why do brands keep doing these crazy influencer trips??
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SOURCES
sheimagazine.com/the-secrets-...
time.com/6279894/tarte-brand-...
www.businessinsider.com/im-be...
www.propublica.org/article/cl...
www.theguardian.com/tv-and-ra...
time.com/6249533/tarte-dubai-... www.marketingbrew.com/stories...
www.voguebusiness.com/beauty/...
• Where is the DIVERSITY...
www.buzzfeednews.com/article/...
fashionista.com/2023/03/revol...
www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/...
/ 1673062691643232256
www.motherjones.com/media/202...
www.intheknow.com/post/shein-...
www.thecut.com/2023/06/shein-...
time.com/6247732/shein-climat...
www.businessoffashion.com/art...
www.theguardian.com/fashion/2...
0:00 - intro
2:21 - explaining the brand trip
13:40 - the backlash
24:52 - the shein of it all
listening to a tiktok girlie talk about her school shooting experience using the influencer voice while peddling skincare will never not fill me with a feeling of hollow dread. what in the dystopia is this.
Agreed, I couldn't watch the whole clip in the video because it was so jarring
This is the second or third time I’ve seen this video and it’s still so off putting even as a rewatch cause wtf.
and the generic ad music in the background D=
They werent manipulated. They knew it was bullshit but money and clout rules their world.
It’s disgusting when I saw this I didn’t know if I should laugh or cry lol
the strangest part of the Shein content is multiple influencers saying they expected the factories to be dark, crowded and dangerous...then girl, why did you agree to go???
That’s what gets me, too. “I thought I was going to a see a parade of human rights violations inside these factories.” Girl… So you were prepared to see that and you STILL took them up on the trip? You fucking suck for that.
RIGHTTT like what were you planning to say and film if that were the case?? 😭😭
you underestimate the power of a check 🤣
Them still agreeing to go says so much. You mean to tell me, you expected it to be in a bad condition yet you still went there knowing that if it were in fact like those in movies and series or whatever, you are gonna cover it up for SHEIN. Smh
they honestly had to have known what it was they’d agreed to and played coy because of the money involved. there’s no way a newly produced cheap top is costing $3 unless workers are severely underpaid. it is incredibly time consuming just to create clothing, no matter how cheap looking.
girl when you went in on the supreme court as influencers i was giggling and kicking my feet like you got their asses
I’m always for calling out or dragging parts of the US government
You should listen to the podcast “5 to 4” it’s about how the Supreme Court sucks and the 3 lawyers are really funny and constantly dragggg their terrible decisions
Shein was the most baffling brand trip ever, they picked smaller influencers who were more easily manipulated
I lowkey feel like they invited bigger ones but they knew it would be social media poison so they turned it down and they were only left with the ones who were "flattered" to even be invited (or it was even more calculated and found the small ones on purpose...)
@@emericcson123 I definitely agree. Both are likely.
Definitely insidious scheming on behalf of Shein but influencers shouldn't be ignorant
Agreed but This Dani girl shouldn’t have doubled down so much then “apologize” by saying she’s constantly growing and using her size as an excuse; you still know what’s right or wrong, regardless of that.
I feel like smaller influencers also couldn’t turn down the opportunity. Not going to lie if someone offered me an all expenses paid trip and I only had a few thousand followers i would be more likely to play down my impact and get to go on a trip for free even if it is Shein. At that point you probably have the mindset that you’re not going to be “famous” very long with such a small following so it doesn’t matter as much to go and have a once in a lifetime experience. Bigger influencers probably care too much about their followers and reputation in the long run and get offered lots of trips anyway so are less likely to take it. Their whole career revolves around followers so they likely avoid risk as much as they can
Growing up, my dad worked in advertising. I understand how young influencers may be happy with "a free trip", but a free trip does not pay your bills. And brands should know that. Sometimes a brand would offer my dad free x for the advertising, and when he refused, they would criticize him for wanting money instead. Dude, he had kids who needed food, clothing and a house. We did not need a free trip to the local amusement park.
Brands do know that, that’s why they offer trips and things instead of money. It’s cheaper for them and less legally restrictive.
Also, its worth considering that any influencer who is going on these trips, even if they are not being paid cash, should almost certainly be reporting the value of the trip as compensation on their tax returns. These are not gifts.
@@TheYellowInkthat's dumb why would they report it on their taxes they didn't pay for it that's for the brand to put on their taxes.
