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CCI Reading Assign. FL24
CCI Reading Assign. FL24
CCI Reading Assign. FL24
Stephanie Assmann
doi: 10.5117/9789462980631/ch02
Abstract
The post-bubble decade of the 2000s witnessed both the increasing bi-
furcation of luxury consumption and growing demand for the low-priced
brands offered by casual-wear chains Yunikuro (UNIQLO) and Mujirushi
Ryōhin (MUJI). These trends coincided with sociological debates about
increasing societal inequality and growing concerns among Japanese
citizens about how to secure a middle-class future. The initial liberaliza-
tion of the labour market and the growing number of women who entered
and remained in the workforce also characterized this period. This
chapter traces recent consumer trends with regard to clothing against
the background of a globalized society characterized by increasingly
diversified lifestyles and consumer patterns, and argues that low-priced
‘fast fashion’ items have become integral to the fashion landscape in Japan.
Introduction
A stroll through the Ginza, Tokyo’s exclusive shopping district, reveals a suc-
cession of exclusive fashion stores. A giant UNIQLO flagship store is situated
close to a Hermès retail store. High-end fashion retailers are positioned next
to fast-fashion retailers that have been able to expand domestically within
Japan as well as globally. Since the beginning of the 2000s, the fashion retail
market in Japan has been characterized by an increasing bifurcation of
consumption of luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton and Hermès on the one
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50 STEPHANIE ASSMANN
hand, and a growing demand for more affordable brands such as UNIQLO
and MUJI on the other (Assmann 2005). Affordable and low-priced brands
that are now known as ‘fast fashion’ have become an integral part of the
fashion landscape, not only in Japan, but also in other industrial nations.
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CONSUMPTION OF FAST FASHION IN JAPAN 55
500.000
472.823
452.501
450.000
Disposable
400.137 402.116 402.932
400.000 383.960 389.848 380.863 383.851 380.966 Income
340.977
350.000 330.651
200.000
150.000
100.000 Expenditures
for Clothing
50.000 and Footware
13.105 13.444 13.068 12.607 12.343 11.760 11.928 11.883
0
2000 2002 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Despite declining incomes, since the early years of the twenty-first century,
Japanese fast-fashion retailers have globally and domestically expanded, and
now compete with international fashion brands such as Hennes & Mauritz
(better known by the abbreviation H&M) and ZARA. The term ‘fast fashion’
has been defined as ‘low-cost clothing collections based on current, high-cost
luxury fashion brands’ (Annamma et al. 2012: 275). Speediness of production
and rapid replacement with ever new fashion items are two characteristics
of the fast-fashion industry. For example, global fast-fashion retailers such
as H&M and ZARA have accelerated the turnaround time from the catwalk
to consumers from previously six months to several weeks (ibid.).
One example of a company that was able to expand after the collapse of
the bubble economy is Fast Retailing, which was founded in 1963 under the
name Ogori Shōji. The company is headquartered in Yamaguchi Prefecture,
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56 STEPHANIE ASSMANN
Table 2.2 Fast Retailing: Number of stores between 1998 and 2015
3.000
forecast
3500
3000 2.753
2.449
2.258 2.203
2500 2.088 2.222
1.828 1.958
2000 1.632
1500 1.232
1000 519 585 622 655
336 368 433
500
0
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
in western Japan. Fast Retailing offers casual wear and outdoor clothes un-
der the label UNIQLO – an abbreviation of Unique Clothing Warehouse. The
first UNIQLO store opened in 1984 in Hiroshima. For a long time, UNIQLO’s
outdoor clothes were regarded as reasonably priced and practical, but they
were not considered very fashionable or attractive. An interview, which I
conducted with a 24-year-old female university student in Kyoto in January
2001, confirms this:
The late 1990s brought a significant change and turned UNIQLO into a more
popular brand. In 2014/15, Fast Retailing documented net sales of ¥780.1
billion (approx. €5.37 billion). There were two reasons for that: 1) In 1998, Fast
Retailing launched the sale of previously high-end-market products, such as
fleece pullovers that were sold at a retail price of ¥1,900 (approx. €12,75) per
piece (Porter Prize 2009). The so-called ¥1,900 Fleece campaign generated
