A Case Study on how Shein is Affecting our Environment and Fast Fashion is Taking Over
Executive Summary
Shein is the largest fast-fashion company in the world. Shein has about 10,000 employees, and their working conditions could be better. There are 35,000 to 100,000 items that are produced daily for Shein, contributing to high carbon emissions and waste. 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere by Shein clothing production yearly. The Wall Street Journal has reported that there are more than 50 lawsuits against Shein.
This paper seeks to explore how Shein is affecting our environment, and how their marketing skills are keeping them in the game. Throughout this paper, Shein’s history will be discussed, their stakeholders will be researched, and there will be a glance at the protests against them, how Shein affects our environment and their amazing marketing skills. With Shein being such a huge brand, they have many influencers. Shein also has collaborated with huge brands to sell more items. Their marketing campaigns and huge sales make the company a big hit. With the Diffusion of Innovations Theory, Shein adapts to trends quickly and produces items that are in demand. Shein has made a negative environmental impact, along with a reputation for having the best marketing strategies.
Keywords: Shein, environmental, impact, marketing, strategies, influencers, trends
Introduction
Shein is a company that sells fast fashion things that are unfriendly to the environment and have unlikely working conditions. They are number one in the fast fashion sites, and discussed in this paper are the problems and issues within their organization, and how they have managed them. This paper seeks to explore how Shein is affecting our environment, and how their marketing skills are keeping them in the game. Throughout this paper, Shein’s history will be discussed, their stakeholders will be researched, and there will be a glance at the protests against them, how Shein affects our environment and their amazing marketing skills. Fast-fashion is generally online companies that produce clothing or items that are poorly made and at a low price. It can take about two weeks to arrive to you unless you choose express shipping. Shein is the largest fast-fashion brand. Anyone can find almost anything on their website for a very low price. The digital era is growing rapidly, and finding clothing online is way easier than going out shopping for something.
Shein was founded in China in 2008 by Chris Xu who is the CEO still. Over the years, Shein went from being a low-cost Chinese apparel merchant to a global, online-only fashion juggernaut, climbing in sales from $10 billion in 2020 to a whopping $100 billion in 2022. (Rajvanshi, 2023) Shein has also been reportedly the most googled brand beating, Nike and Adidas. With our evolving media, fast fashion is in a very large demand status. If one were looking for an outfit for a concert, they could find a clothing item from head-to-toe for a very affordable price on Shein, and that is what attracts their consumers the most.
Shein is a private company, with four major shareholders: JAFCO Asia, IDG Capital, Sequoia Capital China, and Tiger Global Management. (Cattlin, 2023) Shein also has many competitors in the fast-fashion industry. Some brands that compete with Shein are H&M and Zara, but there is a new company named Temu on the up-and-coming which is slowly eating away at Shein’s sales.
Shein has had multiple protests against them. One protest to point out is a group of students protesting in LA to urge sustainable, ethical practices and fair labor conditions in the fashion industry. (Allen, 2024) They dressed up in bathrobes and towels, stating that they would rather not be wearing any clothing than wear Shein. Many responses that Shein gives are very vague, and not quite promising. They are not transparent with their statements and need to work on their crisis management plans.
Shein’s carbon footprint they leave on the earth is beyond wild. There are many major environmental issues that Shein produces and some of the main ones are water pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive textile waste, and the release of tons of carbon dioxide. (Gamino, 2024) All of these are also inhaled by the employees at Shein, which is not safe at all.
When it comes to marketing and communication strategies, Shein is great at influencing people to keep their brand alive. Shein collaborates with influencers from all social media platforms from Instagram to TikTok. They create haul videos and try-ons which influence other people to buy what they got from Shein. They also do interactive campaigns that involve contests and giveaways which lead to high traffic for them. Shein does a lot to understand the minds of Gen Z which is their main selling demographic, and they have done a very good job at it. The digital era is growing and influencers are new and upcoming. With the Diffusion of Innovations theory, they are also able to tackle any trend that comes along and supply what their consumers are on the search for.
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In 2008, when Shein was founded by Chris Xu, he explained that Shein came about because the commercial appeal was in demand in China. Chris Xu worked at a technology company, but he decided that he wanted to pursue a career in retail instead. Xu planned to “take out Zara”. (Liu, 2023) Many companies were opened like Shein around the year 2008 as well, and Shein didn’t really kick off until 2018. Xu also hasn’t shown any interest in women’s fashion or accessories, but he is very adamant about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and brand marketing, and that is how Shein took off.
