i’m not done watching but “they weren’t even sweating” is such a wild statement i had to pause to recoup

you raise the youtube bar so high that for the rest of us it's just a speck in the sky... you're so talented

I feel like the influencers are partially at fault for taking the brand deal but i also believe the shien was intentionally talking advantage of smaller influencers

people like to think that no ethical consumption under capitalism means choose the least ethical option possible without guilt lol

I recently made a simple miniskirt from scratch. I would guess I could buy a similar item for like $8. now that my hands have experienced the process of assembling a garment, it makes the idea of paying $8 for labor, materials, administration, marketing, and transportation seem WILD.

im a long term shein hater so i LOVE that you covered this. i feel like "there is no ethical consumption under capitalism" has been used as a shield to intentionally make more unethical choices because it is faster to go to something cheap and trendy than do the research to make the lesser unethical choice, theres likely never going to be a lack of unethical consumption in any industry, because of capitalism, but there are definitely places to steer clear of. i love this video and the insight you added!! also love that you always have the captions ready to go

It’s not like SHEIN would have shown them an inhumane factory… and the company doesn’t deserve props for doing the BARE MINIMUM of having a clean room???? But I don’t blame the influencers (although this definitely yikes)

if Faust were a POC influencer Mephistopheles would have offered him a brand deal

as a seamstress, it’s fundamentally shaped the way i value clothing, and i wish more people valued the skill that goes into even making a simple shirt. the reality is that clothes SHOULD be more expensive, because anyone who’s ever tried to make something will know that it’s not an easy task. as a society we need to see clothes as something valuable that you keep with you for a long time, and recognize that factory production doesnt negate the fact that each worker is insanely skilled at what they do. i’d charge someone probably at least $150 for a pair of pants, and while factory optimization will of course cut down on a lot of that cost, the fact that we expect a pair of pants to be under $50 means that we are expecting the workers to be exploited. of course, this doesn’t address the major issue of the huge amounts of people who couldn’t afford to buy a $50 pair of pants, but i think society not expecting us to buy new clothes every month would help everyone at least a little bit.

"No ethical consumption under capitalism" isn't an excuse to not TRY to make better choices, but rather, a statement of awareness that, under our current system, someone is always being exploited. It is inherent under capitalism. We can still attempt to do LESS exploitation. It's like when people bring up poverty-reduction as a way to reduce crime. We get the excuse handed back to us that, "There are always going to be bad people who just do bad things." Like, yeah, but why are you saying that as if to mean, "We can't get it down to zero, so why bother trying?"

i think a very basic rule to learn is that if something comes very cheap, it's at someone else's expense

it’s a great day for a shanspeare video (everyday is)

i really appreciate you covering up the creators faces and giving them aliases. it is such a humane touch and it really warms my heart

fashion may one day be fair, at least it can get fairer, but fast fashion never can be. fast fashion is fundamentally held up with sweatshop labor and environmental damage period. there’s just no way around it. when buying firsthand, either you pay more for your clothes (throughout most of history clothing has been a large expense for most/regular people and you just didn’t have an endless supply of new clothes) or you’re wearing stuff made by exploited people (usually women and girls) and paying to companies that dump the waste of such large scale production onto the poorest people and countries in Asia and Africa. i’m not saying it’s easy to avoid it (hello recent weight gain and none of my non stretch clothing fits me anymore), but we can all make efforts small and large.

Living for the thumbnail and then we have a sad reality in the background too!

The farther I progress into anti-capitalism and eco-friendliness, the more I see just how multi-faceted the problem is to tackle. Corporations spend millions of dollars on people whose sole job is to convince us to spend more. Culturally, buying goods is tied to love, celebration, holidays, recovering from sadness, etc. Untangling ourselves from hyperconsumerism is a long haul process, and I've learned to have a lot more compassion for myself and others even when it feels like the process isn't going fast enough.

