Friday, September 2: Stop Buying Trash
The irony of burying ourselves in cheap plastics to try and appear rich
Seemingly overnight, everything became Shein. The popular Chinese online fast-fashion retailer has gone from carrying cheap knock-offs of designer items to supplying literally every conceivable clothing item, in every size and color. Shein’s popularity has allowed it to surpass Amazon as the most downloaded shopping app in the US! Gone are the days when a customer needed to shell out thousands of dollars for a Louis Voitten or a Balenciago (misspelled to indicate disrespect), now Shein drowns its consumers in overwhelming options, all relatively inexpensive and shipped expeditiously. Should we ask who’s making these clothes or should we just sit back and enjoy the feeling of plastic melting onto our skin?
The good news is, we don’t have to look far to find controversy. As its popularity has grown, so too have allegations of Shein violating Chinese labor laws. There have been rumors of stolen designs and copyright infringements, stories of exploited migrant workers stuck at sewing machines for 12 hours a day, and informal factories set up in residential buildings. So the question remains, is a cheap knockoff fit worth exploiting people you’ll probably never encounter? To many teenagers, (and some grown folks too) the answer is a resounding yes.
“If the workers are complaining they’re not being paid as much, that’s completely different than saying they’re forcing children to work. How can I stand against them if I don’t have anything to back it up?”
“I do think that people deserve to have nice things and not pay that kind of money. A lot of us that work regular 9-to-5 jobs can’t afford $2,000 shoes.”
-Ann Taylor, shameless Shein apologist/soulless consumer
What is it about garbage that we love so much? And why are we collectively obsessed with the appearance of wealth? When everyone feels entitled to looking like a million bucks, the logical result is inflating pennies to resemble riches. The good news is, whether cheap or expensive, sustainably-sourced or otherwise, it’s all flammable and soon it’ll all burn.
Side Items
In a speech watched by god knows whom, Biden used his big boy voice to call MAGA republicans a threat to democracy. I’d elaborate, but given that it’s not yet Halloween, I can’t be bothered to watch an animatronic skeleton
The chairman of a Russian oil conglomerate conveniently/inconveniently fell from the sixth-floor window of a hospital and died, as one does. This isn’t the first high-profile death under shady circumstances in Russia, and I’m willing to bet it won’t be the last
In sporting news, Donovan Mitchell may as well have won a championship by himself as he was traded away from the Utah Jazz (arguably the worst team to play for in the league) to the Cleveland Cavaliers (I mean…it’s Cleveland). Apologies to Cleveland fans, but it’s kinda like being traded from the bathroom floor to the garbage can