As the media is evolving daily, new fast fashion sites are coming up. Shein has many competitors with one of the main ones being Temu. Temu sells almost replicas of the items on Shein for about the same price, it just depends on who you purchase from. The Diffusion of Innovations theory is the pattern and speed at which new ideas, practices, or products spread through a population. (Halton, 2023) Within the Diffusion of Innovations theory, different groups of people adapt to new ideas and theories at different paces. Innovators are the people who are open to taking risks on new ideas and will do anything that is released. Early adaptors are people who are interested in new technologies. The early majority are people who are in the mainstream society which is the main population of people. The late majority are just followers of the early majority. Lastly are the laggards who take a while to adapt to something new. Shein would fall under the innovators category because they are always on top of the newest trends, and make designs quickly to put up for sale on their website. That goes along for any fast fashion industry. Fast fashion is all about being the first to sell something and getting it out fast. One person has mentioned Shein to be like “Uber” where when you order something - it comes straight to you. Shein isn’t the only company to be ruining the environment, it goes way beyond them to many more companies. These huge companies have factories that use the same energy-inducing machines, and about three out of four people have clothes in their closets that could affect the environment we live in down the road.
The website puts many new items on it each day. This means that they have to come up with plenty of designs that are on trend at a time. Shein has been accused of stealing many independent designer's designs, but this one almost looks like a replica. In August 2020, the designer Emma Warren, found the design on Shein. She took to Instagram and put both of the designs side by side to show that it is almost a replica of hers. The caption was: “@sheinofficial have stolen my bee design,” “Please share and tag @sheinofficial @shein.uk. On the left is a screenshot from their website, and on the right is my design from my site.” (Young, 2020) The post was getting more and more popular as the day and night went on. Emma later just said on her Instagram that fast fashion needs to stop doing this to Independent designers. They steal designs and steal them for a way cheaper price. Which in the end of thing is very unethical for any brand. As a growing leader, it’s important to keep your morals in line, so you can put your best foot forward with your brand. Shein has not commented on stealing anyone’s designs, but with as many designs as they have on their website, along with the accusations they have been put under, they should say something on the matter.
Above is the Shein stolen design on the left, and on the right is Emma Warren’s original bee design.
Recently on July 15th, 2024 another designer's work was stolen as well and it was not just one, it became multiple after time. Cassey Ho is a YouTuber and blog owner. She makes athletic clothes and some of the designs are easy to tell that are hers, and couldn’t be stolen. She mentioned this to Shein when they stole her designs the first time, and they said it wouldn’t happen again. Well, it did and she wrote a whole blog about it. She said that they stole everything from how the model was posing straight to the same colors and designs of the athletic wear. Cassey said "But we’re catching on. Designers and small business owners like me are watching. Our communities are watching. And we’re fighting.” (Cassey Ho, 2024)
The working conditions at Shein are something that no one should have to go through. Public Eye has done interviews with employees at Shein and most of them are not good. This was already a case study on them from earlier allegations about their working conditions, and they never improved after 2 years. They were endorsing illegal working hours and were doing more work than what they should’ve been paid. In both cases, interviewees stated that they worked an average 12-hour working day – minus lunch and dinner breaks – at least six, but usually even seven days a week. (Classen and Hachfeld, 2024) One man that Public Eye had spoken to said that he had worked in the sewing field for 20 years and had never been given these types of working hours before. 75-hour work weeks were normal for them by this point because they had been working in this condition for a little over 2 years.
Shein has also given a wage investigation on their worker’s compensation. During their investigation, they showed that wage investigations are an integral part of SHEIN’s efforts to enforce fair and dignified working conditions for all the workers within SHEIN’s manufacturing supplier ecosystem. (Shein, 2023) Many have pointed out that there haven’t been changes, and it’s important to show how these conditions affect their workers. Some of these employees are also under the legal age to be working, so some of the people being worn out and underpaid are kids. Showing respect for your organization will show how you care about your brand and people in general.
