To Buy Shein??

[GarthElgarsGlasses]

Hi, tempted to make some purchases from Shein and wondering whether anyone who’s bought from them would recommend their clothes or not?! Money’s right but really need some new winter clothes, however as Shein is so cheap I’m sceptical! Any experiences of their clothes welcomed! Thanks!

@tellmewhentheLangshiplandscoz The point is, whether it's one item or a hundred, they're made from slave labour.
Literally everything that we use today has slave labour involved somewhere down the line, be it historical or modern.
I don't see anyone boycotting Bayer for example, because it doesn't apply today due to it being past slavery, rather than modern slavery. Yet everyone froths about companies today using the same.
Hypocrisy at its best.

And there's nothing she can do as they are based in China. But hey! cheap t-shirts! 🙄

Awful for human rights and the planet, and bad quality! If money is tight I would try charity shops and second hand like Ebay or Vinted x

Can the slavery-apoligists quit with the 'ethically produced garments are unaffordable' schtick. Using this argument to prop up one's inclination to persist in buying un-ethically produced garments is disingenuous.

Buying second hand is affordable, and available to everyone. Sure, ethically produced garments are great, but from an environmental view point, pre-loved is a snippet better.

And it isn't just clothing, all items we could conceivably ever need can be bought second hand.

I literally buy all our clothes, bar logo school uniform items (FB or PTA sale), pre-loved on eBay. Here's how:
"Hm, need dress for work. Fancy a long one."
Type "tiered maxi dress" in search bar.
Filter for item location (UK only).
Filter for condition (used).
Filter for size, sleeve length, material.
Scroll through list of items.
Select possible purchases.
Make offers, place bids or buy-it-now.

Repeat for trainers, bedding sets, school uniform, ovenware, swimwear: you name it. Takes moments from the comfort of your sofa. Anyone with an internet connection can do this.

My DC and I look smart and love wearing clothes and using household items which we have obtained in transactions which have not caused suffering to other humans or the environment. Looking at my own DC, living fairly frugal but comfortable lives -how can I blithely condemn other women and their children to lives of forced labour?

It's not a lecture it's a discussion. Perhaps you're feeling defensive?

But then the argument of "it's not fast fashion because they take it to a charity shop after" falls apart if the charity shop put it in landfill anyway!

that's not the argument i'm making though. My argument is that you can't pass on FF usually because the quality isn't good enough (applies equally to charity shops, Vinted or Ebay)

The argument is that you are better off either buying better quality (hopefully more ethically produced) clothes new, or getting the better quality 2nd hand ones.

Vinted was good, now it is going the way of ebay where you have to sift through a whole lot of shit for the good stuff.

Deffo shout out to pp for the 2nd hand phones, that has been a revelation to me.

Why didn't she copyright her designs before putting them out there.

You actually can't know who is boycotting what at any point. I will later go and Google many of the brands mentioned here.

But ultimately what are you saying - that if we can't make every decision ethically it's pointless doing what we can do?

Genuinely interested to know.

And I totally get that for so many people now the ethics of shopping when trying to feed and cloth their kids is not a priority. It's very true that it's very expensive to be poor

As if Shein is bothered about copyright.

'It's not a lecture it's a discussion. Perhaps you're feeling defensive?'

A discussion! Some are indeed lecturing, rtft.

Nothing to feel defensive about. Shein is no better nor worse than most high Street retailers.

I think it's just a discussion many of us feel strongly about so posts will come across reflecting that

Literally everything that we use today has slave labour involved somewhere down the line, be it historical or modern.
I don't see anyone boycotting Bayer for example, because it doesn't apply today

Well that is the argument that i highlighted before being made by the developing nations now: we (global north) had our bite at the cherry and now they are having theirs. So we had the Lancashire cotton mills and the dark satanic mills 200 years ago, and they are having theirs now. On a bigger scale but who are we to point the finger?

(this is not an argument i have a lot of truck with, but it is a fair point, nonetheless)

The point with Bayer is that, yes, they were fucking abominable. And they have, as have lots of other countries, paid some kind of reparations. Enough? who knows? But there are people who, for example, won't use things that came directly from research that Eichmann did, because of how it was done. I'm not sure how that all gets untangled, tbh.

Why didn't she copyright her designs before putting them out there.

sure. It is THAT easy to stop them. 🙄

Yes I'm agreeing with you

No one buys 'a tonne of clothing several times a year'.
Plenty do, those clothes aren’t buying themselves. There’s someone upthread talking about a recent order for a/w clothing, bedding, etc, who’s already filling their basket for the next shop. Obviously a tonne several times is hyperbole and not a literal tonne, however: Globally, around 56 million tonnes of clothing are bought each year, and this is expected to rise to 93 million tonnes by 2030 and 160 million tonnes by 2050. (Source: BBC) Someone is buying it! The high street and fast fashion model is literally designed around buying a figurative tonne or clothing several times a year!

And then what happens? Only about 12% of clothing in the UK and the US is recycled: recycling is complex! Clothes have multiple components, and not everything survives the recycling process – which itself uses energy, water and chemicals that then need to be cleaned from the water system. Most polyester fabric is actually derived from recycled plastic bottles, not from clothes, interestingly. Clothes don’t always recycle well.

Clare Farrell is a delight on this subject, worth following or at least googling.

Obviously a tonne several times is hyperbole and not a literal tonne,

///

Apologies that was me ... I was thinking of those who do a big shop several times a year so for holidays, Halloween stuff, Christmas bedding and tea towels, that sort of consumerism. Also all rge bloody Tik Tok and Insta idiots who buy for "likes".

sorry @CakeCrumbs44 i only realised that after posting.

I guess telling yourself that makes you feel better about shopping with them?

'I guess telling yourself that makes you feel better about shopping with them?'

Nothing to feel better or worse about. It is an online shop seeing cheap stuff like many others.

I agree with other pps that this thread makes for depressing reading.

The hyperbole is unbelievable. The idea that if you don't buy from Shein then your kids go to school barefoot - you do know that people had kids before Shein existed don't you?
I have teenage daughters, one of whom was desperate to order from Shein, mainly because all her friends were. I told her that I wasn't buying anything from them, and explained why. I said if she wanted to use her own birthday money she was welcome but having heard about their business practices she decided against it. I agree that plenty of teenagers (and their parents) don't seem to give a toss (and the ones that I know are not on the breadline by any stretch). It makes me despair tbh.

I have never shopped at Shein, but use New Look as my go-to. If I can find what I want on Vinted, great. But if it's a choice between a 2nd-hand dress that will fit me but isn't really a style I feel good in Vs a new New Look dress that is the right colour and a style I love... I will pick NL.

This can’t be serious. You can’t see why current slavery is different than previous slavery?

Another one missing the point 🙄

What's your proof, everything I've read about them is that they are awful in every way. Please provide a reliable source.

Another one missing the point

care to explain then? Because I'm not sure what the point you are making is.