Editorial credit: Frame China / Shutterstock.com


Key points


  • New research suggests over 1 million New Zealanders may be shopping at ultra-fast fashion retailer Temu.  

  • Why is Tearfund concerned? Our expertise and decade of research tells us that when items are sold this cheap, someone else is often paying the price.  

  • Temu scored 0 and Shein 20 out of 100 in Baptist World Aid’s newly released Ethical Fashion Report. 

  • The best thing we can do as consumers? Help reduce demand and advocate for the Government and large companies to take more responsibility for tackling exploitation.  

 

If you’ve ever been drawn in by the allure of a cheap bargain when online shopping, you’re not alone.

Groundbreaking research into this consumer trend, conducted for Tearfund by Horizon Research, found 1-in-4 New Zealanders surveyed had recently purchased from Temu – equating to over 1 million of us shopping at Temu, and a potential 550,000 shopping at Shein.i 

As our cost-of-living crisis continues, we’ve seen cheap online retailers like Temu and Shein rising in popularity. When we’re feeling the pressure financially, it seems logical to pick a $5 t-shirt over the $50 one. But many of us are questioning how a t-shirt can possibly be so cheap in the first place. Is it okay to buy from ultra-fast fashion brands? Is it even my job to care as a consumer?  

 

 

When fast fashion becomes too fast fashion: someone’s paying the real price. 

We’ve been researching fast fashion for almost a decade at Tearfund. In recent years, we’ve seen even more extreme versions dominating our newsfeeds and bank statements. Fast fashion on steroids: ultra-fast fashion, driven by companies like Temu, Shein, Cider and Boohoo.  

What is ultra-fast fashion? We’re all familiar with traditional fast fashion brands like H&M and Zara, which produce cheap, trendy clothing very quickly. To make higher profits and be the first to pump out the latest on-trend clothing, these fashion companies already compete fiercely to find the fastest and cheapest production possible. Ultra-fast fashion accelerates and pressures this process even more – offering consumers even lower prices, even greater variety, at even quicker production speeds. Companies use AI technology to quickly spot and respond to emerging trends, making the business model even more driven by consumer demand.

Shein reportedly released an astonishing 1.3 million new clothing styles last year—an unimaginable scale even compared to H&M, which launched about 25,000 designs in the same period. This shows how ultra-fast fashion operates on a completely different level when it comes to capitalising on trends.

This competition places enormous pressure on factories that manufacture the garments to deliver the clothing for less cost in faster or last-minute timeframes. If garment factories can’t meet the low-cost expectations of fashion companies, then they lose business. The fashion companies move on to cheaper suppliers.

This pressure drastically impacts workers. To be able to offer cheap and rapid production to fashion companies, factory managers often have little choice but to pay their workers less, require them to work longer hours, and cut corners on health and safety.

Whats the problem? There's higher risk of exploitation.

Low scores, high concerns

Our friends at Baptist World Aid, recently released their 2024 Ethical Fashion Report. This renowned report surveys and scores 120 of the world’s largest fashion brands on the policies and practices they have in place to protect workers in their supply chains and mitigate their environmental impacts. We combed through this year’s report to see how some of New Zealand’s most popular ultra-fast fashion brands fared.

The average score across the brands assessed was 31 out of 100. This year, Temu scored a 0*. Temu’s rock bottom score is a result of its striking lack of transparency and its decision not to provide any further evidence to the Ethical Fashion Report’s researchers.

In the fashion industry, transparency is the new standard. Opaque supply chains are a phenomenon relegated to the past. If brands do not disclose, or are unwilling to disclose, any information publicly it becomes impossible to determine whether the company is taking any steps to protect the wellbeing of the workers in its supply chains. Temu’s current refusal to embrace transparency is outdated in an industry where consumers increasingly expect accountability and greater openness from businesses.

We were also interested to see how another ultra-fast fashion giant, Shein, would score in this year’s report. We’d read through all 62 pages of their recent sustainability report, and were struck by how much it sounds like they’re doing all the right things. Shein’s score of 20 out of 100 confirms our suspicions: whilst they align with the industry average when it comes to having the basic policies and guidelines in place for their suppliers; they lag significantly behind in key human rights and worker empowerment measures that deliver meaningful change for workers. So, in short, Shein has taken enough of the first steps towards addressing worker exploitation to sit just below the industry average; but has stopped well short of making the transformational change required to make life better for a worker in their supply chain.