It feels so hopeless, refraining from buying from fast fashion, pleading with your friends to do the same and have them dismiss you. This kind of video helps a bit I suppose. Thanks for your work

My consumption habits changed so fast once my partner started working as an Amazon driver. It was awful, and it's heartbreaking how people don't realize people are delivering 100s of packages everyday. The dispatch is almost always pushing people to go faster. And the amount of harassment that my partner got for "going onto peoples property," even though everything they were wearing says Amazon, made me afraid they would get hurt on the job. Also the pee bottles are real, and sometimes ppl just leave them in the vans overnight 🤢

Watching this just added more fuel to my desire to learn to make my own clothing. As a 6ft tall woman who straddles the boundary between straight and plus sized garments, my best choice has lately been an online retailer that caters specifically to tall women, but a pair of pants I bought from them are nearly worn through after just ten months. The fast fashion-led environmental decline we live in is bad enough, but considering I usually have to pay a premium for pants long enough to fit me, and how difficult it is to find replacements when the trend cycles are so short styles I like are impossible to find after two years, I'm getting fed up. Thanks for making this, I always love your videos

As a poor kid, I've always embraced hand-me-downs growing up - my mother would also wear my granddad's old shirts to school (some people mocked her for it, but honestly it's just how things worked for her - if she could she'd tailor the clothes to suit her or even take them apart and make a new piece of clothing from that fabric!) and I actually loved wearing decades-old dresses because it made me feel closer to my Ukrainian heritage. Apart from that, I've always loved browsing charity shops and second-hand sellers for clothing; it's so much more interesting! Fast fashion has nearly reeled me in a number of times but I can't bring myself to be consumed by the latest trends. I like what I wear; it shows parts of my true self and uniqueness. Luckily, any fast fashion I do own is easily mendable or has held up over time, but I built a sense of style that suits me, and when I look at my clothes I appreciate the memories they hold, when I wear my clothes I think of the comfort or beauty I feel. Just like other belongings throughout my life, they are precious, and I love to present myself with a story.

Oh my god, finally. A video about how bad the fashion industry is that doesn't just tell consumers to stop buying from like 2 companies. I always feel these kinds of videos are way to preoccupied with the feelings of consumers and how "clean" they feel instead of actually empowering the workers behind the brands.

thank you for speaking up for the planet, sustainable labor, and fashion but DAMN them thangs are thangin 😫

whats so sad is that smaller influencers (not the ones talked about here just in general) work with them bc they probably are excited that a brand reached out to them a didn't wanna turn it down.

Not saying it's productive to pile on top of a bunch of young folk who maybe need better educating on the matter, but I think the feelings of betrayal and vitriol aimed at the influencers for what they did is best summed up as: that was class treason.

Me: **hears about some online drama** Also Me: **waits until a trusted KZfaq video essayist makes a video about it to find out what the hell is going on**

I think individual work counts on an local level. I bought a t-shirt made in my city from a local boutique and it was soooo expensive - but I also felt like I put food on the table for someone, rather than making the number go up in a corporate bank account. Of course, I could’ve bought half a wardrobe from H&M with the same amount of money, and that could’ve been the right move if my financial situation was different. We can’t take down the fast fashion industry as individuals, but if we’re able to, purchasing from local artisans can make a difference on a very small scale. As cheesy as the story is, that starfish story has some fair points. You can’t save every starfish that washes up on the beach, but choosing to help just one makes a difference to that one starfish.

I found it funny/surprising you had to clarify “made in America” doesn’t mean “produced ethically”. A lot of consumable goods produced in the US (like food & cosmetics) don’t pass other countries safety regulations and are infamous for being produced by -sweatshops- private prison inmates and free-to-fire labourers. Not saying the US is worse than China on ethical production, of course, but from the outside, the US reputation has gotten abysmal for the 20 last years.

So unrelated but I need to add this, I’m babysitting and set up my niece with a film whilst I work on a painting in the other room, love listening to Shans essays while I work. Well I didn’t know she snuck in behind me until she said “that lady is pretty, is she a teacher?” She came in to ask for a snack and melted my heart at the same time. Girlie gets beautiful intelligence❤

Okay but can we talk about how the internet absolutely tore down and savagely went after these marginalized creators in a way that it absolutely Never does for the tons and tons of thin YT creators making brand deals or doing huge shein hauls? I'm not saying it's correct but I can at least understand why someone might think "okay I'm going to see if this company is really as bad as everyone says for myself" while not understanding that companies can hide their dirt as it were as a PR stunt.

