You're Wearing Overpriced Garbage
That $60 shirt is a $6 blank. You're being swindled.
I’ve got a lot of problems with how we source, shop and consume products in America. I’ve got problems with Shein, FashionNova, Lululemon and Alo too. These businesses and their business models are killing the planet and a craft at the same time.
And before we jump into it, you’re probably wondering “what makes this guy credible about this topic?” Totally valid. I’m Ali Samadpour, I co-founded the now-defunct Modular Merch. From 2019 - 2023, I ran a full-service e-commerce agency where we designed, sourced, sold, and fulfilled merch for our clients. My partner and I were well-versed with the entire procurement process from vetting textile mills to delivering a final product to the customer.
We were sourcing our cotton from textile manufacturers in southern Turkey and producing our goods in Istanbul before importing our products to Berlin, New York or Dallas. We worked with OEKO-TEX & Sedex certified factories that offered organic cotton. Quality & safety were essential for any partner we collaborated with. We quickly learned what good, sustainable products cost.
We learned this the hard way because we also produced shirts in Bangladesh in a questionable factory. We also got robbed by this factory but that’s a story for another day. The difference between a $4 shirt from a Bangladeshi factory & a $15 shirt from a Turkish factory is drastic. The craftsmanship, attention to detail, fabric… everything really. To get a similar quality product made in the US, you’d be looking at $30 for a shirt that retails for $60-70. Yes, you can produce with blanks/print on demand, but I specifically called out quality which means heavyweight fabrics and a cut & sew approach.
Anyways, this is about fast fashion and I’ve been spiraling off-topic here.
What is fast fashion?
Fast fashion refers to the production and sale of inexpensive, trendy clothing that is designed to be worn for a short period before being discarded. I’m talking about brands like SHEIN and FashionNova here. Their entire business operates in the wake of the destruction of the environment and art.
Fast fashion relies on:
Quick design-to-retail cycles: New designs are produced and distributed in a matter of weeks, rather than months.
Mass production: Manufacturers produce large volumes of inexpensive clothing to meet ever-changing consumer tastes.
Cost-cutting measures: To keep prices low, brands use affordable materials and outsource production to countries with lower labor costs.
Fast fashion also relies on cheap, toxic materials such as:
Polyester: A petroleum-based synthetic fiber, it’s cheap, durable, and versatile. Its moisture-wicking properties make it ideal for activewear brands like Lululemon (using Luon fabric) and Alo Yoga, which blend it for stretch and performance. It is NOT biodegradable and will create long-term waste. Washing polyester releases microfibers into waterways.
Rayon: A semi-synthetic fiber derived from wood pulp, it mimics silk or cotton. Its variants (viscose, modal) offer affordability and softness, appealing to fast fashion’s need for low-cost, trendy materials. The production process can involve toxic chemicals and result in deforestation if not sourced sustainably.
Brand Breakdown
SHEIN
Business Model:
SHEIN epitomizes the ultra-fast fashion model, leveraging data analytics to rapidly produce and test new styles.
It frequently updates its online catalog with thousands of new items, keeping consumers engaged with a constantly evolving selection.
Tariff Loophole Exploitation:
SHEIN exploits a loophole in the U.S. tariff code known as the de minimis threshold. In the U.S., imported goods valued below a certain amount (currently $800) are exempt from tariffs.
By shipping products in small, individual packages that each fall under this threshold, SHEIN avoids paying significant import duties that would otherwise increase costs. Critics argue this gives foreign companies an unfair advantage over US-based ones and just this month, the Trump Administration has been figuring out how to close the loophole.
Fashion Nova
Style & Strategy:
Known for its trend-focused and body-conscious designs.
Utilizes influencer marketing and social media to rapidly spread new trends.
Materials:
Often relies on synthetic fibers like polyester to produce affordable, form-fitting garments quickly.
Alo and Lululemon
Market Position:
While both brands are primarily known for athleisure, they still benefit from the fast fashion model in terms of production and distribution speed.
