Shein Plans Everlane Buy as Allbirds Pivots to AI
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Shein plans to acquire Everlane for US $100 million — the price Everlane's majority owner L Catterton, which is backed by LVMH, had been asking, and Shein was the only buyer willing to meet
- Fashion reporter Lauren Sherman broke the acquisition news this week; neither Shein nor Everlane has confirmed the deal
- Everlane was built on founder Michael Preysman's "radical transparency" ethos and partnered with Vietnam's Saitex denim factory; the brand laid off staff in 2020 and 2023 and confirmed in April it is closing its San Francisco office
- Shein releases up to 10,000 styles per day from un-audited micro-factories in Guangzhou and has faced allegations of links to forced Uyghur labour, starkly at odds with Everlane's sustainability positioning
- Allbirds announced it will abandon its carbon-neutral sneaker mission to pursue AI, renaming itself NewBird — its stock surged 600% on the news, while the company had been leaking money
- Columnist Clare Press argues sustainability framed as a pure business case has lost meaning, calling on the movement to refocus on workers' rights, just transition, and dismantling overproduction
Why it matters: Everlane's $100M sale to Shein — the only bidder willing to meet L Catterton's price — confirms what Allbirds' 600% AI-pivot stock surge already showed: sustainability-stamped brands can't make the unit economics work. As Press argues, the workers' rights movement loses two flagship vehicles while fast fashion gains a green veneer.
Ask SkimNews
