I have never been to Shein or Temu websites and I never will. Your story, though, underscores a big problem IMHO. Consumers need access to clothes that are somewhere between luxury and ultra fast fashion. Affordably priced, that are ethically made and well constructed. It's the old saying, "you can have it fast, good or cheap, pick two." Le sigh.
But it's where most consumers in the world exist, which is what makes this so perplexing! There's the 1% who can afford luxury, and then there's everyone else, with varying degrees of ability to purchase clothes. There need to be reasonable options.
Just saw an article on The Cut about Abercrombie's (successful) rebrand - they are going after exactly this customer segment because they see the market gap. Apparently they have a wedding guest shop? And men's office wear? And all kinds of stuff. Interesting!
They also have had a really good influencer program for at least years now, if I'm not mistaken. I have heard that they give really good affiliate kickbacks, so micro influencers are inclined to promote them.
Yeah! Almost every time I shop I wish there were more options besides the fastest fashion and high end pieces, because tbh if I need new clothes I know which of those I can actually afford...
(Funnily enough Shein and Amazon are the sites I really try to avoid if I can help it but I do patronize both unfortunately)
I wish there was more consumer education on clothing - what higher quality cotton feels like, what a seam allowance is, what a French seam is, heck - how to look at seams as a way to see how well the clothing is made! H&M had good quality basics when it launched and was a staple of my wardrobe in my 20s. I wish there were better quality options in that mid-level price point for consumers!
Same - I have dresses that I got at H&M and Urban Outfitters (I know lol) back in high school and they have lasted a decade!!! That stuff used to be really well made.
I think it will be interesting to observe the experience Amazon creates around this kind of shopping. SheMu are particularly good at gamifying their storefronts and keeping customers browsing for the new deals they can get on shiny red (plastic) objects. Amazon is more geared towards targeted searches for exactly what you want, hence the word-salad product descriptions that ironically make that more difficult.
More broadly, the fast-fashion trend reminds me, in name and substance, of how fast food and TV meals were marketed when I was growing up. Tasty, empty, cholesterol-laden calories available cheap for the masses, while the top 5% retreated to Whole Foods and organic everything. We're dealing with the sartorial equivalent of that, it seems.
I wonder (perhaps I will do another story on this in the future) if "clean clothing" is a new frontier for middle to upper-middle market shoppers. The way "clean beauty" became such a thing in the 2010s.
Completely agree with the sickly and illegal low wages, but another reason the human rights records are so abysmal is because of subcontracting. Even if the factories get audited, there’s a nasty habit of those players working with other off-the-books factories who do the same dirty work. The issue is getting social standards and goals that are just as ironclad as the ones we have for the environment. For the environment, we have stuff like carbon neutral by whatever year, but for the people in the system, it’s a moving target indeed.
Thank you for pointing out the harms of subcontracting -- clothing companies seem to make it a point not to understand what happens at the subcontractor level.
This is depressing. I tried Zara and H&M and didn’t go back because the clothes 1) made me sweat and 2) did not hold up. (Surprise, surprise, I know.) I have not tried Shein and reading about the fabric content is very concerning.
Re: more ethically-made and affordably-priced clothes, The Cut currently has a profile on Abercrombie and how it’s overhauled its image and product line. I haven’t looked further into how their clothes are made or their fabric content, but my impression was that they could fit the bill for that category.
In my (recent) experience of going to a mall for the first time in 6 years, American Eagle fit the bill for me! I imagine similar to Abercrombie. Not sure if AE is actually fast fashion, but the clothes were GOOD, and were definitely in that mid market price range.
This is such a great article, and could explain why, when I looked for a top using Google Lens this morning, more results from Amazon came up along with the usual from Shein and Temu. Maybe they're ramping up.
I really appreciate the part of this story that unpacks/understands why people turn to fast fashion and might not necessarily feel compelled to shop "sustainable." There are a lot of factors that are often overlooked in all the virtue signaling (sorry):
-for a long time the brands specializing in sustainable clothes were the same style (no offense but it's very white soccer mom) and that doesn't appeal to everyone
-being a smart shopper also takes into account more than the store, because the most "ethical" option is to just buy less. consumer habits are worse all around, regardless. as far as i'm concerned, if i buy an item I love and keep it for years, it doesn't matter where I bought it
-echoing what the one fashion reporter said, the average consumer might not see the value in a Frank and Eileen white button down vs. one from H&M (maybe one from Shein would be of noticeably poorer quality of course) and you can't really blame them IMO
I love shopping and try to be as smart as I can about it so I have a lot of thoughts about this topic lol
I have never been to Shein or Temu websites and I never will. Your story, though, underscores a big problem IMHO. Consumers need access to clothes that are somewhere between luxury and ultra fast fashion. Affordably priced, that are ethically made and well constructed. It's the old saying, "you can have it fast, good or cheap, pick two." Le sigh.
