Sustainability-focused clothing brand to reportedly be bought by Shein

Added: 2026-05-19

[00:00:00]Turning now to a big surprise from the fashion world. There are reports that the US clothing brand Everlane is being sold to the Chinese fast fashion company Shein, which has faced controversy over its business practices. So, Everlane was founded back in 2011 with a focus on sustainable policies and ethical transparency. So, the deal values Everlane at $100 million. CBS News has reached out to both companies. Everlane had no comment about this. Shein has not yet responded. Puck Fashion correspondent Lauren Sherman was first to report the deal. She's also a CBS News contributor and joins us from Paris and can perhaps fill us in on what is happening here. Lauren, it's good to see you. A lot of people heard this news and went, "Huh? How is this possible?" It seems that the companies have two conflicting points of view.

[00:00:48]I know. One worth $100 billion and a totally opaque system and then one worth $100 million and all about radical transparency. And it's incredibly ironic. Many people thought our headline was an onion headline. Really? What? Why do you think it's happening?

[00:01:08]Look, Everlane ran out of money and that's what happens. And Shein is looking for Western brands to buy right now. They're going to buy more and more companies and Everlane is available.

[00:01:21]I've heard they are interested in checking out Everlane's supply chain. We know very little about Shein's supply chain. So, you know, there are things that people think about how you make something for three bucks and send it in the mail and make that business work.

[00:01:37]But, um, we actually don't know very much about it. So, we'll see. Who knows what they plan on doing with it. The deal was just approved by the board, the Everlane board, on Saturday.

[00:01:47]>> Lauren, this is such an important business story, as you point out, because Everlane was founded on conscious conception consumption, sustainability. But, is that model dead?

[00:01:58]Is sustainability a good model business model?

[00:02:02]Look, is sustainability real? Does that make sense? Like, making clothes is inherently not great for the environment. So, I think what the the founders of Everlane wanted to do was they wanted to be transparent about how everything was priced, about how they made the clothes, and that was all real.

[00:02:20]I've been reporting on this company since 2011. I think the reality of the matter is do consumers actually care about that?

[00:02:27]It depends. They say they do, and you can see the online comments. It's just been absolutely wild how many people have responded to this, and there will be people who won't shop there anymore.

[00:02:37]But, the reality was there weren't that many people shopping there, and that's why they needed to be sold, and Shein saw an opportunity, and Everlane's investors saw an opportunity to to let go. Lauren, you ask you ask a good question. Do consumers really care? Um, but I feel like they care once they get the product in their hands. So, has Shein announced what they plan to do with the brand moving forward?

[00:03:01]No, they haven't announced anything. So, we'll see. Maybe the the brand will cease to exist. Maybe they will keep it running as it is. They Everlane was in the process of moving its headquarters from San Francisco, where it had been based since the beginning, to Los Angeles after some uh, issues with their landlords. So, who knows? But, but I think when you read the comments online, you hear the product has degraded in in value and quality in the last few years anyway. So, who knows? But, I do think you're right.

[00:03:35]If if a product feels good and they and someone feels like they've paid the right amount of money, they're willing to pay a little bit more. It just depends on how much, and is it really about environment or what it feels like when they wear it. Yeah, people say they care, but they also want a deal. Right.

[00:03:51]But, I feel like but I feel like especially Americans. Yeah, >> Lauren, thank you. Although I still wear a lot of stuff I've had for 10 or 15 years.

[00:03:59]>> But that's because the quality is high.

[00:04:00]Yeah, certainly try to. Yeah, certainly.

[00:04:02]All right, Lauren, thank you so