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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Clare Press

I believed sustainable fashion’s hype. But between Everlane and Allbirds, the letdowns keep coming

Everland store front
‘The internet is reeling from a report that Shein plans to acquire Everlane, the sustainable basics brand built on “radical transparency”,’ Clare Press writes. Photograph: Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

It was always about the money, wasn’t it? For a while there, it seemed like the execs opining sustainability is not a trend, it’s the future actually meant it. But when yet another global brand drops its net zero goals or stops talking about DEI, you do wonder. Recent headlines include Stella McCartney adulterating her eco gloss with a sustainable capsule collection for H&M – don’t worry, she’s just “infiltrating from within” – and Lululemon being investigated for Pfas. The letdowns keep coming.

Now the internet is reeling from a report that Shein plans to acquire Everlane, the San Francisco-based sustainable basics brand built on “radical transparency”. Shein is the Chinese ultra-fast fashion giant epitomising murky supply chains and crazy-cheap landfill fashion. They release up to 10,000 styles a day, and have been making headlines of their own over secrecy and alleged links to forced Uyghur labour.

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