$0.02 per 500 outfits would equate to $10 per day.

The ethical capitalism idea makes me feel a bit better about my one woman Nestle boycott 😅 I’m not goin around shaming anybody or preaching. I just can live without Nestle… so My family and I do. I gotta watch that piece !

Personally I was feeling pretty cynical about these influencers essentially hiding behind their marginalized identities as justification for their decision to team up with Shien. It seemed very tone deaf that they were waving the victim flag whist stepping on the victims of these sweatshops and not being aware of their own privilege compared to those workers. I really appreciate you touching on that subject; I feel like a lot of American do not realize how privileged they are to live in America (without resorting to whataboutism).

I bought from Shein once. The clothes were actually fine and I still wear them. But I learned about the company and so I didn't buy from them again. I don't like how we're conditioned to view clothes as disposable.

Side note: I love your hair!! My twists never come out like that 😅 I’m yet to perfect my twists. Also really enjoying the video ❤

1: your hair and outfit... GORGEOUS OMG??? 2: i literally forgot this happened, so thank you for bringing it back onto my (and many other's) radar lol 3: you laid this out wonderfully. straight to the point, organized, and so respectful great vid as always! EDIT: i also want to add, i am someone that watches videos with captions when available, and i just want to thank you for ALWAYS editing and captioning your vids and not just letting the closed captions be auto generated. idk about anyone else but it at least means a lot to me

The complexity of these issues can be too much for me sometimes, and I usually just choose not to buy any clothes. Most of my wardrobe is fast fashion that is 5-10 years old. When I do need something I spend a lot of time searching to find something that I like, can afford, and uses as much organic material as possible. Even then I'm still not perfect because I usually only find new rather than used items. The industry is so twisted it's almost impossible to do something as simple as clothe yourself without hurting anyone.

This video provided enough time for me to finish felling the seams on a linen dress I'm sewing out of an unwearable skirt. 10/10 would recommend

hooting and yippeeing and hollering. your art has raised the bar every time, and you've made me interested in topics i've brushed past every. single. time. thanks for making such insightful and nuanced essays! i'm always so so so excited to see you in my subscription box.

After watching the doc “The Real Cost” a few years ago, I started shopping for clothing 90-95% ethically. It’s easier for me as a single person, but remember, thrifting is also ethical!

Talent? Eye for cinematography? Great essays? You are amazing and thank you for your help into navigating internet as a non American

all of ur videos are so well researched and delivered! keep on slaying shanspeare we love u!!

The irony of getting shein and temu ads on this video 😮‍💨

You‘re on of the few video essayists that always brings a new perspective to topics

also, I worked at winners, and it's lowkey a sweatshop if you're working downstairs in the inventory department. I can't tell for all locations, but the one I worked at - definitely sweat shop adjacent

Every bullet is a horror, buying pants is a horror. Even if I'm considering cheese, I have to walk in the dark. I've never considered Shein. So far at least, my box from Amazon hasn't had a note asking 'help me', but it's just a matter of time at this point.

These kinds of videos helped me discover the ethics of and sustainability of fashion which I'm very passionate about now! I even wrote an essay about it last year at school and it was the first time I got to research about something I was interested in.

The edits got me CACKLING. Amazing video and research as usual ❤

thank you for the yummy content, very excited to consume

lovely, nuanced video -- thank you for this Shanspeare!! also, just always appreciate that you immediately have incredible and accurate captions available WHEN you upload videos. that commitment to accessibility means so much to me!!!!

