Unsustainable + stealing: How fast fashion giants steal from other artists

Fast fashion is already a major contributor to the current climate crisis. Shops like Shein and Romwe have hundreds of thousands of items on their sites that are constantly changing with the quickly moving trend cycles. With their unsustainable production methods, it's no doubt that fast fashion is something to stay away from. 

Something that these sites are known for is their ability to make dupes for trendy and expensive clothing from other shops. However, when does it go from dupes to essentially stealing from other creators? Here are five examples of Shein copying designs from other shops and artists. 

 

1. Beginning Boutique

In the summer of 2021, this crochet dress by Beginning Boutique (left) was a staple in closets. It seems like everyone had pinned this photo on their Pinterest boards and was wearing it on vacation. Typically $60 on their site, maybe opted to search cheaper options. In comes Shein with their Halterneck Color Block (and multiple other keywords to make sure their dress comes up first in search) dress at only $7. Compared to the crochet acrylic of the Beginning Boutique dress, the Shein "dupe" is made of viscose, nylon, and polyester, three fabrics that are horrible for the environment.

2. Elexiay and Elizations

Both Elexiay and Elizations have experienced Shein stealing their original designs. Elexiay, an independent, black-owned business, shared a post in summer 2021 describing how the fast fashion giant ripped off a design they had created (right) which ended up going viral. As a result, other businesses including Elizations shared times Shein had stoled from them, including a hand-knit sweater design (left). Some creators who also shared their examples of theft fortunately got the listings taken down, but it's clear that Shein still continues to steal designs from independent brands.

3. Louis Vuitton

No, not even major high fashion brands are safe from Shein stealing designs. Louis Vuitton, known for their iconic pattern, is well known as a household name. Knowing they can't copy the design exactly, Shein opts for bootleg versions of their pattern to provide "dupes" without a court case. There's hundreds more examples of Louis Vuitton designs on the Shein website-these two alone were some of the first listings I saw.

4. Pleasing

In 2021, famous singer Harry Styles came out with his own nail polish/skin care brand Pleasing. The brand places an emphasis on sustainability and ethical sourcing (which gets a thumbs up from me!). Shein, obviously does not, when they listed this phone case with the Pleasing logo for $2. There's multiple versions of the case on the Shein site, but they all come down to stealing the logo of an independent brand that shows consideration for the environment.

5. Morgan Harper Nichols

Morgan Harper Nichols is an amazing activist, poet, digital artist, and so much more. As one of my favorite artists, this example made me really angry. It's clear that Shein attempted to change aspects of the design (the r is capitalized, the colors and directions of the color blocks are different), but the foundations of the design are the same. 

I think it's time we stop promoting "Shein dupes" and call what they're doing what it is-stealing. Stealing from major brands, independent brands, and small businesses. I know that these brands make products that are expensive and we all want cheaper options without sacrificing style. But these brands spend months or years developing original designs for Shein to come in and steal them in seconds. I encourage everyone to save the money and support the brand itself instead of searching for other unsustainable and unethical options just to save a few dollars.