Justin Chin in “America Can’t Resist Fast Fashion. Shein, with all of its issues, is tailored for it.”
As Halloween approaches, college campuses across the United States see a surge in costume purchases, with SHEIN emerging as the top retailer for fast, cheap, and trendy outfits. However, beneath this convenience lies a hidden cost both to the environment and public health. SHEIN’s rapid production and disposable fashion culture, especially during high-demand times like Halloween, amplify the destructive impact of fast fashion. The rising popularity of purchasing from SHEIN among college students during the Halloween season illustrates the urgent need for stricter U.S. government regulations on fast fashion companies to mitigate their environmental and health impacts.
SHEIN’s popularity among college students is largely driven by social media, where influencers and content creators promote the brand through viral "haul" videos. This trend becomes even more pronounced during Halloween, as college students often buy multiple costumes for various events and social media posts. Platforms like TikTok fuel this cycle of overconsumption, with influencers playing a key role in promoting SHEIN’s disposable fashion culture. As a result, students continuously buy, wear, and discard clothing, often overlooking the environmental and health consequences of their purchases.
SHEIN is widely known for its rapid production cycles. The company produces large quantities of clothing in a very short amount of time and adds up to 6,000 new items to its website every day to meet constantly changing consumer trends. Halloween is a peak time for SHEIN, as people buy costumes for parties, photos, and events, most of which are worn only once. This throwaway fashion culture is particularly harmful, as it generates significant waste. In the United States, over 5.4 million kilograms of clothing waste are created annually from Halloween costumes alone.
This environmental toll is worsened by the type of materials SHEIN uses. Most of its costumes and clothing are made from non-biodegradable materials that can take up to 200 years to decompose. Further, SHEIN is responsible for 6.3 million tons of CO2 emissions each year globally. However, the carbon footprint of fast fashion is not limited to waste. SHEIN’s production model is built on fast, global shipping, which relies on air freight to deliver products quickly. Air transport produces 47 times more greenhouse gasses than sea freight. This reliance on rapid delivery, especially during peak shopping periods like Halloween, contributes directly to climate change by accelerating the production of carbon emissions.
Further, SHEIN’s products pose substantial risks to human health, both for those who produce them and for the consumers who wear them. Investigations into SHEIN’s supply chain have uncovered the use of hazardous chemicals in its garments. For example, many of the company’s items, including Halloween costumes, contain harmful substances like lead, perfluoroalkyl (PFA), and phthalates. These chemicals can cause a variety of health issues such as liver and kidney damage, hormone imbalances, respiratory problems, anemia, and allergic reactions. A 2021 report revealed that some of SHEIN’s products exceeded the legal safety limit for lead by more than 20 times, putting consumers at risk.
Many of SHEIN’s products are made from synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon, which contribute to the growing problem of microplastic pollution. When synthetic garments are washed or discarded, they shed tiny plastic fibers, known as microplastics, which end up in oceans and waterways. A study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 35% of microplastics in the ocean come from synthetic textiles. These particles then enter the food chain, and are ingested by humans, posing significant health risks such as toxicity, disruption of endocrine function, cancer, and reproductive system disorders.
Despite these environmental and health risks, fast fashion companies like SHEIN continue to operate with little regulatory oversight. Currently, there are few legal frameworks that address the specific impacts of fast fashion on the environment and public health. In addition, SHEIN often exploits legal loopholes that allow them to mass-produce clothing without facing accountability for the environmental or human health costs of their operations. One of these loopholes includes the de minimis trade provision, which allows shipments under $800 to enter the U.S. duty-free and without customs inspections. When a customer buys from SHEIN, the buyer is considered the “importer of record”, meaning SHEIN avoids the $800 limit because the purchases are categorized as individual imports, rather than bulk shipments. This enables the company to bypass U.S. regulations that larger shipments would face. Additionally, the high volume of such shipments–millions daily–avoids deeper scrutiny, allowing the company to avoid compliance with product safety standards.
While the U.S. has some existing regulations, such as the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which governs the use of harmful chemicals in consumer products, these laws are not comprehensive enough to cover the fast fashion industry. Additionally, the U.S. government has only banned three chemicals–lead, cadmium and certain phthalates–from being in clothing, and this only applies to children’s products. SHEIN’s products often evade scrutiny, as regulations do not apply uniformly across all types of consumer goods, and enforcement is often limited.
To address these challenges, several key policies should be implemented to curb the environmental and health impacts of fast fashion. First, the U.S. federal government should develop legislation to impose higher import tariffs on fast fashion items, particularly those made under unsustainable practices. This would make it more expensive to import cheap, disposable clothing, discouraging overconsumption and reducing the volume of textile waste. In 2019, the Trump administration imposed tariffs on U.S. imports from China, particularly on textiles, apparel and footwear. However, these tariffs have had limited effects on minimizing imports from China, and the number of imports have actually increased since these tariffs: China has increased its textile and apparel shipments to the U.S. by over 20%.
Second, chemical transparency laws should be introduced to Congress to require fast fashion companies like SHEIN to disclose all chemicals used in their production processes. This would help ensure that harmful substances like lead are eliminated from clothing and that consumers are fully informed about the safety of the products they purchase. The New York Senate has taken a step to improve chemical transparency by pushing for the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act. This legislature would protect garment workers in the U.S. and require fashion manufacturers and retail sellers to share their environmental and social due diligence policies. However, this act is still being developed, and therefore has not been enforced. Further, more U.S. states need to join these legislative efforts to improve this issue on a national scale.
Lastly, the U.S. federal government should implement Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) laws, which would hold fast fashion companies accountable for the full lifecycle of their products. EPR laws would require companies like SHEIN to manage the disposal and recycling of their clothing, thereby reducing the burden on waste management systems and incentivizing more sustainable production methods. Although EPR programs exist in some states for products such as paint and electronics, there are no current regulations on fast fashion merchandise. Additionally, to date, only ten states have introduced legislation on EPR for packing and only five EPR for packaging bills have been passed in the U.S.
In order to address the issue of fast fashion consumption on college campuses, educational campaigns on college campuses could help reduce the demand for fast fashion by promoting more sustainable consumption habits. Universities can encourage students to participate in costume swaps, purchase second-hand costumes, or create their own DIY outfits rather than buying new ones from fast fashion retailers. Some campuses have already begun implementing sustainability initiatives aimed at reducing fast fashion consumption, but these efforts need to be expanded and integrated into broader environmental education programs.
SHEIN’s rise in popularity among college students during Halloween is a stark example of the broader environmental and health dangers posed by fast fashion. The company’s reliance on rapid production, synthetic materials, and hazardous chemicals contributes to a global crisis of textile waste, carbon emissions, and health risks. As the effects of climate change become more severe, the need for responsible consumption is more urgent than ever, and both policymakers and consumers must act to curb the harmful impacts of fast fashion.
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