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        Upper School faculty attend Nonbinary and Transgender Student Workshop

        Upper School faculty attend Nonbinary and Transgender Student Workshop

        New upper school student group encourages valuable discourse on identity and diversity

        New upper school student group encourages valuable discourse on identity and diversity

        New schoolwide faculty committee strives to create a more inclusive TAS community

        New schoolwide faculty committee strives to create a more inclusive TAS community

        Taipei American School Film Club’s Year-Long project

        Taipei American School Film Club’s Year-Long project

        Uncovering Harvard professor’s distorted narrative of Comfort Women

        Uncovering Harvard professor’s distorted narrative of Comfort Women

        Dr. Dodge takes on the role of interim head of school

        Dr. Dodge takes on the role of interim head of school

        Athletes adjusting to constant IASAS changes

        Athletes adjusting to constant IASAS changes

        TAS delegates attend the 2020 IASAS MUN conference online

        TAS delegates attend the 2020 IASAS MUN conference online

        IASAS Film offers new online 48-hour-film competition due to COVID-19

        IASAS Film offers new online 48-hour-film competition due to COVID-19

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        • The Gabfest
        Conversations in these isolated times

        Conversations in these isolated times

        Dear TAS boys, be careful with the curls you get

        Dear TAS boys, be careful with the curls you get

        Deeper connotations beyond seemingly casual greetings

        Deeper connotations beyond seemingly casual greetings

        Style Exploitations: Why unsustainable fashion still exists

        Style Exploitations: Why unsustainable fashion still exists

        Let’s stop shopping at SHEIN, the fashion company that sells affordable clothing but is problematic

        Let’s stop shopping at SHEIN, the fashion company that sells affordable clothing but is problematic

        What I wish I knew before applying to college

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        Why “test optional” policies should continue on post-pandemic

        Why “test optional” policies should continue on post-pandemic

        Passport strength amidst the COVID-19 pandemic shines light on dual citizenship

        Passport strength amidst the COVID-19 pandemic shines light on dual citizenship

        Exclusive library study rooms further toxic academic culture at TAS

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        • Features
          Hanlin Tang (‘04): Former Blue & Gold Editor-In-Chief is now a principal scientist at Intel Corporation.

          Hanlin Tang (‘04): Former Blue & Gold Editor-In-Chief is now a principal scientist at Intel Corporation.

          Black History Month needs to be talked about more at TAS

          Darryl Loke (‘17) wins Emmy award for his college film, “Strays”

          Darryl Loke (‘17) wins Emmy award for his college film, “Strays”

          College application advice from 2021 Seniors

          College application advice from 2021 Seniors

          Classes more people should know about

          Classes more people should know about

          Lower school students launch gardening initiative

          Lower school students launch gardening initiative

          Juggling in-person and online classes

          Juggling in-person and online classes

          Chinese New Year traveling has been canceled due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus

          Chinese New Year traveling has been canceled due to the COVID-19 Coronavirus

          Annabelle W. (‘22) participates in triathlon relay in Taiwan and places fourth in her division

          Annabelle W. (‘22) participates in triathlon relay in Taiwan and places fourth in her division

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            niko and… :An underrated Japanese home goods store

            YEN sets an unmatched bar for Cantonese food

            YEN sets an unmatched bar for Cantonese food

            Ideal cafes for studying

            Ideal cafes for studying

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            Neighbors Cafe lives up to its name

            REVIEW | “Raya and the Last Dragon”

            REVIEW | “Raya and the Last Dragon”

            TikTok’s Three Ingredient Creme Brûlée: Is it Worth it?

            TikTok’s Three Ingredient Creme Brûlée: Is it Worth it?

            A trip to the Cat Cafe

            A trip to the Cat Cafe

            Attemping to make the Korean Minimalistic Cake

            Attemping to make the Korean Minimalistic Cake

            Spend your Sunday afternoons studying at Windows Cafe

            Spend your Sunday afternoons studying at Windows Cafe

            Eco-friendly brands that reduce climate impact

            Eco-friendly brands that reduce climate impact

            Diamonds and Dior lead to deeper conversations in Netflix’s “Bling Empire”

            Diamonds and Dior lead to deeper conversations in Netflix’s “Bling Empire”

            National Taichung Theater: the best architectural phenomenon that showcases musicals

            National Taichung Theater: the best architectural phenomenon that showcases musicals

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          Let’s stop shopping at SHEIN, the fashion company that sells affordable clothing but is problematic

          by The Blue & Gold
          02/25/2021
          in Opinion
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          Let’s stop shopping at SHEIN, the fashion company that sells affordable clothing but is problematic

          [PHOTO COURTESY OF UNSPLASH]

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          By: Ariel L. (’23)

          Many people are familiar with the trending online shopping site SHEIN where everything is cheap with tops being around $5 USD and dresses being around $7 USD. However, this year the brand had to apologize a lot for its unethical practices. From advertising swastika necklaces to selling Muslim prayer mats as “decorative rugs”, the company is definitely problematic.

          Founded in October of 2008, the company described itself as an “international business to consumer fast fashion e-commerce platform that prides itself on offering on-trend styles catering to both young women and teens that won’t break the bank.” This all sounds great but first we should break down what fast fashion is. Fast fashion is inexpensive clothing produced rapidly in response to trends. It is reported that the company drops around 700 to 1000 styles daily.

          Considering many of their clothes are made of fabrics like polyester and nylon, this is a huge environmental problem. The lack of quality suggests that many of the clothes will end up in landfills contributing to global warming. The industry itself is already responsible for 10% of carbon emissions and the rise of fast fashion is worsening this problem.

          The company also has problems with the accuracy of orders. It is very likely that the company had clothing that came and was nothing like how it appeared online. This issue doesn’t appear every time but inconsistency is something to be aware of. To give an example, Mousy Leigh a YouTube posted a video about her shopping from SHEIN.. Her experience was a disaster with many of her items missing seams making it look like cut pieces of fabric. Two of her items were also the wrong colors compared to advertising. 

          In addition, the company has repeatedly been accused of copying and stealing designs of smaller fashion brands. Back in 2018 the company was reported to be using the same designs as LA-based indie brand Valfré. The company’s founder said that “customers started send [them]photos through Instagram and email alerting [them] to identical copies of [their]product.” This didn’t just happen once as the brand founder of Sashagai took to Instagram to post a side by side comparison of her brand’s shirt with one on SHEIN’s site saying “I have countless DMs of people saying they bought it and had no idea who I was. That’s a shame. Because that was an opportunity for you to do WHAT YOU SAY and support Black people and designers. The lies. The exploitation. It. Never. Ends.”

          Now it is time to address the issue of racial insensitivity. In July of 2020 customers noticed that the company’s “Fringe Trim Greek Fret Carpet” actually resembled Muslim prayer rugs. Forbes even explained that some of the imagery had religious symbols like the Kaaba which promoted a greater outcry from activists. SHEIN made an apology 2 days later. 

          However the company was under fire again this time for selling a swastika pendant necklace. For those wondering what a swastika necklace is, it is a symbol with historic association with Nazism. In their apology, the company explains that they should have been more considerate of the symbols’ hurtful connotations to people around the world. They also explained that it was a Buddhist swastika which symbolized the feet or footprints of the Buddha. There is a difference between the Buddhist and Nazi symbol Shein’s decision to sell such a product was obviously disrespectful to the Jewish community.

          The evidence of SHEIN’s wrongs is overwhelming yet people around the world and in our TAS community still decide to buy the brands products because of how cheap and trendy it is. However, by buying from the brand, people are supporting fast fashion, global warming, the stealing of designs and racial insensitivity. 

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