Inside the factory of a Shein supplier, in Guangzhou, China. (Boggan, 2023)
Kant's duty-based ethics says that some things should never be done, no matter what good consequences they produce. (BBC) For the working conditions of the employees at Shein and other garnet-making industries, one could apply Kant’s duty-based ethics theory to the situation. No one wants to work an endless amount of hours each day with little pay, and it’s important to treat others how you want to be treated. Implementing fair labor laws within the organization could help how the employees would feel and react to certain situations. By applying Kant’s duty-based ethics theory to Shein, Shein could also practice doing better for the environment. They have shown improvement, but adding more could help in the long run. Transparent communication for the company as well will help with the allegations and rumors about them on social media.
The garnet-making industry is known to be hard to work for, and many workers have faced horrible pay wages, awful hours, and even injury or death because of someone wasn’t looking out for their employees. On April 24th, 2013 a garnet-making factory, Rana Plaza, came crashing down in Bangladesh. This horrific event killed 1,134 people and left thousands more injured. Many people were trapped under gravel for hours on end. This event shocked the world and opened people’s eyes to look at these factories more and how the workers were being treated. The day before the crash, someone had noticed the cracks on the walls in the factory and they pushed it to the side and said everything would be fine. This factory made clothes for many big brands that a lot of people own in their closets to this day, and it’s important to realize how these workers are being cared for and treated. There was much awareness raised for this event for how many people got hurt. So many people’s families are still suffering to this day with hospital bills and ongoing trauma from the event.
A view of rescue workers attempting to find survivors from the rubble of the collapsed Rana Plaza building in Savar, Bangladesh, April 30, 2013. (Malangi, 2023)
While Shein is a privately owned company, it has 4 major internal stakeholders. Their stakeholders are JAFCO Asia, IDG Capital, Sequoia Capital China, and Tiger Global Management. (Cattlin, 2023) They invest in Shein so they can keep the supply and demand on the cycle for their consumers. Shein is wanted by many because of how fast the items come in and how affordable it is. Their internal stakeholders also include their employees. There are different types of employees at Shein. First, they have the employees who work on cutting and sewing the clothes. Secondly, they have the designers who work on finding the newest trend and designing it onto whatever item they need it for. Thirdly, they have people who ship things out all across the world with their number one seller being the United States. Internal stakeholders are mainly interested in the financial growth of the company. These investors are also looking for competition within the industry and making sure they are gaining a profit from it. Some of these investors are making almost billions of dollars, and don’t want to stop making such a profit soon.
The external stakeholders for Shein are their customers. Many people have bought from Shein so they have all chipped in a bit to the organization and for what they stand for. Customers usually buy from Shein for when they are in a pinch. For example if one is going to a concert, they could type in the search bar “concert outfit”, and they would be able to find something to wear and accessorize with from head to toe. This is so easy in this day in time because stores are closing all across America because of how big online shopping is becoming. Another huge external stakeholder for Shein is their partners and influencers. These are the people that advocate for Shein on different social media platforms. External stakeholders (the customers) are interested in the supply of the product, and make sure that their company always has what they want.
The influencers and collaborators of Shein are interested in the profit that they make on social media and how much they can do for the organization. If they do really good for the organization then they could be asked back for more collaborations in the future while also making a much bigger profit. Shein’s consumers mainly consist of the younger generations of females ranging from Gen Z to Millenials. Most of the trends are appealing to what’s hot right now in the stores for them. Shein offers clothes for all genders though, as well as home items ranging from furniture to stationary products. Fast-fashion brands are so easily accessible even to college students. A lot of sororities order these cheaply made outfits for their events, only because they are gonna need that certain item of clothing for that one themed event. There could be a party on campus “Cowboy & Alien” themed, and all someone has to search for is a “blue metallic skirt, white tank top, and alien headband”. Easy as that you have an outfit in under 10 minutes for about 15-$20ish dollars. That kind of deal is right in range for anyone in college.
On Earth Day 2024, LA students protested against Shein and other fast fashion industries and how they affect our environment. They stood outside of the Shein headquarters in downtown LA in bathrobes and towels with signs saying how “Life in plastic, isn’t fantastic”. Shein hasn’t said anything about the protest, but the workers in the Shein office definitely saw the signs and people standing out there. Protests have happened before for Shein, but this is the most memorable one. These students want Shein to disclose what is happening in the warehouse and their conditions now.
