The Everlane-Shein Deal Is a Wake-Up Call for Sustainable Fashion

I had to do a double-take when the headline crossed my home screen – Shein bought Everlane? In what world?

The ultra-fast fashion giant and the brand proclaiming “radical transparency” seem wildly at odds.  

As millennials, many of us built our wardrobes around brands like Everlane that offered high quality basics like linen button-downs, perfectly cut denim, and neutral staples designed to last. For a generation trying to shop a little more consciously, Everlane was a comfort brand.

We’re sad but not surprised. Behind the headline is a much bigger story about the reality of sustainable fashion in today’s economy.

Why consumers feel betrayed by the Everlane sale

The Everlane-Shein sale feels personal because many of us grew up alongside brands like Everlane. They represented our millennial optimism that we could have beautiful, affordable clothes without hurting people or the planet.

The brand was built on transparency, positioning itself as the antidote to the excess of fast fashion. I’ve had Everlane pieces for nearly ten years and still reach for them every week. That kind of longevity is important in fashion, and it’s made me a loyal customer.

However, even brands with strong name recognition and loyal customers are subject to economic pressure. The direct-to-consumer (DTC) boom that helped launch brands like Everlane (and Allbirds, Away, Outdoor Voices, and so many more) has changed dramatically. Customer acquisition costs are higher, competition is fierce, and consumers are more price-sensitive. “Buy less, buy better” is a harder sell when your favorite influencers are sharing their Amazon hauls and cheaper alternatives are flooding your feeds. Social media has trained us to expect constant novelty, overnight shipping, and impossibly low prices.

Our emotional reaction to the news is less about corporate mergers, more about the trust we place in the brands we like. When a company known for fast fashion, overproduction, and labor controversies acquires a brand built on very different values, it naturally feels like a betrayal.

Everlane’s story was never perfect, but the symbolic contrast is hard to ignore. As consumers trying to make better choices, sometimes moments like this can feel like running into a brick wall.

Sustainable brands are under a ton of pressure

If this acquisition tells us anything, it’s that even well-known sustainable clothing brands are operating under immense pressure. So many of our friends and fellow sustainable brands have closed their doors because it’s a lot of work for very low financial reward. Indeed, it must be a labor of love.

Building ethical fashion is expensive. Fair wages and fair trade fashion cost more. Organic cotton costs more. Smaller production runs cost more. Visiting production partners, maintaining transparent relationships, and choosing sustainable materials all take time and money.

We’re proud of our transparency, and we love to see it in other brands. To watch a transparent brand be usurped by an opaque one is truly devastating.

Sustainable branding isn’t enough

We are so, unbelievably proud of our sustainability practices. It’s central to who we are as a brand, and it’s why we make beautiful clothes for you.

However, we can’t be just a sustainable brand. You have to want our clothes first – you have to be excited about a new block print, ikat weave, or flattering silhouette. You have to be able to imagine yourself in our clothes, dressing for brunch, vacation, school pickup, or dinner with friends. Then, sustainability is the cherry on top. You get to buy beautiful clothes AND feel good about it.

The brands that are succeeding in this space – Patagonia, Reformation, Pact – understand that customers want both beautiful products AND values they can feel good about. Our best advice for sustainable businesses like Passion Lilie is this: Sustainability can’t be the entire product strategy; it must support a product people genuinely love.

What happens next

Whether Everlane’s customers will follow them remains to be seen. We’ll keep an eye on how branding will change and if shoppers will walk away all together.

The sale illuminates a bigger takeaway about the sustainable fashion industry: even as consumers say they care about ethical clothing and responsible production, the economics are crushing.

It also highlights how confusing fashion has become for consumers. Terms like “sustainable,” “eco-friendly,” and “ethical” are everywhere, but they’re not always backed by action. Greenwashing in fashion is confusing, and it can make shoppers cynical or push them toward cheaper brands when it all starts to sound the same.

Why supporting sustainable brands matters more than ever

If ethical fashion is important to you, this moment is a reminder that your choices really do matter. Businesses trying to do better need support to survive. We promise to do our part – creating clothes you genuinely love while staying committed to fair wages, transparency, and sustainable production.

In return, we hope you’ll continue to seek and support sustainable businesses. We want to change the world, but we can’t do it without you. Every purchase you make (with us and elsewhere) is a vote for the kind of fashion industry you want to see. Thank you for supporting brands trying to do better!