in any size) for a very modest budget. I could probably get it all for £25 including postage, or less if buying from the same seller, combining postage. There are literally that many pre-loved clothes available.

OurLady, office wear is pretty timeless, so likely to age OK; why did you feel the need to get rid of your work wardrobe? It's so handy to have at least one smart outfit just in case.

There are literally millions of people living below the bread line right now. They need clothes. 2.2 million claim disability benefits, there are probably the same again who dont claim (I am one of them) those on very limited in work benefits (UC 6 million) and those on job seekers allowance 1.5 million.

I know all of those wont use the likes of primark and shein but a fair percentage will. Add in the other countries shein is in and yeah, you got plenty of customers.

I got rid of all my office clothes because I lost a truck load of weight and I pray I never have to go back to office work.
Or if it suddenly came up, I'd use the dress I have for the wedding and be overdressed for an interview.

Right because my £60 order maybe once a year is the cause of the problem. Not the people spending thousands or you know the people at the top using slavery for their product. I should just be fucking naked all the time and never leave the house because I can't afford to be ethical in my clothing.

Terrible quality. I really wouldn’t buy from
them again.

A quick google tells me all the retailers you have mentioned either use child labour or are linked to it in some sort of way.

I have a lot of stuff from Shein and I'm almost always happy. I buy clothes but also things like bedclothes, jewelry, makeup brushes and couch covers. I see a lot of people here saying there can be problems with sizing but I've never had that, I buy everything in size Small and it's never been a problem.

They're brilliant for men's shirts too, I bought my husband a ton of work shirts there and he always gets complimented on them. I love their jeans too. I find they have a lot of cropped styles which I'm not personally a fan of so I have to be careful with tops and jumpers to make sure they're long enough.

Shein was an absolute godsend for maternity clothes while I was pregnant too.

I bought a couple of tops for work before I realised how bad their record is. I walk to work and am literally sweating like a pig in plastic by the time I get there - they're big on polyester.

It's shitty to try and guilt trip people who don't have much choice.