Most information is from a year ago, and they still don’t show any improvement in 2024. Lexy Silverstein, a spokesperson for the protest said the number one goal is to get people to stop shopping at Shein and any other fast-fashion website because of the effects it leaves to our environment. The second goal is to "demand transparency, an end to greenwashing, and a genuine commitment to sustainability. It's time for Shein to take responsibility for its actions, stop promoting hyper-consumerism, and prioritize the well-being of both the planet and its workers." (Garrison, 2024)
Protestors led by activist Lexy Silverstein stationed themselves in front of Shein's LA offices at 1 p.m. local time on April 22, 2024. (Garrison, 2024)
Another protest that happened was back in February of 2023. This began at a University within the Student Union. The Student Union was holding a Discover fair for students to find local deals and discover brands that they could love in the future. Shein had a stall at this Student Union at Newcastle University. One student saw on social media that Shein was there and took to Twitter to share the incidents that have been reported about Shein. Their friends saw the tweet and wanted to join together to get Shein off the campus. “I grabbed what relevant placards I already had and wrote phrases such as ‘Fast Fashion Kills’ and ‘Polluters Off Campus’ on small pieces of cardboard I could find in my house then headed to campus.” (Elliot, 2023) The group of friends waited in line for a photo with the agent from Shein, and as soon as it was their turn, they held their signs up in front of the stall for everyone to see. Everyone was taking pictures and videos of them and immediately took this situation to social media. It only took 30 min for Shein to pack up their stuff and leave the campus.
There have even been online campaigns for Shein to become a better organization. People have made websites to end them as a whole. Trending hashtags of #BoycottShein #StopFastFashion and many more. There are also petitions to get them to stop selling clothes. “Shut Down SHEIN is a coalition of like-minded individuals and businesses committed to increasing the awareness of SHEIN’S dangerous and reprehensible behavior.” This came straight from their Twitter bio.
An organization needs to have a crisis management plan. Many people have protested against Shein, but to this day they have not commented on the matter. This shows that they don’t care about the protests and that nothing will change. The main thing for a crisis management plan is to understand that something is going on and to address it. Addressing the issue is number one. It’s also important to be timely and authentic while doing so. Being timely and showing your consumers that you care helps build trust between the organization and the consumers. A huge challenge for PR practitioners, marketers, and corporate communicators in telling the truth in the digital age is that the media landscape is constantly changing and the speed of information is rapidly growing.
These communicators must respond quickly and truthfully to address misinformation. The speed of responding is critical in the digital world, especially when an organization is facing a crisis. The public also expects to hear something from the organization as soon as possible. It’s also always important for organizations to remember the three possible responses to a media request from the public. The three responses are: "We know what happened and here is all the information", "We have no information yet, but once we find out we will tell you.", "We don’t know everything at this time. Here’s what we know. We’ll find out more and let you know." Shein aims to address all issues but tends not to reach all concerned ones.
The carbon footprint that Shein leaves on this world is something that everyone should be scared of in the future. The fast-fashion industry involves a lot of energy and involves a bunch of movements to make the items at a fast pace. This process consumes a lot of energy and water which is sourced from fossil fuels. (State of Matter, 2022) A large portion of Shein's clothing is made from synthetic materials like polyester, which is derived from petroleum. The production of synthetic fibers like this is highly energy-intensive and releases gases that are not good for the Earth or to breathe in. (Maiti, 2024) In a 2024 Clean Energy Close-Up report, done by Stand.com, showed that Shein increased its carbon emissions by 50%. (Sessoms, 2024) This means that they now release more carbon into the atmosphere than the country of Paraguay. Shein keeps on trying to cover up the allegations against them, but it seems like something new is coming out from them. Overall Shein produces 6.3 million tons of carbon yearly. (Chairez, 2023) This amount of carbon output could leave a lasting effect for many generations to come, especially for the younger ones buying from this brand and other fast fashion companies.