 

Cheap deals, hidden costs  

While higher prices are not a guarantee an item has been produced ethically, super low prices should raise a red flag for an informed shopper. 

A lot goes into making a cotton T-shirt.  

First, the cotton needs to be grown, and the farmer needs to be paid. That cotton then needs to be spun into yarn and woven into fabric, and later dyed. All three of these processes involve workers with different expertise and skills, likely take place in different factories, and sometimes even in different countries. The fabric is then sewn into a T-shirt somewhere else, maybe it’s embellished or embroidered in some way. A retailer then sells it, and it’s then packaged and shipped to New Zealand. The selling price of this t-shirt needs to cover all the costs in the process we've just described and will include a markup for the retailer. Can this entire process really cost less than $6?

We can be fairly confident, that for such a low price, some or many of those workers along the supply chain can’t have been paid fairly for their labour or that they worked under degrading or dangerous conditions.  

Shein and PDD Holdings (Temu’s parent company) have both been accused of extreme overtime in their supply chains. In the case of PDD Holdings, workers have spoken of being required to work 380 hours per month – that's 12 hours a day - well above China’s legal maximum.ii  

When Public Eye sent an investigative journalist into factories that produce clothing for Shein, they interviewed employees who were working 75 hours per week.iii While working additional hours may be a choice made by workers themselves, very low baseline salaries means that exhaustive hours are often needed to support their families.  

 

Cotton and coercion 

Tearfund is particularly concerned that Temu and Shein are very likely selling products that have been produced under forced labour conditions. In 2022, a Bloomberg investigation confirmed that cotton being used in Shein’s products had been made in the Xinjiang region in China, though Shein has since denied this.iv The cotton industry within this region has been accused of using state-sanctioned forced labour, whereby members of the Uyghur community and other Muslim minority groups are coerced into picking cotton.v Last year, a report by US lawmakers also called out Temu for having “extremely high risk” of forced labour in its supply chain.vi

01

1 in 2 New Zealand adults agree they already have more (or much more) clothing than they need.

02

There are already enough clothes on our planet to dress the next six generations.

03

An estimated 53% of New Zealand adults are concerned about the ethical and environmental practices of fast-fashion companies.

 

Are we responsible for the fashion industry’s exploitation as consumers?

We’re not responsible, but we are participants: our skyrocketing demand for cheap clothing is fuelling the ultra-fast fashion beast.

 

We’re purchasing a LOT of clothing items these days - and despite what we tell ourselves when we click ‘buy now’ - we do not need them all. In fact, polling research conducted for Tearfund found 1 in 2 New Zealand adults agree they already have more (or much more) clothing than they need.vii  

Our counterparts over the ditch are buying an average of 56 new items a year per person, with the US not very far behind them.viii Patrick Grant, a British fashion designer and waste expert, recently quoted this staggering statistic: there are already enough clothes on our planet to dress the next six generations.ix  

This mammoth production and consumption of clothing hasn’t always been the case. Clothing production doubled from 2000 to 2014, and the number of clothes each of us were buying increased sixty percent.x We also started wearing our clothing less. In the same time period, the number of times we wore our clothes before getting rid of them halved.xi  

We are stuck in a downward cycle with ultra-fast fashion! The cheaper clothes are, the more we buy; the more we buy, the more similar items ultra-fast fashion brands will produce. When clothes are cheaply made, they do not last; so, the faster we discard items and the sooner we need to replace them.

In Shein’s recent Sustainability Report they described how their customers get good use out of their garments. “The majority of our customers surveyed reported that they generally wear Shein items over 10 times”.xii It’s troubling that in today‘s world, wearing something just 10 times is seen as an achievement. With the rise of ultra-fast fashion, many of us have now accepted that it’s perfectly normal for a t-shirt to cost the same as a flat white and last not much longer. Our wardrobes are full of clothes that we don’t really need, don’t really wear, and whose purchase fed a system that unfairly exploits workers.

 

 

A global fashion industry that puts people first 

Most people around the world would agree that everyone – whether they’re working in a
garment factory in Dhaka or a mall in Auckland - deserves to be treated with dignity,
work in safe conditions, and be paid fairly for their labour.  

Is it really so far-fetched to envision a fashion industry where companies don’t exploit their workers to make profits? We don’t think that’s too much to ask, which is why Tearfund is actively advocating with both fashion companies and the New Zealand Government to do more to protect people in our supply chains.  

What can I do about it?

