The True Cost of Cheap Fashion: How Ultra-Fast Brands Like Shein & Temu Are Hurting Women and the Planet

What’s the real cost of that $10 t-shirt?

In this episode of Get Rich, Molly Benjamin chats with Kat Halliday, Head of Ethical Fashion at Baptist World Aid Australia, to unpack the hidden price tags behind fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu. From the exploitation of garment workers (most of them women) to the shocking environmental toll of 55 new clothing pieces per person each year — this conversation will make you think twice before your next “add to cart.”

Kat reveals:
👚 What ultra-fast fashion really means (and why it’s worse than fast fashion)
💸 The truth about how much workers are actually paid
🌏 Which Aussie brands are doing better — and who’s still failing
🛍️ Practical steps you can take to build an ethical wardrobe without breaking the bank

If you care about your money and the people who make your clothes, this episode is a must-listen.

🎧 Tune in to learn how your fashion choices can drive real change — for women, the planet, and your wallet.
 

This episode is brought to you by InvestorKit, Australia’s #1 Buyers Agency for 2023 and 2024. They specialise in helping investors find high-growth properties utilising industry leading AI and data driven research process across Australia. 70%+ of the properties they purchase are off-market and they have consistently outperformed national average capital growth rates by over 49%. Whether you’re looking to build your property portfolio or secure your first investment. Check them out here.

CHAPTERS

00:00 – Welcome to Get Rich
01:16 – The Hidden Cost of Our Clothes
02:44 – Meet Kat Halliday from Baptist World Aid Australia
03:57 – What Is Ethical Fashion?
04:50 – The Rise of Ultra-Fast Fashion (Shein & Temu)
06:53 – Cost of Living vs Cost to Humanity
08:21 – How Much Ends Up in Landfill
09:21 – Why We Keep Buying (The Psychology of Fast Fashion)
11:37 – Who’s Responsible for Fixing the Industry
12:44 – The Good Guys: Brands Doing It Right
13:44 – How to Spot Ethical Brands & Avoid Greenwashing
15:14 – Building an Ethical Wardrobe
17:22 – Molly’s Experience: Renting Instead of Buying
18:35 – Mindset Shifts & Emotional Shopping
19:35 – The True Cost of a $10 T-Shirt
21:04 – How to Advocate for Change
21:39 – What to Ask In-Store
22:48 – Where to Learn More

LINK AND RESOURCES FROM THE EPISODE

Speak Out to MP Tool - https://baptistworldaid.org.au/action/behind-the-barcode/
Ethical Fashion Guide - https://baptistworldaid.org.au/resources/ethical-fashion-guide/

CONNECT WITH KATHERINE HALLIDAY 

Website: https://baptistworldaid.org.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/baptistworldaid/
Podcast: https://baptistworldaid.org.au/behind-the-barcode/

CONNECT WITH LADIES FINANCE CLUB

Join our free Facebook group - Ladies Finance Club Money Chat
Website: https://www.ladiesfinanceclub.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladiesfinanceclub/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ladies-finance-club/

TAKEAWAYS

• Baptist World Aid addresses poverty through ethical fashion.
• Ethical fashion means dignity and sustainability for workers.
• The average score for fashion companies is alarmingly low.
• Ultra fast fashion brands are rapidly increasing clothing waste.
• Australia sends over 200,000 tons of clothing to landfill annually.
• Consumer behavior is influenced by marketing and pricing strategies.
• Brands need to take responsibility for their supply chains.
• Look for third-party certifications for ethical clothing.
• Advocacy and consumer choices can drive industry change.
• Fashion can be a creative and community-building experience.

SOUND BITES

"Look for a trust mark that is third party."
"What story do you want your clothes to tell?"
"We can use our voice to advocate for change."

TRANSCRIPT

[00:00:00] Molly: Welcome to Get Rich, the podcast that helps you do just that. Get rich and stay rich. Hey, I'm Molly Benjamin. I'm the founder of Ladies Finance Club, one of Australia's largest financial education platforms for women. But before I started helping thousands of women take control with their money, I was a hot financial mess when it came to my own finances and not the fun kind of hot, more like crying in a supermarket, wondering where all my money went kind of hot.