great interest among consumers; and 2) this campaign coincided with the
opening of the first UNIQLO store in Tokyo, in the city’s Harajuku district,
in November 1998, which symbolized the company’s outreach to urban
areas in Japan. UNIQLO was the first company in Japan to establish an SPA
model, which stands for Specialty Store Retailer of Private Label Apparel,
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CONSUMPTION OF FAST FASHION IN JAPAN 57
Data compiled from the Fast Retailing website (Fast Retailing 2015a)
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58 STEPHANIE ASSMANN
Another retailer that has been able to expand its operations amidst the
economic downturn is the company Ryōhin Keikaku, which was founded in
1988 as an affiliation of the retail company Seiyū. Under the label Mujirushi
Ryōhin (MUJI), which was first established as a private brand of Seiyū
in 1980, Ryōhin Keikaku sells a diverse assortment of clothes, household
articles, and food. Internationally, the brand has become well known
under the name MUJI. Initially, the brand was sold in retail outlets inside
Seiyū department stores, but in 1983 the first outlet store under the name
Mujirushi Ryōhin opened in Tokyo. Since then, the company has expanded
globally. The first MUJI store opened in London in 1991. As of February 2015,
Ryōhin Keikaku operates 301 MUJI stores outside of Japan. Ryōhin Keikaku
has a particularly strong presence in Asia, with 128 stores in China, 14 stores
in Hong Kong, and 33 stores in Taiwan.
Despite the growing acceptance and popularity of moderately priced fast-
fashion items, the brand and quality consciousness of Japanese consumers
remains. An interview with a 24-year-old female university student in Kyoto
in February 2001 addresses the significance of brands:
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60 STEPHANIE ASSMANN
[N]ew, foreign brands were trying to shake up the market share of existing
luxury companies in Japan by offering high quality at competitive prices.
[…] The entry of H&M into the market completely revolutionized it. As
a consequence, the effectiveness of the business models of brands like
Zara, H&M or UNIQLO enabled them to compete with quality brands
amazingly quickly. Affordability was a new concept that was radically
changing the mind set of Japanese consumers, who were always eager
to resemble top fashion models from catwalk shows.
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CONSUMPTION OF FAST FASHION IN JAPAN 61
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The People’s Republic of Shein - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/style/shein-clothing.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/style/shein-clothing.html
By Jessica Testa
To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or
Android.
PLANO, Texas — There was some desperation in the air at the indoor mall where Shein had opened a
pop-up store.
A security guard posted at the entrance said that on each of the three days the pop-up was in business,
he’d turned down about 20 bribes from people looking to skip the line. Often they offered $20, he said,
though some went as high as $100.
On Sunday, the last day, the first shoppers arrived at about 6 a.m. Shein was scheduled to open at
noon. The line swelled throughout the morning, folding in on itself before unfurling through the food
court, past the bubble tea stand and Mediterranean grill. Anyone arriving after 12:30 p.m. was advised
to go home — denied the chance to buy, in person, things like $1 daisy earrings, $4 bucket hats, $12
cable-knit crop tops, $13 faux leather baguette bags and $29 neon PVC mule sandals.
“We had to take the numbers off the window,” said the guard, Don Dickerson, pointing to where a
white decal displaying Saturday’s closing hour, 8 p.m., had been peeled off. Low stock had closed the
store at 4 that day.
The enthusiasm was a sight to behold, considering that many shopping malls have struggled over the
last decade to draw such a crowd: about 700 people waiting outside a whitewashed storefront
formerly occupied by American Eagle Outfitters, sandwiched between Swarovski and Bath & Body
Works. On Friday, the first day of the Shein pop-up, a man proposed to his girlfriend in front of the
entrance.
“I was really nervous, and I wanted to surprise her,” said Nehemiah Jaime-Vega, 23. “She loves Shein.”
His fiancée, Michelle Alvarado, 22, nodded. “It’s so affordable,” she said on Saturday afternoon, after
her second consecutive visit to the pop-up. She wore a red ribbed-knit tube top, sold by Shein for $7;
she said she places orders about twice a month.
