It’s official: Shein has purchased Everlane, one of the pioneers of what was once called “sustainable fashion.” (On May 17, Puck reported the going price was $100 million.) In its heyday, Everlane won over millennial shoppers with its affordable basics and commitment to what it referred to as “radical transparency” about its environmental impact and labor practices. For it to reportedly sell to a fast-fashion juggernaut was disappointing to many, to say the least. But Everlane had been changing long before this announcement. The founder and former CEO, Michael Preysman, stepped away in 2022 and was replaced briefly by Andrea O’Donnell and then by Alfred Chang in 2024.
When the Shein news dropped, a few people on TikTok said they ran to Crystal Chen’s account, Slow Buy Club, to get her take. On the account, Chen, a Bay Area resident who worked in marketing for two decades, educates followers about tricks brands use to make us buy more. The goal is to de-influence shoppers. Once a devout Everlane customer, she began sharing her disappointment with its declining quality on Slow Buy Club on April 2 to start a conversation on what we could learn from its downturn. In total, before the Shein news, she had posted three emotional videos about Everlane — the brand, she says in the videos, “broke my heart” — using her personal experience as a case study to discuss what being an ethical consumer really means.