[00:00:29] But here's the thing, if I can go from financial mass to owning a share portfolio, investing in property, and building wealth. Then you can too. My mission is simple to make women rich because when we have financial freedom, we have choices, confidence, and control over our future. Every week on Get Rich, I sit down with some of the best experts in the industry to break down how we can all start investing, growing our money, and creating long-term financial security without the jargon, boring bits or overwhelm.

[00:01:02] Because when women get rich, we don't just change our lives. We change the world. So if you're ready to start making some Smart Money moves, hit that subscribe button and let's get Rich together.

[00:01:16] And we are back with another episode of Get Rich, the podcast that helps you do just

[00:01:21] that. Get rich and stay rich. I'm your host, Molly Benjamin, and today we are diving into something a little bit different, the hidden cost of our clothes from machine halls to $10 t-shirts. What's really going on behind the seams?

[00:01:37] See what I did there? Seams, I'm joined by Kat Halladay from Baptist World Aid Australia, who leads their ethical fashion team. She's here to unpack how ultra. Fashion is impacting women, the planet and our wallets and what we can all do to shop smarter and more sustainably. I was really moved by this episode and it made me personally, like I always try and do the right thing when it comes to my clothes.

[00:02:03] I don't shop at Sheen or Temu or any of those Ultrafast fashion companies, but it did make me stop and think about my clothes in general and. The cost of that on the planet. So I hope this resonates with you, and I would love to hear from you. Just shoot me a DM on Instagram at Ladies Finance Club. If this has changed your mindset at all when it comes to fast fashion.

[00:02:26] And if you're enjoying our podcast, please hit that

[00:02:28] subscribe button. We drop episodes every Tuesday, and we don't want you to miss out. Okay? Some of the stats in this episode are gonna blow your mind, so let's get into it. Hi Kat. Thank you and welcome to the Get Rich Podcast. Hey, it's great to be here.

[00:02:44] Awesome. So can you just tell me a little bit about yourself and what you do at Baptist World Aid Australia?

[00:02:51] Kat: Yeah, well my name is Kat Halliday and I lead the Ethical Fashion team at Baptist World Aid. Baptist World Aid is an international aid and development organization, and we're looking to really holistically address the problem of poverty.

[00:03:06] So that means that we work directly with communities, but we're also advocating against systems of injustice that we might be a part of, like the fashion industry. Awesome. And is that communities kind of in all around the world or particular countries? Yeah, that's right. So we have partnerships with local organizations in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, working in things like children and youth development, disaster preparedness, a lot of empowering communities and women.

[00:03:35] Yeah, agricultural. Yeah, a whole range.

[00:03:38] Molly: Yeah, and I, you know, I think this podcast is so topical, especially when we saw that another factory catch on fire in Bangladesh. And again, it's a lot of women who are victims and are affected by these practices as well. So I would love to maybe just kick off with, what do you mean when you say kind of ethical fashion?

[00:03:57] Kat: I think different organizations probably define it a little bit differently based on their value set for Baptist World Aid. We believe that people deserve to live and work with dignity in a healthy environment. I don't think that's a groundbreaking thing to say, but when we are measuring the ethics of fashion brands, we're just seeing if they are helping that or if they're hindering that.

[00:04:19] And for the vast majority of companies, the way that they operate actually does get in the way of workers' rights and environmental sustainability. Yeah. And so I know

[00:04:29] Molly: for me personally, like when I shop, I don't wanna be buying UN, what I call unethical brands. I always stick away from like she the Timus, just because I'm like, if someone's buying a shirt for two bucks, someone's not getting paid properly for that.

[00:04:43] But I guess who are the worst offenders in the fashion industry and what is Ultrafast fashion

[00:04:50] Kat: when we're looking at. The whole fashion industry. We saw in our ethical fashion report research, that's where we assessed the supply chain of a bunch of different popular Australian brands. And in 2024, the average score four companies in that report was just 31 out of 100.

