Researcher Anjana Baburaj on the pervasiveness of Shein & the ways in which social media and the drive to increase social status are directly fueling the overconsumption of clothing

<p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">In episode 298, Kestrel welcomes Anjana Baburaj to the show. An impact-focused strategist and communications specialist, <a href="https://www.anjana-baburaj.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anjana</a> works with mission-driven organizations to leverage communication platforms to increase visibility and achieve sustainability and impact goals.</p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []"><strong>“No matter how much we try to control — if we keep overconsuming, we’re not getting anywhere with anything that we’re doing for sustainability. So, that is one of the reasons I wanted to know — why is this happening? And that’s how I got into my research.” -Anjana</strong></p> <p class="" data-pm-slice="1 1 []">If you’ve been following along over the last couple of years, I have often brought up the links between fast fashion and fast media. In today’s world, I believe the only way to slow down fashion is to also slow down media – since fashion and media are intrinsically linked predominantly around driving consumption.</p> <p class="">This leads me to this week’s guest, who recently conducted some powerful research focused on fashion, social media, and consumption.</p> <p class="">Have you heard of the TikTok Shein haul trend? You may have seen it – basically, it involves individuals sharing all the items that they purchased from ultra fast fashion brand Shein in a video (or haul). Sometimes they disclose how much money they spent on the clothing, and as this week’s guest concludes, it’s largely interconnected to showcasing social status.</p> <p class="">The United States is Shein’s largest market – I have personally experienced their aggressive social media tactics – I get these messages that are tagging me in a visual telling me how to become a Shein ambassador. I feel like I am constantly flagging them as spam and blocking the accounts, but they never stop rolling in.</p> <p class="">The surprising thing is that it’s not Shein’s actual *influencers* or *paid partners* that drive the comp