Just when the world was realizing how fast fashion is destroying the planet, a new player appeared.
Shein, a $100 billion Chinese fast-fashion retailer, has been criticized by the fashion media for perpetuating wasteful binge-consumption. Now, ThredUp is entering the fray. The Oakland-based consignment site is sending push notifications to its Bay Area customers, asking them to boycott Shein’s pop-up store in San Francisco this weekend. It is rare for one company in the fashion industry to attack another so directly.
“This is definitely a first for ThredUp,” says Erin Wallace, ThredUp’s vice president of integrated marketing. “It’s an indication that we think Shein is a real problem.”
The Chinese retailer first launched in 2008 but grew at an alarming rate in the last five years as it expanded into the US market. Its revenue skyrocketed from $2 billion in 2018 to $15.7 billion in 2021, and it’s now valued at $100 billion, which is more than the combined worth of fast fashion pioneers H&M and Zara. In May, Shein overtook Amazon as the top shopping app in US app stores.
Shein’s business model is to produce more low-quality, trendy clothing than its fast-fashion rivals, in part because it uses sweatshops. Fashion analytics company Edited found that between January and April this year, Shein had sold 314,877 new styles, far dwarfing H&M’s 4,414 styles and Zara’s 6,849 styles. Shein has also mastered the art of social media marketing, capturing the Gen Z market. It’s evident in what are known as “Shein hauls,” where influencers model dozens of Shein outfits at once on TikTok and Instagram. (Shein did not respond to our request for comment.)
This incredible upheaval is devastating to the planet. Huge resources are required to manufacture and ship so much clothing around the world. And by selling most items for $15 or less, consumers are encouraged to think of them as disposable. “[ThredUp’s] The goal is to create a future where we reuse more clothing than we produce,” says Wallace. “When you have players like Shein, that goal seems more and more distant. It’s encouraging overconsumption and throwaway fashion on a whole different scale.” Not to mention the sweatshop element.
Shein has been making pop-up stores in the US for the past few years, but Wallace says ThredUp decided to act when Shein announced their pop-up store at the Embarcadero Center. “This is our home turf,” she says. “We decided it was time to say something.”
ThredUp wants to position itself as a more sustainable alternative to fast fashion. The company receives millions of used clothes daily from consumers and has built extensive processing facilities that sort these products before putting them online for resale. ThredUp prices these products cheaply, making them competitive with brands like Shein. He earns pennies on every used piece of equipment sold, but because he sells hundreds of millions of them a year, he can bring in annual revenue of $251.8 million. ThredUp argues that its model has a smaller environmental footprint than fast fashion because reusing clothing avoids the use of water, natural resources, and carbon emissions required to produce a new garment. (Emissions are still required to ship the clothes across the country.)
In theory, ThredUp could benefit from Shein’s constant rotation of clothes because consumers could resell them on the site, generating more revenue. And indeed, ThredUp sells Shein clothing on their website. “We are a reflection of what is in the market,” says Wallace. “Our mission is to keep clothes out of landfills.”
Still, ThredUp thought it was worth taking a Shein position again, and it’s also a smart marketing move. In addition to urging customers to boycott the Shein event, ThredUp is offering new customers a 40% discount and free shipping on their first purchase. “The only thing holding us back is not wanting to make any consumer feel bad about their purchasing choices,” he says. “We saw an opportunity to start a conversation and provide resources for people who want to learn more.”
Source: www.fastcompany.com