The black cargo skirt on Temu’s website is mid-length with a split up the back. It’s available in three colours and in every photo the model stands in exactly the same pose. From the detail I can see in the waistband, I’m pretty sure the quality will be OK for the $21.98 price tag. I click “add to cart”.
On the next screen I’m told both the skirt and the mesh Mary-Jane ballet flats ($18.78) I’m buying, are “almost sold out”. A small red clock indicates I should hurry. Strategies like this, that generate a sense of urgency and reward, have led to Temu being accused of using addictive and manipulative sales tactics. (When reached for comment, a Temu spokesperson said these “gamified elements” and time-limited deals allowed customers to access even greater discounts.)
I usually write about sustainable and ethical fashion but here my task is to buy an ultra fast fashion outfit that will look good, then have it analysed by an expert in garment making and product development. So minutes after my Temu purchase I am on Shein’s website, looking for items that will complete the look (words I never thought I’d write).
Shein reportedly adds thousands of new styles to its website every day – something a a spokesperson describes as an “on-demand” model based on real-time insights and customer demand. As I sift through the clothes, I try not to feel anxious about how much tiny writing there is beside each item, offering a further $3 or $10 off if I buy multiple products. I settle on a black bomber jacket ($20.57). Information about the fabric composition – normally the first thing I look for – is hidden in a drop-down menu. It tells me the jacket is made from woven non-stretch polyester that somehow contains 5% elastane. To give it the best chance of looking good, I select the biggest size possible, extra large.
Next I find an oversized white T-shirt ($10.27). There are two options; one is from a supplier or “store” called Misguided, the other is from Shein Basics. I pick the latter.
I’ve chosen garments with relatively simple construction that I know will suit my body type. In total, I’ve spent $79.55 on four pieces including shipping. Since both Temu and Shein sell clothing for as little as $2, this puts the items in the higher price range.
The rise of ultra fast fashion in Australia
According to data collected by Roy Morgan, since the end of 2023 the number of Australians shopping on Temu has grown by 32%, amounting to an estimated $1.7bn in annual sales. Shein has experienced customer growth of 34% in the same period, with an estimated $1.1bn in annual sales. Both companies have ties to China and a network of Chinese suppliers that have come under scrutiny for child, forced and unfair labour practices, copyright infringement and concerns about product safety.
(When these allegations were raised with Shein, a spokesperson says it is committed to ensuring the fair treatment of workers and prohibits child or forced labour within the supply chain, its suppliers are required to certify that their products do not infringe on intellectual property, and it works with third parties to test products according to its safety standards. Temu says it prohibits forced labour, invests in intellectual property protection measures and uses “algorithmic” monitoring and manual review to detect and remove products that do not comply with product safety standards.)
In addition to their rapid growth and supply chain concerns, the brands are known for aggressive marketing tactics. For both purchases, I use a burner email account, make sure not to share my phone number, pay using PayPal and opt out of promotional marketing.
In the days and weeks that follow, the only communications from Temu are notifications about my delivery. Shein sends me at least one email a day announcing sales and new styles.
Under Australia’s spam legislation, a company must have a customer’s consent to send marketing messages or emails. The consent can be express – like ticking a box – or inferred – which usually involves proving an ongoing relationship. Associate Prof Katherine Kemp, an expert in data privacy and consumer protection at the University of New South Wales, says it is possible to make a complaint to the Australian Communications and Media Authority about a company ignoring your unsubscribes. (When I did unsubscribe from Shein’s emails, they stopped). Surprisingly, I’m not inundated with Shein and Temu advertisements on social media or other websites.
‘That’s really cheaply done’
Eight days later, a white plastic bag from Shein arrives, and the Temu delivery comes two days after that. I unpack them with Gareth Kershaw, a lecturer in fashion technology at RMIT University. We start with the Shein bomber jacket.
“It’s not been nicely finished,” he says. “You see how everything’s sort of a bit skew-whiff. You’ve got creases here and gathering here. This material is not very stable.”
He points out the “quite dodgy” mismatched seams, and the raw edges inside the pockets – “that’s really cheaply done”. Some of the buttons are too close together and the rib along the bottom of the jacket is too narrow – “if it’s a design feature, it’s not very nice”. He estimates the cost price to be between $3 and $4.50.
He’s more impressed by the T-shirt (although we started at a low bar). “It’s got a nice handle,” he says, referring to the way the fabric feels and drapes. He points out the “nice detail” of the internal seam along the back of the neckand says because of the high polyester content the T-shirt is likely to wash well, “until you spill your coffee on it”. (Polyester is plastic made from oil, so it holds on to stains). He’s more critical of some of the other seams, pointing out raw edges and wonky lines. “It takes time and skill to be proficient at sewing,” he says.
He estimates the cost price of the T-shirt to be about $1, of which the garment worker might be getting paid 60 cents. The payment structure in many factories – known as piecework – sees workers paid based on how many garments they finish, not how many hours they work. “So, if you need to make money, you’ve got to make a lot of T-shirts, hundreds and hundreds to make it worthwhile,” he says.
(According to a Shein spokesperson, the company is committed to providing customers with “value-for-money, quality products”, and holds its vendors to strict product quality inspection standards.)
We move on to the Temu skirt, which mystifies Kershaw. It has so many details: buttons, eyelets, drawstrings, cargo pockets, hip pockets and snap locks. He calculates it took at least eight different machines and processes to make it. “I don’t know how they make any money on this,” he says.
He points out some poorly executed details. For instance, the buttons and snap locks are different colours: “It’s a no-brainer to match your trims.”. He also points out some shortcuts in the construction: shirt buttonholes instead of the keyhole style typically used for streetwear detailing; no fusing to stabilise the garment structure; rippling and pinching seams; and the loose threads covering the skirt.
On the other hand, the fabric is nicer than the bomber jacket, the detailing in the waistband “looks good” and many of the processes used to make it require expensive machines. The lack of consistency suggests to him that the factory may not have anyone on staff with an understanding of product development that goes beyond just “putting stuff together”.
He examines the shoes. They’re made of several different kinds of plastic, using a mix of glue and welding. Kershaw highlights the detail that has gone into the strap across the foot. Elastic between the buckle and the shoe seems to have been added for comfort. “If it were super cheap, it would just all be the same material,” he says. His biggest concern is the mesh outer, which might catch on things as the wearer sits or walks around.“It will probably wear out quite quickly.”
One morning I put on the shoes and walk to a nearby cafe. They are really light and since they are plastic mesh I can feel the air on my feet. It’s almost as if I’m not wearing shoes, except the plastic is making the soles of my feet clammy – a sensation that threatens to get worse with time.
Online reviews of the jacket are mixed but the T-shirt, skirt and shoes have hundreds of positive comments from customers satisfied by the quality relative to the price – a reflection of how far consumer expectations have fallen when it comes to clothing and footwear.
Temu and Shein deliver cheaper products that, to an untrained eye, are not that different to garments costing four or five times the price. (In response, a Temu spokesperson says the skirt and shoes have been well-reviewed by verified buyers of the products, and if a product doesn’t meet expectations, customers can apply for a refund.)
To Kershaw, on the other hand, every mistake and strange manufacturing detail is less a reflection of the products’ quality and more about the labour conditions inside the factory.
“That’s the thing with fast fashion,” he says. “It impacts the worker because of the pressure they’re under. [If they don’t hit their targets] they’ll lose their job, and the factory will hire somebody who’s quicker.”