These pop-up stores are not how most people interact with the brand. So far, in 2022, there have been
only five held across the United States, Shein’s most valuable market. But the pop-ups are part of an
effort to make the Chinese fast-fashion company seem less mysterious. Shein — officially pronounced
“she-in,” though often pronounced “sheen” — recently surpassed Amazon as the most downloaded
shopping app in the United States, according to analysis by Sensor Tower. Shein is privately held and
declined to share financial figures but was estimated by Coresight Research to bring in $10 billion in
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The People’s Republic of Shein - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/style/shein-clothing.html
revenue in 2020.
2
1
3
7
5
4 8
6
11
12
10
13
14
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The People’s Republic of Shein - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/style/shein-clothing.html
Yet as Shein has grown, so have questions about its practices. Shein frequently makes headlines for its
controversies, like selling a $2.50 swastika necklace or copying the work of designers. (The company
said it takes infringement claims seriously, requiring suppliers to certify their products don’t infringe
on third-party intellectual property.)
Shein has also been accused of working with suppliers that violate labor laws, and failing to make
necessary disclosures about factory conditions. In response, the brand pointed to “regular internal
audits” and a “strict,” legally compliant code of conduct for its suppliers. It has also contracted firms
including Openview and Intertek to audit its facilities; “when violations are found, we take further
action, which may include termination,” the company said.
Last year, a CBC Marketplace investigation found elevated levels of lead in some Shein products, like
a toddler’s jacket and tiny purse. Shein said it regularly tests products, following international
regulatory agency standards, and “violations are immediately remediated.”
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The People’s Republic of Shein - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/style/shein-clothing.html
All of this has contributed to Shein becoming an archetype of a certain genre of supercheap clothing
companies: It is the leader of a pack of Gen Z-favored brands, like Fashion Nova and Boohoo, accused
by critics (including those from Gen Z) of contributing to overconsumption and waste.
Shein, however, called its approach to producing clothing “transformative”: It starts by ordering small
batches of clothing (100 to 200 pieces) and monitors customers’ response to those batches before
placing larger orders.
Still, many of the videos on social platforms made about Shein — including the incredibly popular
“haul” clips, which show people trying on their large orders, piece by piece — inspire comments
raising these issues: How can a $4 top be made to last, so it doesn’t end up in a landfill? How can the
workers who sewed and shipped that garment be compensated fairly?
Yet this hasn’t deterred Shein’s devotees, many of whom feel they haven’t seen enough evidence to
stop shopping with the brand.
Ann Taylor, a 25-year-old budding fashion influencer in Toronto who has received gift cards from the
brand, sees those kinds of comments on videos “all the time,” she said. Most often, she has noticed,
they raise concerns that the company is violating labor laws.
This summer, viral TikTok videos purporting to show pleas for help sewn into Shein clothing by
garment workers were widely debunked. But the watchdog group Public Eye, in a November 2021
report on factories that work with Shein, said its researchers interviewed three workers whose hours
exceeded national legal maximums, and discovered some workshops with blocked corridors and
stairways.
Ms. Taylor hasn’t been swayed. If there were reports the company was violating child labor laws, for
example, “I would definitely be against that,” she said. “If the workers are complaining they’re not
being paid as much, that’s completely different than saying they’re forcing children to work.”
“How can I stand against them if I don’t have anything to back it up?” she said, suggesting Shein has
become a target for being an “underdog.”
Last August, when Ms. Taylor got married, she and her husband decided to plan their wedding on a
budget and save for a down payment on a house. After getting a $1,800 quote for a gown from a
traditional bridal boutique, Ms. Taylor started searching online for “something simple but very sexy
and classy,” she said.
She found a slinky, low-back white gown on sale on the Shein website for $39 Canadian. (Yes, Shein
has several wedding dress options. It also has pet hammocks, wigs, toothbrushes, rugs, milk frothers,
blister patches, fake toenails, steering wheel covers and a robust selection of lingerie and baby
clothes.)