Material Use:
Both brands incorporate polyester (and other synthetic blends) in their performance wear to provide durability, moisture-wicking properties, and a comfortable fit.
Pricing and Sustainability:
Positioned at a higher price point than typical fast fashion retailers, they emphasize quality and performance, although the environmental impacts of synthetic materials remain a concern.
Cost Analysis for a t-shirt
Let’s dig into Alo’s Raglan Tee. The shirt retails for $58 and the fabric breakdown is as follows:
50% Polyester (Plastic)
25% Rayon (Waste)
25% Cotton
120 GSM (Grams per square meter) fabric
And then when we look at the blanks from Bella+Canvas, specifically the 3413 Triblend Tee, the fabric breakdown is as follows:
50% Polyester (Plastic)
25% Rayon (Waste)
25% Cotton
120 GSM (Grams per square meter) fabric
It’s the same shirt with a different sleeve. Purchasing $2500 of these blank shirts from Bella + Canvas gives you a price point of $6/shirt - add another dollar for screen printing and call it a cool $7/shirt.
And the craziest part? Alo Yoga & Bella+Canvas are owned by the same company. So, they rebranded garbage, associated it with a lifestyle and now sell it for a premium. Alo Yoga is a marketing-led company, not product-led. It’s expensive garbage.
For comparison, we were producing truly excellent 200GSM shirts that were 100% cotton for ~$15-18 and selling them for $40. In hindsight, our prices were too low.
Environmental Impact of Fast Fashion and True Cost of a $10 Shein Dress
Fast fashion produces 92 million tons of textile waste annually. [Source]
Ok, I’m not a publicist so I have no shame in saying this entire next section is written by AI. Here’s the true cost of a $10 dress from Shein.
Direct Financial Costs
Product Cost ($10): Includes materials, labor, and profit.
Materials: ~$2 (polyester, dyes, cheap synthetics).
Labor: ~$0.30 (Garment workers in Bangladesh earn ~0.10–0.30 per hour)
Overhead/Profit: ~$7.50 (factory operations, corporate profit, marketing).
Environmental Costs
Carbon Emissions:
Production: ~5 kg CO2e (polyester production, factory energy) → ~$0.40
Shipping: ~2 kg CO2e (air freight from China to the US) → ~$0.17.
Air freight emits ~0.8–1.2 kg CO2e per dress
Social cost of carbon ($85/ton): U.S. EPA standard
Water Pollution: Dyeing/chemical runoff → ~$0.50 (cleanup/health impacts).
Textile dyeing causes 20% of global water pollution (Source).
Microplastics: Shedding during washes → ~$0.30 (ocean cleanup, fisheries impact).
A single wash releases ~1,900 microplastic fibers (Source)
Landfill/Waste: 60% of garments are discarded within a year → ~$0.75 (landfill management, incineration).
Social and Ethical Costs
Health Risks: Worker exposure to toxins → ~$0.20 (medical costs, lost productivity).
Operational Hidden Costs
Marketing/Advertising: Digital ads incentivizing overconsumption → ~$1.00/dress.
Packaging: Plastic poly mailers → ~$0.10 (production, waste management).
Returns/Deadstock: 10–20% unsold or returned items → ~$0.50 (resale loss, disposal).
Long-Term Externalities
Resource Depletion: Oil for polyester → ~$0.25 (non-renewable resource cost).
Biodiversity Loss: Pollution impacting ecosystems → ~$0.60 (hard to quantify but estimated).
Total Estimated Hidden Costs: ~$4.83–$5.50+
Combined True Cost (Product + Hidden): $14.83–$15.50+
Overall, fast fashion has democratized access to trendy clothing, making it more affordable and accessible for everybody but it’s been accomplished with significant environmental and social impact. It underscores the need for more sustainable practices in the fashion industry.
It is important to stop supporting the brands that contribute to the problem and instead support businesses that use high-quality textiles that will last a lifetime.
TL;DR: You’re wearing overpriced garbage. Go buy cotton.