[00:05:08] Wow. So if we're asking for the worst offenders, kind of the whole industry isn't getting a pass mark, but you named she and Temu, they really have exploded onto the scene. They've really turned up the dial on. People's preference for cheap and sort of instant fashion. And so I think when you're layering in the problems of fashion supply chains with how culturally relevant and dominant they seem to be, there's some real red flags there.

[00:05:35] And that's why we created this Behind the Barcode podcast just a couple of weeks ago to unpack that business model and ask those questions of how it's impacting people and planet. Yeah. That really is all about Ultrafast fashion as this new kid on the block, so I'm happy to, yeah, talk you through kind of our journey from the industry, from fast fashion to ultrafast fashion.

[00:05:58] Fast fashion has their eye on the runway, and then can turn those styles around to a brick and mortar store, primarily in a matter of weeks or months. And they're releasing many seasons of new stars of clothing every year. Yeah, and ultra fast fashion has just put that into overdrive. So where the likes of h and m and Zara that might define fast fashion, they are releasing 35,000 new styles every single year, which is crazy.

[00:06:27] Wow, that's So many sheen came along and they're releasing somewhere between two and 10,000 new styles every single day. What? It's an absolutely different game day. Yep.

[00:06:38] Molly: Oh my gosh. And I was actually like on our Monday news today, I actually read that fashion retailer machine has seen a growth of more than 27%, whilst 10 million Amazon have seen nearly 1 million more customers in the last 12 months.

[00:06:53] And I can't help to think like when you look at cost of living in Australia, people are going for those cheaper options. But at what cost? What cost to the planet, what cost to. Other humans. So I guess when we mention again, like how can everyday shoppers spot the difference between a brand that's truly ethical and one that's just talking about sustainability?

[00:07:18] And I think going back to my point as well, have you guys seen that kind of shift as well as, and do you think it is maybe cost of living that people are going, oh, well I'm just gonna look after myself.

[00:07:30] Kat: Yeah, I think so. I mean, the cost of living crisis is certainly affecting Australians, but it's also affecting garment workers that are making our clothes, and it's tricky to balance, at what point is my preference for so much new cheap fashion actually just.

[00:07:46] Not aligned with my values and not a just way to be acting. We know that Australians are spending much less of their household income on clothing than we did 20 or 30 years ago, but we're also buying more pieces. So we used to invest in a few pieces per year. I think the number was like 10 to 12% of our household income used to be spent on fashion.

[00:08:06] Yeah. Now it's around 3%. We're buying more than we ever have. So we're buying 55 new pieces of clothing every year, and I just don't think we need that much. That's more than one a week. And how much do we know of that is ending

[00:08:19] Molly: up in landfill? Do we have the stats on that?

[00:08:21] Kat: Well, Australia is sending over 200,000 tons of clothing and textiles to landfill each year.

[00:08:28] So not that I can really picture how much the Harbor Bridge weighs, but apparently that's over four times the whole weight of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. Oh my gosh.

[00:08:39] Molly: And then you think of the resources and the materials that were, and the labor that was put in to make those things, and we're just putting them into landfill.

[00:08:47] That is heartbreaking.

[00:08:49] Kat: That's right. I think when this clothing is so cheap, it honestly is costing less than a cup of coffee. It totally feeds this mindset that this clothing is disposable. But I think that's a, a real shame, as you said, because so much is going to landfill. This clothing is often made out of polyester, which is plastic, which is crude oil, and it's also not.

[00:09:10] Honoring the work and the craftsmanship of the laborers that have put their time into making this clothing. If we're only wearing it maybe once or twice before it falls apart or we put it in the bin.

[00:09:21] Molly: Yeah. So I guess you just touched on a little bit there, but around that consumer psychology, are these brands kind of just giving us, I guess, what we want, or I feel like we must know that this isn't good, so why are we buying it?

[00:09:36] Kat: It's a great point. I think people have different approaches to these brands and we've seen, I think some attitudes might feel like we've struck gold that we can buy so much cheap clothing. Yeah. And there's influencers like just dumping boxes of wrapped, oh my God. They're just sheen halls. Yeah.

[00:09:55] Molly: Those boxes where the influencers are like, this is what I just got from Sheen.

