Is Cider Clothing Fast Fashion? An Expert Breakdown!

Cider Clothing is a Hong Kong-based fashion brand that was founded by Fenco Lin, Michael Chen Wang, Yu Oppel, and one more friend in 2020.

The company was started with the intention of combining fashion and the internet to offer affordable, stylish clothing to young people. Among its eight investors are Greenoak and Andreesen Horowitz.

The headquarters of the Hong Kong-based fashion brand are located in Los Angeles, California. The apparel for the brand is made in Guangzhou, China, by a network of partner companies.

With over 500 employees from 14 countries, Cider has raised a total funding amount of $140 million and is currently rated third out of 4606 competitors. In September 2022, the well-known brand celebrated its second birthday on a global scale. 

Cider offers a distinctive blend of globally inspired styles that reinterpret them in a fresh and innovative way.

Cider manufactures multiple collections every month since they keep up with every TikTok trend that has become popular. This embodies the basic principles of fast fashion companies, which are to deliver products to customers as quickly as possible and for the least amount of money possible.

Also, a good number of their items are reasonably priced; some are as low as $5. This strategy is similar to that of Shein and Fashion Nova, two other fast-fashion stores.

Sustainability Rating: 2/10

Category: Clothing, footwear, accessories

For: Women

Products: Tops, shirts, blouses, dresses, jumpsuits, sweatshirts, jackets, blazers, jeans, shorts, skirts, activewear, underwear, loungewear swimwear, knitwear, shoes, bags, accessories

Style: Casual

Quality: Medium

Price: $

Sizes: XS-XL, 2-12 (US), 4-12 (UK), 34-42 (EU), 4-12 (AU)

Fabrics: Cotton, nylon, spandex, elastane, polyester, cashmere, linen, wool, satin, acrylic, faux leather

100% Organic: No

100% Vegan: No

Ethical & Fair: No

Recycling: Yes

Manufacturing countries: China, USA, United Kingdom, Denmark

Certifications: Not transparent enough

Interpretation Of The Sustainability Score

If a brand is rated 2/10, it means that it does not do enough to reduce its impacts or provides little to no evidence of such actions. It does not demonstrate enough care for people, animals, and the planet.

What Are The Sustainability Practices Of Cider Clothing?

Cider Clothing claims that they are collaborating closely with their suppliers and performing inspections and assessments to make sure that any chemicals emitted meet their environmental requirements.

However, Cider Clothing cannot be considered as a completely sustainable brand. On its website, it makes promises about sustainability, yet some of its activities betray this.

Cider has made a remarkable effort in comparison to its competition by listing its suppliers on its website. While all suppliers have ethical certification from regulatory agencies, only one has said that it places a high priority on environmental conservation. Better work environments and labor rights protection are the main priorities of other suppliers.

Cider claims to make clothing from recycled materials and utilize sustainable packaging. A bamboo-made line is also available. However, these only make up a small portion of the brand's overall collection; the bulk still employs synthetic materials like nylon, spandex, and polyester.

Furthermore, on the brand’s website, it is stated that “Sustainable fashion should be accessible, not exclusive. That's why we're on a mission to create affordable, everyday statement pieces with sustainability in mind.”

However, this statement just justifies why their prices are so low in the name of accessibility when actually it’s because they are not paying their labor enough or they are not using the right materials which cost a little bit more if they are sustainably made.

And even though the brand claims that it has been working on sustainability, you can check on its website timeline that till now it released its first sustainable collection in 2022, two years after the brand was founded.

Are There Any Ethical Practices Of Cider Clothing?

Cider is a little transparent about its supplier information which shows that Cider has selected businesses with worldwide ethical certification. Their suppliers have also taken steps to protect the environment by cutting emissions, conserving energy, and improving productivity.

Cider may be able to meet ethical standards for suppliers, but there is still a problem with the company's designs. The fashion business has been charged with cultural appropriation and design theft by many.

Cider's decision to launch a line of clothing inspired by the Qipao, a traditional Chinese garment, is one instance of this. The design of Cider has drawn criticism for being extremely offensive and for promoting the fetishization of Chinese culture.

Commenters have also drawn attention to Cider's designs' commonalities with those of small, independent designers. Lydia Bolton, a designer located in London, has charged Cider with stealing her apple pumpkin jacket design.

Since Cider is not yet a registered trademark, Lydia asked the fashion firm to stop utilizing her designs, but Cider declined. This action may be lawful, but it's definitely unethical!

Furthermore, it's unclear how Cider implements its Zero Tolerance Policy, which states that its partners and suppliers pay wages to their workers that don't fall below the local minimum wage, give workers a safe workplace, and refrain from hiring anyone under the age of sixteen. There is little evidence to demonstrate that Cider's partners and suppliers follow these guidelines.

The reason for a garment brand's extremely low prices is typically minimal labor costs. As of November 2023, the minimum wage in Guangzhou, China, the location of Cider's factory, is CN¥22.20 per hour, which is $3.03 per hour.

Does Cider Clothing Employ Child Labor?

Cider does not keep its factory information transparent. It is a relatively new company in the fast fashion sector, and from what little information is accessible on its website, it is impossible to determine whether Cider is using child labor. Its products are reasonably priced, though.

Moreover, considering how secretive the company is, there's a strong chance that they might be employing child labor.

Are There Any Animal Welfare Policies at Cider Clothing?

Cider Clothing has attempted to promote animal welfare in certain ways. In contrast to several fast-fashion labels, Cider doesn't utilize any materials made of fur, leather, exotic animal skin, or angora.

The company does not specify where it gets the wool, though it does use it in some of its products. The wool business is notorious for its animal cruelty, so this is a very serious issue (PETA, 2023).

Sources:

https://www.shopcider.com/about_us

https://www.shopcider.com/sustainability/zero-tolerance-policy

https://www.shopcider.com/sustainability.html

https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/animals-used-clothing-factsheets/inside-wool-industry/

https://wageindicator.org/salary/minimum-wage/china-custom/6839-guangdong

https://www.shopcider.com/policies/sizing_guide

https://thetab.com/uk/2022/01/27/how-cider-became-tiktoks-go-to-brand-despite-cultural-appropriation-and-stolen-designs-237684

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FUMZxaaEyBg