Within the past few years, fast fashion has begun gradually popping up everywhere. Fast fashion includes many widely popular shopping websites such as Temu, Shein, TikTok Shop, Wish, and many others connected to the same type of companies. Millions of users see these websites as a way to acquire clothes or other items without knowing the truth behind the suspiciously low prices of their items. 

Many of these fast fashion companies are located in China. A lot of these companies have been investigated to reveal that there is forced labor going on throughout them. In December 2022, Shein said it planned to invest $15 million to improve working conditions at factories in its supply chain. 

Not only do all of the shops offer thousands of cheap and attractive items, they also are incredibly easy to access. All it takes is one search on any device with a search engine and anyone could be off to shopping the world of fast fashion. During the search, many enticing deals usually pop up, such as 20% off, free shipping, 70% off on orders over $10 and many more. They may even urge website visitors to download their mobile app, create a profile for benefits, or sign up their contact information for promotions or notifications about deliveries. 

An anonymous student stated “I used to buy from Shein quite a lot, but after I found out why they were so cheap, I stopped ordering.” This student along with many others have looked for other online shopping alternatives that still save them money as working students. Fast fashion companies have been ever-growing in popularity, but when will it stop?