@@Lucinda-zp2cp I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but that is in fact how it would work. Even if the influencers aren’t receiving cash, they are receiving a trip worth thousands of dollars and the internal revenue code defines “gross income” (what you report on a federal tax return) as “all income from whatever source derived.” The influencers are essentially compensated for their work by receiving the value of the trip, that’s income on which they can be taxed. Edit: clarity
@@Lucinda-zp2cp You don't just pay taxes on things you pay for, you are also taxed on income, which a free trip is. It's not a gift from a friend, it's payment for a service, which makes it an income which means that it's taxed.
Bruh, I work for a telecom company and I can’t even accept a $20 Starbucks gift card. The fact that Supreme Court justices accept lavish trips and don’t disclose them is WILD to me
My mom is a lower-level government worker and she has to declare anything above like $20, if not decline gifts
I'm an actual executive branch employee and I can't either. In fact, I know someone who almost got fired for accepting a church donation because they couldn't pay their bills during the really long government shutdown in 2018-2019, when we didn't get paid for nearly 2 months. Even though the donation happened outside of a work context, and my friend already had a relationship with the church, she got formally questioned about using her job to get special treatment. And neither of us are big deals in the government...It's wild that the Supreme Court, the people that can literally change history, can take all the gifts they want.
Retail worker here, we can't accept any tips at all no matter how small. Someone wants to give you a dollar? Better fork it over to the store because if you keep it, good luck with management.
@savannah115 does your friend happen to be LDS (Mormon)?
@@c471 nope, Episcopalian
it literally seems like a joke when shes like "i'm traumatized by surviving a skool shuting and that's why I use biore"
Guys, my nose strips were the only thing that allow me to survive 😩
Ikr? That's what I thought. How do you go from mental health to nose strips? What does the trauma have to do with skincare?
It’s a bit scary to think that some teens are so desensitized to school shootings that they don’t think twice when they use that experience to promote a beauty product
These trips also promote unhealthy tourist habits and they absolutely influence their audiences in this as well. They aren’t really traveling to get a world experience and end up not contributing to the communities they are visiting (brands do this) then all of the influencers time is spent promoting products instead of enjoying the place they are in or trying to go outside the comfort of the resort. Tarte was all about the Amazon! Like it’s so disconnected for reality and it’s mindless tourist consumer behavior.
@@weird-guy I don't see the problem with taking picture itself, if you're not destroying anyplace, not bothering local life, what's the matter ? And you forgot : a good tourist is someone who take interest in the local life, soak in the culture, respect the environement, and not just consume. You even can bring your own story to local people and exchange with them, and all THAT, for me, would be a PERFECT tourist :) If you only want to discover local products you can have them shipped. To be said I rarely travel but I live in Brittany where tourists come.
The Shein trip was so funny. Why any influencer would think it was a good idea baffles me considering their track record of labour abuse.
nice to see you here!
They don’t care, because shein hauls still get views
I buy around 4 pieces of clothes per year and my closet space is already limited. Why anyone would want to stuff precious closet space with shein hauls of all brands is beyond me
you'll get your answer if you remove the thinking from the equation. they are not thinking about it. people have excellent skills when it comes to not thinking about things that make them uncomfortable.
@@HaHaHaLMFAOtv haha, I love Mina’s content.
Oh god that apology video GRWM. Curling her hair, the soulless smile, and going "I'm sorry you felt that way, but I got so many nice messages look at how much people love me!!"
I was flabbergasted. She really thought, this would help?! That plus the school shooting survivor ad about skin care both left me speechless.
When that former social media manager said they got a lot of those things for free, hotel stays, food, and sometimes flights... SOMEONE is paying for that. It may not be monetary. But if so, the money to afford the all of this is coming from somewhere. Wage theft is just one example where that money can come from. Employees not getting raises because the budget could have been cut from there to make room for marketing partnerships with influencers. Nothing is ever actually free.
Agreed and the environment and biodiversity is definitely paying for it. I think she sounded a bit tonedeaf
It doesn't cost the company much because of partnerships, but trips and vacations like those are completely out of the reach of the regular person and thus we came back to the relatability problem.
AMEN!
It also pissed me off bc she was like “these trips are affordable” like.. getting shit for free isn’t the same as something being affordable. It’s affordable for the CEOs who run these companies I guess??