A TikTok video she made about the dress this spring has since been liked more than 900,000 times.
Shein reposted it and sent her two $100 gift cards, which she used to place large orders that she later
filmed as haul videos. In the future, she may join the infantry of influencers creating paid content for
the brand.
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The People’s Republic of Shein - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/style/shein-clothing.html
Initially, though, Ms. Taylor didn’t tell people the dress came from Shein. It wasn’t that she was
embarrassed, but, she said, “I just felt like if I look expensive, I’m not going to tell you I’m cheap. If
you see it as valuable, I’m not going to say it’s not valuable.”
She feels similarly about criticism that Shein knocks off big-name designers. She recently bought, on
another website, a pair of $29 heels resembling a Balenciaga design. While Ms. Taylor supports
“originality, 100 percent” — and said she’s against logos being used on fakes — “I do think that people
deserve to have nice things and not pay that kind of money. A lot of us that work regular 9-to-5 jobs
can’t afford $2,000 shoes.”
Steven Prugar, a 32-year-old information technology professional in Pittsburgh who uses the pronouns
they and them, said that Shein’s prices and wide variety of plus-size options have allowed them to
experiment with their personal style — to learn what works for their body type — after coming out as
nonbinary in 2020.
“You can build out an impressive wardrobe without breaking the bank, which is really nice, especially
for a lot of people who are medium- and lower-income that can’t afford to spend $100 on dresses,” said
Mx. Prugar, who estimated that about one-third of their wardrobe is Shein.
Melissa Ocasio at the Shein pop-up in Plano. Cooper Neill for The New York Times
Over the years, they’ve also noticed an uptick in Shein’s quality along with its prices; dresses that
were once $10 may now be $20, but the fabric can withstand more washes. Lately they’ve been
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The People’s Republic of Shein - The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/01/style/shein-clothing.html
averaging one or two orders a month — typically about eight items for $100.
About a year ago, Mx. Prugar began using online groups as fashion sounding boards, getting feedback
on outfits and sharing product recommendations.
In one Facebook group, people post Shein looks worn to birthday dinners or divorce hearings, on
vacations and at musical festivals, for themed boudoir shoots or for their children’s first days of school.
They share screenshots of their staggering orders: a first-time shopper who paid $796 for 79 items;
another who spent more than $2,800 on Shein over six months, with payments split up on Afterpay.
But even among these brand enthusiasts, conversations about Shein’s environmental impact or lead
levels occasionally emerge. “I get it,” Mx. Prugar said. “But when you dig down in any product or
service, there’s going to be ethical problems somewhere during the supply chain.”
While Mx. Prugar has been willing to boycott companies like Chick-fil-A for ethical reasons —
concerned about its past donations to anti-L.G.B.T.Q. groups — Mx. Prugar generally feels that “every
company you buy from has a lot of skeletons. There’s really not much you can honestly do about it.”
That isn’t going to stop Shein from trying. In September, the company plans to start a social media
campaign to give people an “inside look” at the company’s efforts around labor, sustainability and
product safety, said George Chiao, the U.S. president for Shein. It has also put more effort into “driving
home the idea of accessibility — that Shein is an accessible brand.”
“While most of these allegations, rumors and attacks online are false, we are partly responsible for the
spread or perpetuation of these false narratives,” said Mr. Chiao, who has been with the company
since 2015. “We’ve neglected really communicating and engaging more with our customers and our
community.”
Still, Mr. Chiao believes much of the negative online discussion about Shein is a result of people falling
“prey to peer pressure,” he said, comparing the online debates about Shein to the kind that unfold in
politics.
He knows that most of the customer base remains unmoved, still fixated on the low prices.
“I don’t even go to H&M anymore,” said Mr. Jaime-Vega, one half of the Dallas couple who got
engaged at Shein, referring to the higher prices. Ms. Alvarado gestured at her large bag: a $100-or-so
mishmash of shoes, clothes, accessories and beauty products.
A version of this article appears in print on , Section D, Page 5 of the New York edition with the headline: Overlooking Ethical Concerns for a $7 Tube Top
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