Editing and humor are top tier in this one

I personally, am very sorry with the workers in those factory and i will for sure support the union for basic workers rights, but i'll continue avoid buying from those brands, i stopped two years ago due to the enviromental issue... This will not be solved by keep buying new things. PS. Nice hair!❤

At first I was a little taken aback by you not naming the influencers, but after taking a minute to think about it I totally respect the decision. Of course I think that they messed up taking the trip, it was actually such a crazy moment when one of the influencers said something along the lines of “the factory was nothing like I thought it would be”. But like girly why did you go in the first place. However while I don’t like the choices made they are not the problem, they may be apart of the problem but they ARE NOT the problem. Brands, companies, massively rich ceos are the issue. I have such a complicated relationship with Shein, today it can be so hard to find nice clothing for a decent price. Even the cheap clothing in terms of materials is expensive nowadays. So I totally understand the need to order from Shein. As a broke college student I get it, I’m lucky that I can thrift for my clothing, wait for sales (or ask my mum to buy it lol). And I can thrift because I’m about a US size M, so it’s easy for me to thrift. My mother on the other hand is about a US 2x-3x depending on brand. It’s incredibly hard for her to shop at retail stores, let alone thrift clothing. My sister is about a 2xs or xs and she struggles just as much as my mother. While neither my mum or sis have never ordered from shein I know that sometimes they are heavily tempted when they NEED a garment for work, church, or school. So I understand why people do shop shein and right now companies still want to cut out plus size people, or “poor” people. So I would feel for those who need to shop shein if it all of a sudden died out. I would also feel for those who have a job somewhere in shein, and like their job or what have you and just lost it. It’s easy to pick and choose parts of the problem because, attacking 1 person or 1 company is easier then tackling the whole problem. I think the best thing we can do right now as a community is go back to the elementary school mantra, “reduce, reuse, recycle”. Currently we love to preach the third option, but this little saying isn’t recycle first. We need to REDUCE first. Cut down on what we buy, ask ourselves, “do we need it? Will we use it more then a handful of times?” So on so forth. After that we need to reuse, stop tossing things into the recycling bin or donating to the thrift shop, just to feel good. Find ways to reuse what you have, use things until they have hit their last time. I think a skill that definitely needs to come back is the act of mending something, fix that button on a shirt instead of buying a new one, find way to use your pasta sauce glass jars instead of tossing them ect. And finally once you have used something to the point it is no longer possible to be used, see if you can PROPERLY recycle it. If you can’t that’s okay, at least you were able to slow down on consumption and make a small change in how much we buy and throw away.

Ive been trying to practice ethical consumption for a few years (thrifting, supporting fair trade or other socially certified businesses, only going fast if i feel like i cant find what i need in my price). I havent done much research on it in a long time, so i didnt know that there were orgs to support the workers rights for the affected companies. I will definitely take a look at those, thank you

I was so invested in this and now I get to hear Shanspeare’s thoughts on the matter? It’s a good day.

21:58 This reminds me of a certain NYC fire from 1911… hmmm…. Both garment factories, both with long hours, both with barred/locked areas… it’s so similar, just one is waiting to happen and another has already happened.

Lol I've never been so early for a video of yours. It's always so exciting whenever you share a new one!!! LOVE FROM ARGENTINA 💜🥰🇦🇷

when i tell u my day lit up when i got this notif, these videos are always so entertaining to watch and captivate my full attention (unless ive already watched them lol)

i’m also tired of using the c word to explain the pit of fire that surrounds us- i love your take on how your perspective changed from the individual boycotting to consumer lobbying for better worker rights. this is something i want to look into locally! as always thank you for the time and effort put into your work ❤️

I always love watching your videos. You surprise me so much! No matter how popular a topic is you always bring an interesting perspective or dig into a specific aspect that doesnt get attention. I'm so glad I watched this! You always teach me something new 💚

The way you break everything down and make it entertaining and accessible while still being informative while also being gorgeous 🤩🤩

Shein won't be destroyed by it. The amount of youtubers that receive gifts from Shein is growing and growing. I followed a couple of influencers of every kind from my country (Mexico). Beauty gurus, vloggers, house decoration, etc. They all ended up at some point offering Shein discount codes and getting huge boxes of stuff from them. I unfollowed them and left a comment about how dissapointed I was. There were only very few comments about that in their videos. Most of their followers congratulated them for having a deal of some kind with Shein. The only way we could bring ultra fast fashion down a bit, is to stop supporting influencers that offer their discount codes. They are the ones that get Shein customers by the millions.