Fast fashion companies just now diversifying their influencer/partner base as they are drawing massive criticism is very much giving the concept of the glass ceiling, where women are being put in leadership positions in failing companies so that the blame lands on them instead of previous leaders
I think what you're referring to is the glass cliff phenomenon. It's the same position that Linda Yaccarino, Twitter's current CEO, got pushed into. And if and when Twitter goes under, the blame gets put squarely on her instead of Muskrat.
it's called the Glass Cliff phenomenon for anyone who's interested
@@juratory8876 Absolutely meant glass cliff! Googled it and everything to be sure, my brain just turned off when writing the comment haha. Thanks for the correction!
I think Dani may have gotten the most heat because of her egregious “You know me, ‘she’s an investigative journalist!’” line. When there are ACTUAL investigative journalists writing on the rampant human rights violations Shein is responsible for, it’s laughably stupid for an influencer to compare herself to the ones doing the real work, especially if she’s going to fly in the face of the actual EVIDENCE OF ABUSE 🙄
there's just no way she actually could've gone into that trip not knowing how bad Shein is. The company has been around long enough. I'm all for informed growth after making mistakes, but that wasn't a mistake
“I went to China and talked to Chinese people I know everything about Shein and China now” -influencers that went on this trip
Totally agreed - especially when they are blatant lies and aren't fooling anyone.
Especially since they talkes to the in english and not chinese
I met someone who wasn't an influencer but went on a trip to China and randomly went to a factory and said this same thing. It was baffling.
And somehow they think THEY'RE not being racist 🤣
The one girl who said she interviewed ONE worker & said "that confirms it ! No labor rights abuses here !!" was just too baffling to understand. As if a worker who knos theyre on camera is gonna be able to be HONEST
That ad with the school shooting message was very hard to watch. Out of touch completely - Wow. I think brand trips are also out of touch in this time. I get it, sales, money blah blah... but its really cringey. Thanks for talking about this girl. :)
I was so baffled at first as to why that girl agreed to do it given the trauma she went through. the only thing i can think of is Biore paid her a shit ton. The background music was so inappropriate for what she was saying and it felt SO off
@@Joecool7788 the only other possibility is that she became famous for sharing her story about the shooting... Theres many influencers that only talk about an incident or losing a loved one and stuff... 😬
Yes, very tone - deaf
to play devil's advocate, i do like the idea of 'no matter what, taking care of yourself is important and you're not alone' is good. But it's very sad that school shootings have become so normalized that a company could even consider making an ad from that angle. experiencing a trauma like that should not be relatable..
@@Joecool7788 as someone from the same state, she went to Michigan State/goes to? which is a school or 55 THOUSAND, I don’t know her personally but she could very well have been not close to the actual location as it’s a rural campus too. Either way it is traumatizing but it might not be *as* bad. Also Bioré really could’ve fixed the situation beforehand by including a comment that X% of sales or some money was being donated to the fund organized by MSU for the victims..
Ok but the thumbnail absolutely SENT me. Picturing Clarence Thomas as an influencer on a brand trip really helps take some of the sting out of seeing our democracy crumble before my eyes.
“Hey guyzzz it’s ya boy Clare, welcome back to my channel!! Anywayyy, so I was talking to my wife and she was like ‘we should destroy democracy because I want a yacht’ and I’m like ‘anything for wifey!’. I really hate that you guys think I’m evil or a monster for taking away the rights of Americans when the truth is that I’m just human. I make mistakes! The yacht had nothing to do with it!”
Another argument is that SHEIN is too cheap not to abuse their workers. It is simply impossible that SHEIN pays and treats their workers well when the clothes are as cheap as they are.
That might be true considering the price, but keep in mind the quality and sheer quantity of the product they sell. Also their company profit is massive, 700 million just in profits in 2022- 1.1 billion in 2021. So they can afford to pay their employees and not abuse them.
@@crissyt7015 ... You do understand that those are not arguments for SHEIN not abusing their workers but the exact opposite? Incredibly cheap clothes produced incredibly fast with constantly new designs all of which puts pressure on workers. Of course the profit is enormous - because they don't pay their workers even close to a living wage or provide anything like a good work environment.
@@crissyt7015Best believe that before little profit goes to the workers. Profit for a company is calculated after employee salaries are.
@@FuzzyKittenBoots do you understand that i was adding on to your point? Like you said “shein is too cheap for them not to abuse their workers” so my point was that even if they are cheap (quality,hence the price) they can afford not to abuse their workers. You cant excuse abuse of employees rights just because the products are cheap. So even in their current product quality and demand, they can afford to pay people living wage and not work them to death. Everyone looks for cheap things to buy- there is alot of demand for it, but SHEIN has no excuse to abuse their employees because there is clearly enough money to go around.