[00:09:59] They make me feel physically sick because women are then looking up to that, especially younger women, and they're going, oh my gosh. I want all those clothes.

[00:10:07] Kat: Mm-hmm. It just does seem too good to be true. But then on the flip side, even like SNL is making skits about the toxic chemicals in the products of the clothing, in the products of these brands that we're buying today.

[00:10:18] Mm-hmm. So people know and also don't really wanna know that it might not be doing, uh, the right thing by people and planet all being aligned with our values. Mm-hmm. Really, these ultra fast fashion brands. I think they operate kind of like a casino. Like if you venture into their apps or their websites, it's very overstimulating.

[00:10:37] There's all these deals. There's gamification. Yeah. They are tapping into the best of our dopamine addiction and consumer psychology even they're implementing something called the Infinite Scroll onto their apps and websites, so you'll never get to the bottom of a page of say, dresses. You will never get to.

[00:10:57] Page 28 out of 400 of dresses, you can just keep scrolling and that obviously means that you lose track of time and they're removing all those barriers for you to make purchasing as easy as possible. I would hate to think how

[00:11:09] Molly: much they're spending on advertising as well. It would have to be millions and millions and millions.

[00:11:15] Kat: Totally. I know that when team who entered the Australian market, they were operating at quite a loss for that cost per acquisition of customers. They were spending way more just getting us through the door than we were spending on their website. And I think they're doing that so that they build this dependence that we know that we can get whatever we want at an insanely cheap price when we head to these stores.

[00:11:35] Yeah. So we are hearing

[00:11:37] Molly: the impact of obviously the, the fashion industry is not great. I mean, and that's. Score in Australia of 31%, but whose responsibility is it to fix it? Is it ours, the consumer to like boycott or is it more the

[00:11:53] Kat: industry

[00:11:54] Molly: itself?

[00:11:55] Kat: I, I think really everybody has to come to the table.

[00:11:58] We've all contributed to the fashion system ending up where it is. Consumers keep shopping with brands that are making it easier and easier for us to over consume. And the government underneath is regulating how all of this can happen. And so we need everyone to come to the table to fix it. Certainly brands need to take more responsibility for the workers in their supply chain and for.

[00:12:21] The whole lifecycle of the product, and consumers can take these steps to boycott brands that they don't believe in, and to love what we already have in our wardrobe. There's lots of great steps that we can take, but I also think the government just needs to set some regulation to level the playing field for the industry.

[00:12:39] Molly: Yeah. So who are the labels in the industry who are doing the right thing?

[00:12:44] Kat: In our ethical fashion report last year, our top three were an Aussie underwear brand called Mighty Good Basics. Mm-hmm. They scored 91 out of 100. Yep. And then following that was Patagonia and Rotten Gun. So it's great to see the likes of Patagonia really put out that image of being sustainable and ethically made, and they are putting in the work behind the scenes to back that up.

[00:13:05] Mm. That's great. So those are some good places to start. Awesome. And

[00:13:08] Molly: like, what can people look for? So let's say a listener's going, okay, I don't shop at those fast fashions. Uh, like the higher end brands, like the country Roads that Seeds, the h and m, the Zara. I mean, not that h and m is one, but Zara are they?

[00:13:25] A little bit

[00:13:25] Kat: better. What we've found is that the price tag isn't actually a perfect reflection of how ethical a brand is, is behind the scenes. So it often surprises people that actually Kmart and Target perform pretty well in our research and they're very affordable. So I would encourage people to check out our ethical fashion guide.

[00:13:44] You can just search that up. We have over 450 brands assessed there, and we've done that work to kind of wade through the greenwashing and the confusing language and modern slavery statements and just boil it down into a number that is helpful for consumers. But I think even more than that, the more that we learn about the fashion industry, the more that we love and prioritize things like shopping secondhand and just reducing our consumption overall.

[00:14:08] Molly: Yeah. Are there any like certificates or like. Labels we should look for to know that if it's been like ethical, like I know when it's like, you know, with food, it'll be like certified organic. Is there like a certified ethical label, or does that not exist yet?

[00:14:25] Kat: There are a few different certifications out there.

