Every year, 101 million tons of clothing end up in landfills. Shein is one of the top contributors to the already growing situation. Shein has grown in popularity of the widespread talk of their bizarrely inexpensive clothing items and accessories. This company is known for its trendy, stylish, and affordable clothing.
It may seem like an awesome steal to buy a top for two dollars, but when you receive your order, you will see the poor quality of these garments. These clothing items aren't made to be sustainable unless you know how to repurpose them. These clothes will fall apart and just end up contributing to the millions of tons of clothing in landfills.
Shein has faced many scandals in the past with their unethical labor practices. Each worker is required to make 500 pieces of clothing each day, and they only receive as little as four cents per item of clothing. Shein says that their workers only work 10-12 hours a day, but in reality, they are working up to 18 hours a day. If a worker made a mistake on one piece of clothing they are penalized with a deduction of up to two-thirds of that day's pay.
Shein is also said to even have health concerns. An investigation disclosed that some of their garments even contain an unsafe and toxic level of lead. It isn’t only Shein that is known to have toxic chemicals. Many fast-fashion companies have this problem. Not only are their clothes toxic, but the Earth itself faces consequences. The carbon emissions released by fast-fashion industries are colossal. One can only begin to imagine the carbon emissions Shein is responsible for when they produce thousands of new clothing items a day.