Shein has spoken about how they have decarbonized their supply chain, and how they fight climate change with their partners in a 2022 statement. There are three major areas that they touched on in the statement. See Appendix A pg. 26 for a chart of all 3 scopes In scope one, they said that they were going to invest in energy-saving efforts. They want to head towards carbon neutrality by 2030, and that is their goal. In scope two they said they are going to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates, in where they operate their warehouses. In the third scope, they want to work closely with their supply chain and expert partners to collaborate on carbon reduction plans and to transition to renewable energy sources. (Shein, 2022) With the high amount of demand for fashion and home products from Shein though, things still seem to be the same and rising. That goes for any fast fashion website selling things in high amounts and fast.
The fibers made in these clothes do not decompose easily, and most of the waste fills up the landfills. (20 Minutes, 2022) There is a lot of extra scraps made which just gets thrown out into the garbage. More than 60% of the fiber is synthetic, coming from fossil fuels so when it all ends up in the landfill it will most likely not decay (Schlossberg, 2019) Consumers often dispose of the items as well, and fast because of how poorly made the items are. Shein also uses plastic bags to package their products, which begins to add up to a lot because of how much is produced around the world. As a brand, it is important to be transparent with your consumers, and something like this is not advertised when purchasing for the company. The number one thing about knowing your brand is to be true to it, and others. Showing the audience how you correctly manufacture things could be a huge step in the right direction for Shein if they have nothing to hide. Or they could show how they use their waste for other products they are producing.
Fast fashion doesn’t come easily, and it does come at the cost of whether the world wants to breathe fresh air in 2124 or not. Even if we look back at the clothes that were made in 2000, one could tell a huge difference in the materials that fast fashion producers use today to make jeans. When ordering jeans from Shein, they almost come to you like stretchy pants, and in a weird jean material. Jeans go as low as $5 on Shein’s website, and there is no telling how low they could go just from another fast fashion seller. While these clothes have all of these synthetics in them making them feel cheap, that’s why people only wear this stuff for one or two events - then it's in the trash. Once it goes to the trash, it just builds up at the landfill. The consumers need to understand that they’re contributing to the landfill waste and to take action against Shein. This stuff could sit in landfills for days, and then it just builds up and builds up. Landfills next to these garnet-making factories are filled up to the top with old discarded clothes, or even just scraps. Something that could be more eco-friendly for these organizations is to reuse their scraps. Re-using the scraps that they cut from these designs could save so much space and be healthier for the environment.
In Ghana, old discarded clothes are piling up. - Muntaka Chasant//SIPA / Pixpalace
With Shein’s efforts on trying to fix their carbon emissions, the carbon footprint they leave alone will still leave a lasting effect on our environment. Their damages lead to more events in global warming which causes sea levels to rise, severe weather changes, and even a change in the temperature. The air will remain polluted due to these heavy machines using so much energy and could cause lasting effects on the air that we breathe. Shein has warned consumers on how they have tried to fix it, but nothing seems to be changing. To ensure a long working impact on the Earth, Shein will need to rethink how they get clothes out fast in a much safer way that is healthy for our environment, workers, and consumers.
Shein is a very unethical organization. They waste carbon into the world and treat their employees poorly. Their item descriptions are also very misleading and most of the clothing made by Shein is poorly made and very cheap. Most items come wrong as well and the sizing chart is most of the time off. As an organization, it’s important to lead them in the right direction with the right moral values. If you want a successful company with no backlash it’s vile that people understand all that you do with a bright light shining on your brand in a good way. One way to fix their unethical dilemma of stealing designers' designs is to collaborate with small designers.
Collaborating with small designers could show consumers that you care about their artwork, and how you want both sides of the parties to come out with financial and customer growth. They have made a small step towards fixing their carbon emission, but it’s important to stay with the statements that they first put out. No one has heard anything since 2022, so it is time for them to release some more reports of how they are reducing the amount of carbon they are releasing from their factories. Some have said that where the Shein factory is located in China, you can see the pollution in the night sky.
With the media evolving daily, new marketing ideas are thought of daily. Shein is known to be the best at marketing their brand and having the most eye-catching campaigns. Their marketing skills are through the roof, and they start with using influencers. Every day a new influencer surfaces on the internet. It is so easy in today’s world to become internet famous. By using any kind of hashtag or knowing the algorithm, anyone can do it. Once you become internet famous, you are open to many brand deals with these huge organizations, and Shein takes advantage of this. With Shein having the best game in marketing this puts them at so much revenue and financial growth for their company.