[00:14:29] Really the baseline piece of guidance that I can give people is to look for a trust mark that is third party. So there are a few like Better Cotton or Cotton Australia that verify the conditions that the cotton has been grown in. There's also things like Fair Trade and there's Fair Trade US or Fair Trade Australia and New Zealand, and that is more about the workers' rights throughout the whole supply chain.

[00:14:51] There's ethical. Producing standards like Ethical Clothing Australia. But the thing that you wanna look out for is if it just says. Eco or sustainable or green, but doesn't really back up what they've based that on. So brands will be putting out an eco line or kind of a, a better than average line, but they won't tell you how that's been made.

[00:15:12] So I think that's a good thing to look out for.

[00:15:14] Molly: So when we're looking at practical things that we can do to make progress towards an ethical wardrobe. You mentioned before, obviously like shopping your own wardrobe first. So actually looking at. What do you have? I also had a stylist on the podcast, um, when I was in the uk and she was talking about like tailor your clothes for the different seasons, like tailoring skirts up, um, and then lowering them for different seasons, which I thought was a great idea.

[00:15:39] I'd never really thought of that before, but what are some other practical things we can do?

[00:15:45] Kat: I would say the first thing that I would encourage people is actually a bit of a mindset shift. What I've been asking people recently is just what story do you want your clothes to tell? We know that the default story of fashion isn't great.

[00:15:57] It's one of exploitation and pollution. But I also know that feeling of when I get complimented on a piece of clothing and I'm really excited to say. Oh, this used to be my grandma's, or actually I got this secondhand, or let me tell you about this awesome artisan brand that I got it from and that sense of values alignment when you're excited to share the story.

[00:16:18] I think it's just a great gauge to say, I wanna build my wardrobe with pieces that, a story worthy that I'm really excited to wear and to share the background of rather than some of these mass produced goods that might not be protecting people in planet. So that's a bit of a mindset one. Yeah. But overall, we do really encourage people just to reduce our consumption of new fashion.

[00:16:40] And that can be, you know, shopping secondhand, loving what we have and repairing it. Renting or swapping with friends is a great one. Even just how we wash our clothes. So if we wash our clothes on a cold cycle and we choose to line dry them rather than put them in the tumble dryer. Yeah. Obviously that saves us money on our power bill, which is a big win, but it also extends the life of our clothes.

[00:17:02] It keeps the color and the fabric more intact.

[00:17:05] Molly: Yeah, I love that. When we did our road show this year, instead of buying a new outfit for every location I just rented, rented them from a Australian. Company, and so then I had different outfits, but I wasn't spending like the crazy amount of money, but then I felt great because I didn't want it in my wardrobe.

[00:17:22] I was like, I don't want the clutter, I don't want the messiness, but it's definitely taken me a while 'cause my mindset when I think back in the day. When I've been on my money journey, it was like, that's on sale. I'm buying it. I want something new. I'm sick of my wardrobe. And I've definitely moved more towards like I think my mother's generation, which was like, you buy a few items and you wear them and you wear them, and you buy that quality.

[00:17:47] Not the quantity. So you're happy to pay more for a good pair of jeans if you know that you're gonna hold onto them for like three to five years. I did a post the other day on these boots I was wearing, 'cause I'd been getting them resold and resold and reheal and you know, I got them in 2019 and they still look brand new.

[00:18:06] And people were talking about how. They had been handed on, like their parents are in William boots and they get them, uh, restored and things like that. And again, it was just such a nice way, like we don't need to be constantly buying new things. And I think it's a, as you mentioned, it's a, it's that mindset shift and maybe it's a bigger, a conversation with ourselves that if we're feeling the need to constantly be buying new things, is that really the underlying issue here?

[00:18:32] 'cause I know for me it wasn't,

[00:18:35] Kat: yeah. In the podcast, we got to invite some expert guests into the conversation and we sat down with Alice Payne, who is the dean of the RMIT Fashion and Textile School, and she talks really beautifully about fashion is this beautiful, expressive thing. It's. One of the first thing that people notice about you, it's how you want to put yourself together.