Be guided by the 5 R's

For years, consumers have been unfairly cast as the primary culprits behind numerous environmental and justice problems, as a strategic way for companies to pass on responsibility. However, our urge to buy more trendy clothing isn’t merely a matter of lacking self-control; we’re up against some of the very best marketing strategists in the world, equipped with hefty budgets designed to keep us hooked on fast fashion.  

While we’re not directly responsible for the exploitation that occurs in the global fashion industry, we’re still participants in a system of immense injustice.  

Polling research conducted for Tearfund suggests over half of New Zealand adults are concerned about the ethical and environmental practices of fast-fashion companies.xiii Like many of them, we’re eager to contribute to meaningful change. So, how can we take action? 

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Reduce

One of the most impactful actions we can take to disrupt the ultra-fast fashion system is to reduce our demand. By limiting the number of new clothing items we’re buying we can send a strong signal to brands that we no longer want to participate in a system where another person is paying the price of our cheap t-shirt. A good place to start is to try and avoid impulse purchases; take a pause before buying new or write a shopping list to determine what you really need.

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Repair

Have you developed a small hole in your favourite jersey? Try repairing it, rather than replacing it! There are tailors, fashion students, and grandparents in our local neighbourhoods who can help - or you could learn to do it yourself. You know the love and care you show your house plants? Why not view looking after your clothes as a similar ritual of self-care and nurture.

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Raise Your Voice

It’s really challenging in New Zealand to know whether a garment has been ethically produced, or if it was made using slavery and exploitation. That’s why Tearfund advocates for modern slavery legislation to make it a legal requirement for large companies operating in New Zealand to be more transparent about the steps they’re taking to ensure justice for workers in their supply chains. Sign up to our mailing list below to stay up to date on ways you can support this campaign.

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Rehome

Rather than buying new, why not give someone else’s clothes a new lease of life? There are amazing op shops throughout the country that support epic causes too! We can also donate our clothing in a way that helps rather than hurts those who run these places.

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Re-wear

Orsola de Castro nailed it when she said, “The most sustainable garment is the one already in your wardrobe”. Our wardrobes are treasure-troves of potential outfits! Remind yourself of the garments you already own, and what you like about them by conducting a wardrobe audit. Make it a party – invite your friends around and talk them through your favourite pieces!

So, should we stop buying from Temu and other ultra-fast fashion brands?  Good question! 

Our advice would be if you can afford to: stop. If you can't afford to: think twice about whether you need the item before hitting 'add to cart'. While times are tough and companies and the government bear greater responsibility, we can also play a crucial role in shaping a fairer fashion industry. 

Hey, thanks so much for reading!

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Sources

I. Research conducted by Horizon Research for Tearfund. The survey took place in July 2024 with a sample of 1,049 participants, demographically weighted to match the New Zealand adult population. The survey had a maximum margin of error, at a 95% confidence level, of ±3% overall. The survey question: "How many items of new clothing have you purchased for yourself from any of these fashion companies in the past 3 months?". 28% of respondents had purchased at least 1 item from Temu, and 14% from Shein.

II. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/25/pinduoduo-us-labor-practices-worker-conditions

III. https://stories.publiceye.ch/en/shein/

IV. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-11-21/shein-s-cotton-clothes-tied-to-xinjiang-china-region-accused-of-forced-labor

V. https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/against-their-will-the-situation-in-xinjiang#:~:text=In%20one%20internment%20camp%20in,and%20can%20be%20cut%20short.

VI. https://selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/selectcommitteeontheccp.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/fast-fashion-and-the-uyghur-genocide-interim-findings.pdf

VII. Research conducted by Horizon Research for Tearfund. The survey question: "Thinking about the number of clothes you personally have; do you think you have more or fewer than you need?". 49% of respondents said they have more (or much more) clothes than they need.

VIII. https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/australians-revealed-as-worlds-biggest-fashion-consumers-fuelling-waste-crisis/

IX. https://apparelmagazine.co.nz/blog/sustainability-trumps-fast-fashion/

X. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/style-thats-sustainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula

XI. https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/style-thats-sustainable-a-new-fast-fashion-formula

XII. https://www.sheingroup.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/FINAL-SHEIN-2023-Sustainability-and-Social-Impact-Report.pdf.pdf

XIII. Research conducted by Horizon Research for Tearfund. The survey question: "How concerned or unconcerned are you about the ethical or environmental practices of fast-fashion companies?". 53% of respondents said they were concerned (or very concerned).