Why are people buying clothes from shein?

When I first started seeing ads for Shein a few years ago the super low prices immediately gave unethical/sweat-shop/fast fashion vibes and I’ve been really surprised with how much people seem to be buying from shein. As someone that’s nearing 30 I remember learning about sweat shops in school and always being told to question the price of something, if an item of clothing is really cheap then the quality isn’t going to be there and there’s probably some ethical dilemmas around its production & how much the workers making the clothes are getting paid.

Reports have been coming out recently that workers making the garments are being paid much and that the 75 hour work weeks some Shein workers are doing are breaking Chinese labour laws…

I know the everyone’s budgets are stretched at the moment and it’s a luxury to be able to choose to shop ethically, but when people are buying excessive amounts on a regular basis, I just don’t understand it

Edit: Thanks everyone for your comments!

I hope I haven’t offended everyone, I guess as someone that’s always preferred having more of a capsule wardrobe (having grown up with a mum that was constantly buying clothes and had more clothes than she had space for) the idea of not repeating outfits/keeping up with trends hasn’t been an issue for me for about 10 years.

Completely agree that traditional high street fashion retailers aren’t much better, and that there are ethical issues with pretty much anything you buy these days. Like I said originally, it’s a luxury to be able to shop ethically (and sustainably for that matter). I suppose everyone has to find the balance that’s right for them, and if you’re only able to afford Shein prices then I wouldn’t judge someone for this!

I guess consumerism is pushed on young people now so much more than it ever was even 10/15 years so who knows what choices I would be making if I was a teenager in 2025.