Everyone is always scrolling through social media, so seeing your favorite influencer doing a Shein haul will make them want to go to Shein and purchase the same thing they just showed off. Shein also has their own social media accounts where they do engaging behind-the-scene videos of styling any kind of outfit for any event. “Shein heavily relies on user-generated content (UGC) and influencer-generated content (IGC). They leverage the power of their engaged community by showcasing real people wearing their fashion items through a mix of videos and images.” (Storyclash, 2023)
In mid-June 2023, Shein sent a group of influencers to China to showcase some things live from their warehouse, but things ended up going south for both parties. Shein expected the influencers to only see their new high-tech machines, but they got a look into how the organization really ran things. Some of the influencers, Kenya Freeman being one of them, mentioned how her followers were not happy with her visiting the location due to Shein’s past allegations. (Maruf, 2023) One influencer, Dani Carbonari, said she was going to be an “investigative journalist”. (Mendez II, 2023) Many of the influencers on this trip went on to say that they were surprised by what they saw at the warehouses. Many of them knew about what was seen before with Shein and they said that most of the “workers” in the warehouse were just robotic machines. Some of them even interviewed a few of the workers, and they said that everything was fine there and within the organization.
Social media did not take any of this lightly. All of the influencers that were invited on this trip were put under a lamp and many people thought they were getting paid to say and post these things. This trip was to help build a better image in the eye of social media because of everything that has gone around, but it ended up backfiring and making things worse. Kelly Kellen, associate professor of marketing at Aurora University, said that even though influencers are at the top of their minds for marketing to Gen Z, they still need and want transparency. (Maruf 2023) Transparency is key for strategic communication. While these influencers are getting bank from Shein promoting their clothes, most of them ignore the fact that they are promoting a toxic environmental matter for the Earth. Many consumers realized after this brand trip that it was all a cover-up and it’s time to notice how Shein is affecting our environment.
Three images showing videos from the brand trip (Iqbal, 2023)
Marketing ideas come easily to Chris Xu, the founder and CEO of Shein. He specializes in SEO and marketing assets, which are some of the main things for any company looking to sell things. With Xu specializing in SEO, he is able to optimize Shein’s website and product listings for search engines, which means there will be a high percentage of people finding what they need when searching for fashion products related to what they need. In 2022, Shein had a yearly revenue of 22.7 billion USD. (Chen, 2022) This much revenue for any fast fashion industry is beyond wild, and it’s all due to the personalized ads of Shein on any consumer's social media.
Shein has pop-up shops in different cities across the world. These shops only last for about a week, but they definitely get the job done of spreading the word about the brand. Marketing has become really easy for people due to social media. Just knowing the algorithm and where things end up can be an easy way for one to locate their brand in the right place and audience. It’s all about which audience you are looking to promote to and how they are going to reach that out in a further place. At these pop-up shops, they will have influencers there that are local to the spot along with great deals on the clothes they are selling there. At the pop-up shops, they can be very size-inclusive and are mainly for women's clothing. Their top-selling clothes are being showcased at these shops, so you won’t see the most obscure items from the website.
Shein also has a very loyal consumer fan base. They have a point system where every time you purchase an item, your points will add up to where you can get some things free once you have enough points to earn that certain item. On their website, they have contests and giveaways as well. As soon as you open the website you can click on a wheel to spin to see which coupon you win for logging on. This method of selling can be really good for your organization because one will be more inclined to buy something with the pleasure of knowing that they got it at a great price. One could even compare it to a look-a-like from another brand and the item that Shein offers will be significantly cheaper, so that means that most people who shop with Shein will always choose Shein because of the more affordable option.
When clicking on Shein’s website, you are automatically greeted with all of their sales and “weekly wonders”. This is very engaging for consumers because who doesn’t love a good deal on their clothes? One key thing about strategic communication is keeping your audience engaged. Keeping your audience engaged will help you keep a good relationship with them, and have them wanting to know more and see what’s in store for your brand. One could also join the SHEIN club where they will receive an extra 5% off over 100k items, 12x shipping coupons, and more points rewarded to their account. Shein makes their customers feel wanted and appreciated because no company wants to lose their loyal fan base or else that means no financial growth for them.