I loved your video, it's amazing how much work you put behind it and delivered it with such professionalism🤩. It was really nice especially how you didn't end it with the simple answer of just boycott fast fashion, but instead found out about better options for the workers. I'm glad I have never purchased anything from Shein, but I surely have from other fast fashion brands. Nowadays I try to thrift most of my clothes and furniture and at least where I live we have great thrift stores. Thanks again for your superb video❤

this has to be the best ad promo i have ever witnessed. did not see it coming. love it

i like to get clothes at thrift shops but they don't have everything. I also love hand me downs.

Keeping us fed with the brains, the writing and the visuals, *in adele's voice* ladies and gentlemen, them 😃😃🎉

Thredup really dropped the ball not sponsoring this video. Anyone who really wants fast fashion can find it secondhand there

I live in Europe and ordered expensive dresses from a high-end German internet store. They sell joggers for $600, and coats for $2000, for example. I had ordered from their sale before (only way I could ever afford a dress there). So when I got the dresses I tried them on and they were beautifully made. Imagine my consternation when I saw “Made in China” on the label. That’s when I realised that garments produced in China aren’t necessarily cheap sweatshop products. They definitely were different to my Shein clothes from my younger years. It’s just not possible to know what working conditions in factories of different brands are like. What I will say: if I buy a T-shirt for $7 and factor in the material, electricity, rent, machine maintenance and shipping, there can’t be much left for the worker who produced the item. Pennies per item. And I refuse to be part of that injustice and perpetuate the abuse. I know, not everybody has the luxury to choose, but I’d rather buy a second hand T-shirt for $10 than Shein for $7.

Thank you for having proper captioning!! 😭 I appreciate it so much!

This was super interesting! The into the shein machine doc was really informative, but I love your digestible summary of all of the news :)

People in America “supporting” these workers right won’t do anything Unless I’m missing something. How could we possibly change these companies mind ? If we’re still buying the clothing then why would the company have any reason to change ? That sounds like a pipe dream to be honest I think boycotting is the only way

I actually really appreciate the way you're trying to make it so people apply that they learn to other topics

"my own eyes did not see what everybody else is talking about" this sentence stuck with me... I don't feel like i can necessarily analyse it, or that it's my place. I'm not even mad at the person who said it. it's just... harrowing tbh

The way you present a nuanced point but stay strong to your internal morals is very admirable!

This is so embarrassing lmfao but my last name is Sheehan, pronounced the exact same as shein, and I refuse to pronounce shein correctly out of respect for myself. That company is fucked up as hell

When you said it started getting real bad in the 70’s I let out a guttural sigh and went to my altar to pray for Reagan’s eternal rotation on the spitfire of hell

Splendid video! I already shop 90% of clothing second hand and for my business only use ethically produced clothing but I didn't know anything about how bad sweatshops were untill I was like 30. So I am not surprised influencers went on this trip. The issue is with the company, not those who they fooled. ❤

okay im just really happy that you aren't giving any names out! i came across this in recommends and i finally decided to hop in to get a better understanding of what was going on, but i dont want to hate these girls. ive heard that one of them in particular (plus size as well?) that has gotten a lot of the hate targeted directly at her :( that's not helpful for them or us or the world.

thank you so much for such an amazing video! I learned a lot and you presented it in such a great digestable way that's got me really looking more into the topic of mass overseas production.

