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Big news on the “green capitalism” front: Everlane, the much-beloved clothing brand built on a promise to make fashion climate-friendly, is being purchased by Shein, the most-polluting fast fashion brand on Earth.
The prevailing public reaction to this sale (valued at $100 million, first reported by Puck News) has been shock and disappointment that such an ethical, sustainable brand would sell out to such a massive planetary ghoul.
But I’m here to tell you that Everlane was never actually “good” for the planet. It was, however, really good at selling the idea that buying lots of new clothes could be sustainable. And that’s what Shein is actually buying: not an eco-friendly company, but an eco-friendly image.
Now look: I’m not saying Everlane’s entire pro-Earth marketing strategy was a lie. By the dismal standards of the fashion industry, the company has done quite a lot to reduce emissions, water use, and virgin fossil fuel materials.
A 2020 Stanford Business profile of Everlane founder and then-CEO Michael Preysman noted that the company waited six years to make its first pair of jeans because it wanted to wait for a manufacturer that could recycle 98 percent of the water used in production. It also noted that Preysman had committed in 2018 to removing all virgin plastic from the company’s supply chain, stores, and offices by 2021.
By 2022, Everlane was publicly describing its work around three goals: “Keeping Earth Clean,” “Keeping Earth Cool,” and “Doing Right By People.” The company also began publishing impact reports and setting climate targets. Everlane says its carbon goals are aligned with a 1.5°C pathway: cutting per-product emissions 55 percent by 2030, reducing absolute emissions from stores and headquarters 46 percent by 2030, and reaching net zero by 2050 or sooner.