Shein manages to add 6,000 new items to their website every day just going to show more that they stay on the hottest trends to be the best competitor. (Barton, 2022) In a study once, a deal on a good piece of clothing was shown some pleasure in the brain, while if you were to see something you wanted with a much higher price… Well, this causes pain in that part of the brain. No one wants to feel pain for spending more money on something that they can buy off of Shein for a good price. Chris Xu knows how to market and campaign for his brand, and it is paying off. If one were to hear about a 90% sale of course they're going to look for one thing to purchase, just so they can brag to anyone about the deals they just got. It's in our human nature to say “Oh hey look, I just got this cute and trendy shirt for only $2” Little does the buyer know that the shirt they are going to wear on their back was made by someone who is being overworked and overpaid.
Above is the top banner of Shein’s website
Conclusion
Shein will continue to produce a harmful amount of gasses in the air with the much-needed supply of these clothes they need to mail. Them and many other fast fashion industries are affecting the environment in many ways. Shein is a company that sells fast fashion items that are unfriendly to the environment and have unlikely working conditions for their employees. They are number one in the fast fashion sites, and this paper discussed problems and issues within their organization, and how they have managed them. This paper explored how Shein is affecting our environment, and how their marketing skills are keeping them in the game. Throughout this paper, Shein’s history was discussed, their stakeholders were researched, and there was a glance at the protests against them, how Shein is affecting our environment, and their amazing marketing skills. As the fast-fashion industry is quickly growing, it is apparent that the earth’s environment is slowly going to pay for it.
In this case study we found that Shein and other fast fashion industries are contributing to the amount of toxic gasses in the air that we breathe. From the research, we found out that Shein puts out 6.3 billion tons of carbon yearly into the air in China. There is no telling how many more factories do this just to make clothes that are synthetic as well. These synthetic clothes are not good for our landfills because they pile up and the synthetics in them take longer to decay.
Shein has had multiple protests against them, along with several trending hashtags to end them, and petitions. Shein doesn’t comment on these protests, and for a brand, it’s important to be aware of the crisis your organization is in. For many people to be advocating against you, one must be transparent with the public to put the controversy around your brand to rest. The number one thing in crisis management is to be on time with your response and to be honest in it. Gaining trust with your consumers helps build a stronger brand.
With Shein stealing designs and copying other small creators, this makes them an unethical organization. It is important to realize what they are doing and show them what they are responsible for doing. Small creators work hard on their designs and spend hours on end creating them. They build their own consumer base, just for it all to be stolen by Shein.
Shein has a grasp on their marketing and campaigning skills though, and that is what keeps them in the fast-fashion business. When we apply the Diffusion of Innovations theory to Shein’s brand, we can see that they are innovators. Within the categories of people wanting to try new trends, innovators are the people who are willing to take risks. Shein can topple any new trend while taking a risk because if something doesn’t sell on their website, they have thousands of other stolen ideas and options to choose from.
Within their marketing ideas, they can find the newest influencers straight off social media to help them promote their brand and clothing. These influencers become famous overnight and are instantly offered brand deals because of how much the younger generations can be persuaded to purchase something that someone famous has. Media is evolving very quickly in this day, and Shein has taken advantage of it. Instagram and TikTok are Shein’s main sources of social media which is what most of the younger generation is using.
Shein seems to be working on their carbon emissions from a report in 2022, but that is it. They still are producing a bunch of greenhouse gases into the air, and people are still trying to cancel Shein. The amount of attention Shein gets for this subject doesn’t outweigh the purchases they receive on the daily though. They are still making so much revenue from their sales and come out on top as the biggest fast fashion leader in sales.
Fast fashion will be around for a while, especially a brand like Shein, and it will continue to affect our environment. The only way to fix it is to advocate for ethical ways in their brand. The people purchasing the clothes have to decide between two things, do they want to wear clothes that were made nicely, but for a more expensive price? Or do they want to wear clothes that were made unethically and at a cheaper price? It’s up to the consumers to decide Shein’s fate.
Appendix A
Above is a chart from Shein.com (2022) showing how their three scopes showed some change within the year.
References
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Cassey. (2024, July 15). Shein is stealing designs again. Blogilates. https://www.blogilates.com/blog/shein-stealing-popflex-designs/
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Chairez. (2023). Shein Clothing. Design Life-Cycle. https://www.designlife-cycle.com/shein-clothing#:~:text=6.3%20million%20tons%20of%20carbon
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