[00:18:55] It can be this community building thing if you're swapping or sharing and mending and things like that. But the way that the industry is headed is really, is kind of weaponizing that for the profits of a few and leaning into that consumerism where it doesn't have to be that way really. It can be this beautiful, creative thing once again.

[00:19:14] And I think that was a really hopeful mindset where we can change our relationship with fashion.

[00:19:19] Molly: Yeah, and definitely demand more from the fashion industry as well. I know me by boycotting Tambo Sheen, those sorts of companies. I'm just like, I physically can't buy that because I just know that on the other end, and generally it's women as well, they're not getting.

[00:19:35] A good deal and it's not their fault. So I guess just to finish up, what are just one or two things you wish more consumers understood about the true cost of a $10 t-shirt?

[00:19:46] Kat: Oh, great question. To finish, I think the first thing that I would say is really. Our clothes pass through about a hundred pairs of hands before they reach our wardrobes or our shopping carts.

[00:19:59] And so if you're dividing that price tag by a hundred, that doesn't leave much to go around. And we know that for a long time, the fashion industry has failed to pay a living wage to workers. And a living wage is sometimes more than a minimum wage in producing countries. But it's that level just to put food on the table, send your kids to school.

[00:20:18] Put away a bit for a rainy day. It's not a luxurious amount, but we've just become accustomed to an industry that doesn't provide that for workers because it's prioritizing the profits of the company instead. So I think keeping that in mind though it's a bit sobering, is really important. I think it. It reframes how much that is really worth it to you to buy that next cheap piece of clothing that you're only gonna wear a couple of times.

[00:20:43] I think the other thing that I wish that more consumers understood about the cost of our clothing is that. We have such an important role to play, certainly in how our fashion industry is treating people and the environment, but we also have power because we are part of this system, and we can use that, as you've said, to choose not to shop at certain brands.

[00:21:04] But we can accompany that with our voice to government and to businesses. And I think that's when we start to have a real impact where our choice of where we spend our dollar is also accompanied by us choosing to raise our voice and advocate for change. So we've put together a tool for consumers to reach out to our local MP and just say that we need to level the playing field in the fashion industry and put in some legislation that raises the bar.

[00:21:29] And I think that step is like a really easy one that people can take too. Make sure that alongside our own purchasing de decisions, everyone's needing to step up. Love that. And we

[00:21:39] Molly: will make sure we put that link in the show notes as well. And what about like when we're, I guess so many of us are shopping online now, but I guess when we're in store we can also ask, I mean the staff as well.

[00:21:51] Like, Hey, can you tell me a bit about your. Ethical process. That's, I guess if they actually the, you know, that's right. That's behind the count. Count the nose.

[00:22:01] Kat: Yeah. I've been a pest a few times at the, at the store asking the, the sales assistant, do you know where this was made? And just checking that. I'm comfortable to, to make that purchase then.

[00:22:12] But if you think about how many times you get sent emails and texts and ads from these brands so that they stay on your radar, I'm happy to. Get on their radar a little bit and get in touch by email or in store just to say, Hey, this is still important to me. I really want you to be picking up your game.

[00:22:28] Molly: Absolutely. And if more and more do it, that's how the change happens. Kat, thank you so much for coming on the podcast and talking about this really important topic because fashion for women, it's this thing we love, but we wanna make sure that we are doing it in a fair way. Where can people find more information about the work that you guys are doing?

[00:22:48] Kat: Molly, it's been a pleasure to chat with you today, and if people do wanna hear more from us, we've just made this podcast called Behind the Barcode, so you can find that wherever you get your podcast. We're on YouTube, apple, and Spotify. And then if you search Ethical Fashion Guide on YouTube, you'll come across our consumer guide that gives us scores for big fashion brands.

[00:23:07] And that can be a helpful tool if you are heading to the online shops or to the shopping center. Great. And we'll make sure we pop all those

[00:23:14] Molly: links in the show notes. Thanks so much.

KEYWORDS

ethical fashion, fast fashion, ultra fast fashion, consumer behavior, sustainable clothing, Baptist World Aid, fashion industry responsibility, ethical brands, clothing waste, fashion certifications