"What the hell would happen if there was a fire?" A lot of deaths, exactly what happened in the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in NYC in 1911. Garment workers are relatively more difficult to exploit in the US now because of the protection laws that garment worker unions fought for a century ago. As the saying goes, safety regulations are written in blood. Just a fun historical fact to add to your (genuinely) fun video about our global capitalist hellscape!

i am literally so happy that YOU made a video about this. cant wait to WATCHH

Your hair is FIRE in this video and that outfit looks so gooood! Thank you another interesting, entertaining and informative video to start my work day with 💙

It’s always interesting to me that the solution to workers’ rights issues can only be advocacy. Writers don’t want you to stop watching television, baristas don’t want you to skip your morning coffee, and sweatshop workers don’t want you to stop buying clothes. These are not equivalent, but examples of similarities across movements. It’s not that people “don’t want to work” it’s that they want dignity that can only be achieved by unity and advocacy. Speaking “with your wallet” can never help workers as much as legit action and policy. Also if Shanspeare sees this hi I would love a video about the trend of infantilizing women through calling things “girl”. Saw this tik tok about “girl math” meaning ignorance of how banking works and it’s not that deep I know but also it is that deep.

I've been binge watching your video essays while doing a sewing project. It's not even making a garment, it's just embroidery. And its taken about 12 hours of work, AND I'm not even halfway done. Even if the garments they make aren't always as complicated as embroidery, they're making FIVE HUNDRED. EVERY DAY. with few breaks and not enough money to live. I've been going crazy sitting for 3 hours straight sewing, getting up to fill my water bottle, switch to another video to watch, ordering pizza, taking a break to go outside, texting, sleeping, getting back to work, and then taking another break. I take as many breaks as I want and even then sewing and sitting for hours is still driving me crazy. I can't imagine never being able to take breaks when I need, not having enough to eat or a comfortable place to relax in when I'm done, working 18 hours a day and in the worst conditions. And with my life literally DEPENDING on it.

Your approach and own experience and knowledge is so valuable and I'm so glad you take the time to make these videos

You might be interested in the “follow the thing” research approach. It’s a newer approach to conducting research which focuses on how items get to the consumer, and the the people involved and impacted in between. They have a website that mimics a shopping website that shows you where your stuff comes from.

I love your videos so much!! So excited to see this one. Absolutely love your look in this one!

i’m just here to say that segway into the ad is the best i’ve ever seen in my decade of youtube watching. you are incredibly talented

We’re not supposed to boycott, but “lobby”for change? Ok, how? That lady criticized boycotting but added no specific alternatives.

I love the humour you bring to more serious topics .

what i hate is that we’re happy to produce this whole system that is reliant on attention and being the most eye catching but then we also are happy to shame people for seeking attention that is explicitly monetarily rewarded

you looked amazing in this video wow!! Also I really appreciate how you make such complexe topics easier to understand for people who might not know much about them, thank you so much!

That transition into the Surfshark ad was so good I audibly gasped alone in my room

Also thanks for keeping the influencers anonymous

We’re getting investigative shein-speare today

it may have taken me a couple days to finish watching this video but that was bc i wanted to watch for comprehension, not just as background/getting the gist of it etc Shanspeare keeps putting out videos worthy of the Fullest Attention eventually i'm gonna start taking notes

You are literally the most creative, fun, witty person on KZfaq. I love how eloquent you are 😍 thank you for educating us

I'm an alt poor disabled person, and so...I make the occasional Shein purchase. but however whenever I get a good chunk of holiday money for spending, as I did last year by buying locally made clothing items at an all black creators run market, I plan on making tradition of supporting local or at the very least handmade/individual artists. Also just getting attached to your belongings may help with overconsumption urges. if you're deeply in love with all your existing clothing, there is no need to buy a ton more. Also never give up standing up for worker's rights. focus local in your community. you can't take Bezos to the guillotine (unfortunately...) but you may just have the power to help get a union going where it didn't exist before. you have the power to stick up for your neighbours and support them. when we all dream big of changing the whole planet, and then, of course, cannot do that, it really feels to me that's what creates and fuels "there's no ethical consumption anyways, so fuck it, I'm gonna do a tiktok Shein haul" jadedness

Shanspeare, Sarah Z, and film fatales are like my version of favorite tv shows. Like “Are you bingeing that new Netflix show?” “Nope a new Shanspeare video just dropped sorry“

Excellent video!!!! That bit at the end is what sounds my heart makes when I hear about the exploitation of people and this Earth.

Thank you for covering this topic!