Yes! It feels like this part of the market is shrinking.
But it's where most consumers in the world exist, which is what makes this so perplexing! There's the 1% who can afford luxury, and then there's everyone else, with varying degrees of ability to purchase clothes. There need to be reasonable options.
IMO this is why thrifting and vintage matter more than ever
Absolutely! Plus it's a sustainable way to keep clothes from landfills. So many advantages!
It is just a shame that so many clothes in thrift shops are now fast fashion items. Thrifting ain't what it used to be!
Poshmark 4eva!
Just saw an article on The Cut about Abercrombie's (successful) rebrand - they are going after exactly this customer segment because they see the market gap. Apparently they have a wedding guest shop? And men's office wear? And all kinds of stuff. Interesting!
They also have had a really good influencer program for at least years now, if I'm not mistaken. I have heard that they give really good affiliate kickbacks, so micro influencers are inclined to promote them.
Yeah! Almost every time I shop I wish there were more options besides the fastest fashion and high end pieces, because tbh if I need new clothes I know which of those I can actually afford...
(Funnily enough Shein and Amazon are the sites I really try to avoid if I can help it but I do patronize both unfortunately)
I wish there was more consumer education on clothing - what higher quality cotton feels like, what a seam allowance is, what a French seam is, heck - how to look at seams as a way to see how well the clothing is made! H&M had good quality basics when it launched and was a staple of my wardrobe in my 20s. I wish there were better quality options in that mid-level price point for consumers!
Same - I have dresses that I got at H&M and Urban Outfitters (I know lol) back in high school and they have lasted a decade!!! That stuff used to be really well made.
I think it will be interesting to observe the experience Amazon creates around this kind of shopping. SheMu are particularly good at gamifying their storefronts and keeping customers browsing for the new deals they can get on shiny red (plastic) objects. Amazon is more geared towards targeted searches for exactly what you want, hence the word-salad product descriptions that ironically make that more difficult.
More broadly, the fast-fashion trend reminds me, in name and substance, of how fast food and TV meals were marketed when I was growing up. Tasty, empty, cholesterol-laden calories available cheap for the masses, while the top 5% retreated to Whole Foods and organic everything. We're dealing with the sartorial equivalent of that, it seems.
Excellent analogy!
I wonder (perhaps I will do another story on this in the future) if "clean clothing" is a new frontier for middle to upper-middle market shoppers. The way "clean beauty" became such a thing in the 2010s.
Completely agree with the sickly and illegal low wages, but another reason the human rights records are so abysmal is because of subcontracting. Even if the factories get audited, there’s a nasty habit of those players working with other off-the-books factories who do the same dirty work. The issue is getting social standards and goals that are just as ironclad as the ones we have for the environment. For the environment, we have stuff like carbon neutral by whatever year, but for the people in the system, it’s a moving target indeed.
Thank you for pointing out the harms of subcontracting -- clothing companies seem to make it a point not to understand what happens at the subcontractor level.
This is depressing. I tried Zara and H&M and didn’t go back because the clothes 1) made me sweat and 2) did not hold up. (Surprise, surprise, I know.) I have not tried Shein and reading about the fabric content is very concerning.
Re: more ethically-made and affordably-priced clothes, The Cut currently has a profile on Abercrombie and how it’s overhauled its image and product line. I haven’t looked further into how their clothes are made or their fabric content, but my impression was that they could fit the bill for that category.
In my (recent) experience of going to a mall for the first time in 6 years, American Eagle fit the bill for me! I imagine similar to Abercrombie. Not sure if AE is actually fast fashion, but the clothes were GOOD, and were definitely in that mid market price range.
Imagine my surprise in the past few years that AE, Hollister and A&F (along with H&M) had what I was looking for, at a decent price point!
This is such a great article, and could explain why, when I looked for a top using Google Lens this morning, more results from Amazon came up along with the usual from Shein and Temu. Maybe they're ramping up.
I really appreciate the part of this story that unpacks/understands why people turn to fast fashion and might not necessarily feel compelled to shop "sustainable." There are a lot of factors that are often overlooked in all the virtue signaling (sorry):
-for a long time the brands specializing in sustainable clothes were the same style (no offense but it's very white soccer mom) and that doesn't appeal to everyone
-being a smart shopper also takes into account more than the store, because the most "ethical" option is to just buy less. consumer habits are worse all around, regardless. as far as i'm concerned, if i buy an item I love and keep it for years, it doesn't matter where I bought it
-echoing what the one fashion reporter said, the average consumer might not see the value in a Frank and Eileen white button down vs. one from H&M (maybe one from Shein would be of noticeably poorer quality of course) and you can't really blame them IMO
I love shopping and try to be as smart as I can about it so I have a lot of thoughts about this topic lol