<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A cursory glance at </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/tiktok" rel="" target="_blank" title="TikTok"><span>TikTok</span></a><span> in 2025 will present a bleak subculture of ultra-fast fashion fans.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The hashtag #sheinhaul has 1.3 million posts alone, with thousands of creators flaunting their parcel of cheaply made and rapidly shipped clothes that will likely slowly decompose in landfill for the next few centuries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It's never been easier to buy a dirt-cheap outfit online without breaking the bank after the likes of Shein, Temu and Fashion Nova became billion-dollar empires.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/first-guardian-master-trust-superannuation-lost-asic-investigation-exclusive/7a944ee1-faa0-40c0-8972-011f056c9fee" rel="" target="_blank" title="Christian, JC and Johanna are missing a combined $319K in super. There's thousands more like them"><strong><span>Christian, JC and Johanna are missing a combined $319K in super. There's thousands more like them</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>For some, it's costing less than a takeaway coffee. Scores of dresses on Shein are priced below $5.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sustainable fashion creator and founder of Eco Styles Nina Gbor is swimming against the fast fashion tide – but it can feel like a losing battle.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>According to ASIC, Shein's Australian operation alone brought in close to $1 billion in sales and tripled its profits in 2023</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/shein-fast-fashion-experts-reveal-law-change-in-australia-needed-to-slow-environmental-impact/c559c784-b2e0-43e3-b6ef-39e21d4adcfc" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What's gonna come next after ultra-fast fashion? Is it going to be instant fashion?" Gbor told </span><a href="http://9news.com.au"><span>9news.com.au</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/rba-surcharges-proposal-nsw-pub-owner-says-customers-will-pay-more/ede51b8d-a09c-436d-912b-776a012c8a99" target="_blank" title="Pub owner rips push to return $1.2 billion to Australian customers"><strong><span>Pub owner rips push to return $1.2 billion to Australian customers</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Is it going to be supersonic fashion, fashion at the speed of sound? It just seems to be getting worse and worse."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US-born Gbor has built a career out of convincing the world to ditch fast fashion and embrace slow, ethical and sustainable clothing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She's run courses at RMIT University in Melbourne in sustainable fashion and textiles and founded Clothes Swap &amp; Style, a clothing exchange platform.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>After France introduced legislation which would make fast fashion influencing a crime by banning creators from doing paid or sponsored "hauls", Gbor saw a seed of hope for the industry in Australia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Even in France, they know that it's not going to end ultra-fast fashion because they're multibillion-dollar companies and they're very agile, but it'll reduce it," Gbor said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"And yes, it can work in Australia."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Do you have a story? Contact</span></strong></em><span> </span><strong><em><span>reporter April Glover at</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="mailto:april.glover@nine.com.au" target="" title="april.glover@nine.com.au"><em><strong><span>april.glover@nine.com.au</span></strong></em></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gbor co-authored a paper on textile waste with the Australia Institute last year which recommended similar local legislation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The report noted over 200,000 tonnes of clothing is sent to landfill in Australia each year.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Another 105,000 tonnes are exported, the vast majority of which ends up as waste in developing nations in a practice known as "waste colonisation".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Given these overwhelming figures, Gbor believes swift government intervention is one of the few ways ethical fashion can reign supreme.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't think you can completely stop these old fast fashion brands because they have so much money," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"They'll just find ways and loopholes. But what you can do is support Australian brands.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We need the government to step in and support the industry, taxing fast fashion is one, banning fast fashion advertising is another and then funding Australian fashion businesses with marketing."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Retail expert Lisa Asher from the University of Sydney Business School told </span><a href="http://9news.com.au"><span>9news.com.au</span></a><span> minimum standards across the board in Australia could shake up the fast fashion movement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Clothing items used to be made to last, now they are made to replace, and quickly," Asher said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The government must provide deterrents for these suppliers to shift from disposable to durable.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We have warranty periods on durable goods of two years under consumer law, this could be considered extended to clothing. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Clothing should be tested to endure frequent use of one or two years, and a warranty to go with it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Expected life of the products, cost per wear, should be factored and communicated to consumers to make better choices."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Asher said Australia should take France's proposed ban one step further.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Banning influencers promoting these brands, whether paid or not, should also be banned," she added.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/visas-australia-south-korean-family-in-melbourne-facing-deportation-over-document-error-plea-to-immigration-minister/fbe7e793-9a9f-4a63-a16a-ed0accae724e" target="_blank" title="Melbourne family risk being deported to South Korea over 'misunderstanding'"><strong><span>Melbourne family risk being deported to South Korea over 'misunderstanding'</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"[And] we should ban advertising for brands which fail to meet environmental and durable standards."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Gbor said the financial barrier to investing in sustainable fashion isn't an excuse anymore.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shein customers regularly fork out hundreds of dollars for a "haul" which could be redirected into one or two ethically made pieces which last for years, Gbor explained.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I do not sympathise, I do not empathise with people who say, 'Oh we're in a cost-of-living crisis, all I can afford is fast fashion'," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"You can, you can host a clothes swap, you can get clothes for free, we have op-shops, second-hand markets, so I don't buy that excuse."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Asher agrees. She said pre-loved clothing is in vogue and should be the first port of call for shoppers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But she said the staggering environmental impact should be impetus enough to stop buying cheap fashion.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The rate at which we are polluting the planet, and the rise of fast fashion with every Australia throwing out 25 outfits a year, means we are increasing chances of environmental destruction, natural disasters, polluting our air and waterways," she said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We are helping fix the planet, by erasing ourselves through our negligence.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If we do not stop what we are doing, we will pollute the planet irreversibly in 30 years. </span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"The chemicals from making clothing, going into our waterways, put forever chemicals in our water, which are linked to increased risk of cancer. Forever chemicals means it's forever."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><h3><span>The rapid rise of Shein</span></h3></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Chinese-founded Shein, which is headquartered in Singapore, began shipping to Australia in 2022.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A huge percentage of its garments are made in the Chinese province of Guangzhou, where a rabbit warren of factories have been nicknamed "Shein village".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Its arrival here in Australia has been blamed for sinking local retail profits.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A large chunk of Shein's rapid sales growth has been credited to TikTok and YouTube influencers filming "haul" content after purchasing items from its site.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Shein generated a global revenue of $32.5 billion in 2023 and an estimated 88.8 million shoppers are active customers.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><strong><span>Shein's statement in full: </span></strong></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Shein is not a fast fashion company. We operate a customer-driven, on-demand business model. Instead of predicting trends and customer demand, Shein leverages its digital supply chain technology to adapt our procurement decisions according to our customers' preferences and purchases. </span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Our model is fundamentally different from traditional mass-production approaches, specifically in reducing excess inventory waste. We believe our approach represents part of the solution by reducing overproduction and waste at the source and maintaining affordability. Our focus on quality and value is why millions of Australian consumers choose Shein.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Shein is committed to reducing its environmental impact through initiatives like investing in textile-to-textile recycled polyester and decarbonising our value chain, guided by a science-based net-zero target. We believe these efforts are a more effective way to address the fashion industry's environmental challenges instead of imposing restrictions on commonly used and accepted marketing activities.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><em><span>Real progress on the sustainability agenda requires shared responsibility and collective efforts from our entire industry, and we stand ready to collaborate with relevant stakeholders in Australia to advance this in a fair and equitable manner.</span></em></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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