Amazon Haul: fashion hauls aren't going anywhere

The name of Amazon’s new $20-and-under storefront, Amazon Haul, says it all.

The platform, which launched in beta on Wednesday, sells products including fashion with “ultra-low prices” and is seen as a bid to compete with China-affiliated retailers Shein and Temu. (The model for all three is largely the same: ship products directly from China, with typical delivery times of one to two weeks.) That’s the wrong game to get competitive on, say environmentalists. Shein and Temu have faced a slew of criticisms and investigations from regulators in the US and Europe who are concerned about their labour practices, “overuse and abuse” of the ‘de minimis’ shipping exemption and Shein’s ongoing pursuit of an IPO.

Social media hauls are widely credited with accelerating the rise of both ultra-fast fashion and a culture of overconsumption writ large. At a time when experts, from labour advocates to climate researchers, say the planet cannot sustain increased consumption of natural resources — even current levels are unsustainable — the launch of another platform hawking low-cost products that people don’t need is a step in the wrong direction.

“We have big concerns about Amazon’s recent Haul launch. This move encourages buying a lot of clothes at once, usually cheaply made, which means they often end up in the trash after just a few wears (if any),” says Katrina Caspelich, chief marketing officer of advocacy organisation Remake.

Amazon declined to be interviewed, but said that low-priced items are not new to its business and that the company will continue to focus on its goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2040. It reported reaching its goal of 100 per cent renewable energy, seven years ahead of its 2030 target; that includes global operations such as energy-intensive data centres, but not supply chain (Scope 3) emissions — which is where most of a garment’s carbon footprint is generated. Amazon says that through its 2019 Climate Pledge, the company will continue to drive its net-zero emissions path forwards and deliver for its customers, partners and the planet.

Much of the clothing on the Haul site — which is available on mobile only, in a browser or through the app — appears to be unbranded and largely made of synthetic fabrics. (A quick search for “cotton shirts for women” produced hundreds of results; two of the first 25 were labelled as 100 per cent cotton, while most were a cotton blend and many were 100 per cent polyester or rayon.) Amazon Haul offers free returns on purchases over $3 within 15 days of delivery.

Some experts are concerned that Amazon’s launch of its own low-cost shopping app is a sign that low-cost, high-volume shopping culture is here to stay. The lure of that style of shopping is understandable, says Caspelich, but it’s more important than ever that consumers understand the reality of these models. “We get it — getting a bunch of new clothes all at once can be fun and feel like a great deal. But the true cost of these ‘hauls’ isn’t just in dollars. When we buy lots of low-cost clothes quickly, it leads to a cycle of waste and pollution that’s harmful to our planet,” she says.

In many ways, retail analysts say it’s a smart move — Amazon Haul may help the company appeal further to younger consumers, who have been won over by Temu and Shein’s model of selling ultra-low-cost clothing (and other goods), produced quickly to copy current trends. With Haul, Amazon can potentially join Shein and Temu in benefitting from the de minimis shipping regulation, which allows companies to ship packages valued at less than $800 into the US duty-free and with less scrutiny from customs. The Biden administration has been calling for a crackdown on this rule, an effort that has bipartisan support.

“As a retailer that competes on price alone, it is unsurprising [Amazon is] using the same tools their competitors are taking advantage of in our trade system. It underscores the need to reform de minimus, before this gets out of control and cheap goods flood our markets to an even greater and even more crushing degree,” says Rachel Kibbe, founder of Circular Services Group and CEO of American Circular Textiles. She’s clear that those steps are crucial, but they are also just a start. “Reforming de minimus won’t make manufacturing in the US more competitive, or circularity more of a reality. We also need to ensure any de minimus reform leverages those funds for incentives for US manufacturing and circularity, rather than sending them back to the general ledger.”

“The branding is smart. It ties it into social sharing, which is how haul videos started,” says Sucharita Kodali, research analyst at Forrester. It’s almost a guarantee that there will be negative environmental impacts, but generally, retail’s business model is not built on prioritising the environment. “Yes, all this low-priced merchandise is wasteful and very environmentally unsound. It is irresponsible to create and to consume, but we live in a free society that is capitalistic and where negative externalities like garbage are society’s problem, not an individual or a company’s,” she says. What’s needed to counteract that is legislation, she says — extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws in particular.

She believes, though, that the model may be short lived — not because of its sustainability implications, but because of the political headwinds that Shein and Temu are already facing and the tariffs expected under the incoming Trump administration. “My gut feeling is that all of this will go away soon for other reasons. And if [Shein and Temu] are less prevalent, others won’t feel the need to compete,” she says. “It will be like Amazon’s investment in Living Social years ago [Amazon invested in the daily deals site — which was meant to compete with Groupon — in 2010, and two years later took a $169 million writedown on its stake in the company]. I’m not sure that cheap goods sourced overseas will survive in a world of Trump tariffs.”

In the meantime, Caspelich says it’s urgent — and possible — to fight the societal trend towards low-cost, high-volume shopping. “With a little shift in mindset, we can help create a fashion industry that values people and the planet just as much as it does style. We can still have fun with fashion without contributing to a system that’s hurting our environment and those who make our clothes,” she says. “We urge consumers to recognise that every purchase is a vote for the kind of industry they want to support.”

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