@@crissyt7015 Of course they can afford to not use slave workers, they choose to do so anyway because they can. Generally speaking, no situation ever is an excuse to abuse your workers or not pay them a living wage. If you can't afford to give your workers decent conditions, you can't afford to have employees, case closed. This goes for all businesses, no matter if it's McDonald's or a small family owned corner shop. No business owner is owed labour.
I will never forget how badly I wanted to go on a tarte bora bora trip😒💔
Kylie inspires me.. My parents said if i get 35K followers They'd buy me a professional camera for recording..begging u guys , literally Begging...
@namantherockstar wouldn't this ad be more successful if u used mina's name for this?
12 year old me wanted nothing more than to go on tripping with tarte
@@namantherockstarplease please please let this be a joke. 😖 Edit: okay, you just need 2.6K subscribers more. Plus, you've been doing YT for three years now. Save up the cash yourself, what kind of earnest creator begs for followers!? Edit: so ... you're passionate, I'll give you that. Don't get a camera, get better recording equipment and look up singing practices online. You need more vocal control. Also, maybe team up with a lyricist. Keep going. Don't pay attention to the mean comments. If it's what you love doing, then do it well.
@@francookie9353 i think its a bot
Anyone notice all these influencers come from wealth? They're just doing what rich people have done for centuries; wearing expensive clothes and hanging out and getting even richer from it. Their jobs are just being thin and pretty and rich.
Exactly.
Yep. And social media has exacerbated this phenomenon.
True, because this influencing culture requires so much material like video editing skills, a good computer set up , GoPro kinda cameras , having an aesthetic. All of us common people can't have those in this market economy. So at last you have to be privileged to be in this and thus THE RICH GETS RICHER.
All these replies are awesome! And don't forget how people don't want to watch your videos if your background is your 1986 1 bedroom apartment without aesthetic marble countertops, gray, gold, and white furnishings and the latest home decor. TikTok literally won't let you blow up unless you have a brand new white mansion or luxury apartment as your background.
Fully agree with your sentiment but still important to remember their jobs also involve filming, editing and promoting content - it's not just simply being "pretty"
Your wardrobe must be such a fun place, the range of clothes and styles it accommodates is everything. The individuality 🤌🏽
This outfit is not cute. Wrong size and doesn't go together. Treating the country like a stereotype is a choice, I guess.
agreeeeed! it is so cool to see someone not just stick to one thing but to explore and experiment
@@cfbgdamn why do you watch Mina’s videos if they get you so hot and bothered? 😂
@@cfbgI’m from the country and people often dress like this 💀
@@cfbgIDK most of the redneck girls I know would wear this in a heartbeat😂
I think that influencer that blew up with the Shein trip kinda gained the most attention 'cus a phrase she said about "being a free thinker" and "doing her own research" which sounded really confrontative in a context where a lot of critics consider themselves much more informed than her. On the other hand the other influencers did a lot of promotion an propaganda for the brand without sounding so confrontative towards critics.
Yes she was confrontational and WRONG. I couldn't help but to feel embarrassed for her, yet annoyed at how thinly veiled her act was. We all know that Shein is over of the most unethical fast fashion brands so I don't know why she was so confident about her stance.
And she even joked [though it sounded sincere, but I really want to believe it wasn't] about being an investigative journalist herself, because she asked some staged workers in a staged trip to a staged factory, which grinded my gears beyond reason, because there have been actual investigative journalism pieces about the work environment in actual Shein factories that produce clothing that Shein actually sells, and they were FAR from her glittery and polished "innovation factory". Holly hell read the room girl, no one is paying you more for being that tone deaf.
I’m a us size 18/20. I’ve been fat my whole life, I understand the struggle, especially since most brands plus sizes max out around my size. At the same time I don’t think that’s a very good excuse for an influencer, who does not NEED to shop at SHEIN, to take a brand trip with them. She also tried to claim she wanted to destigmatize buying fast fashion for people who can’t afford much else. Yeah, people who are financially struggling should be allowed to buy clothes from wherever and not be criticized, but Dani isn’t one of them!
I also do think that even when we're struggling, we still need to be responsible. I'm doing fine now but some 10-20 years ago I was in a really shitty situation economically, it was noodles and not much more for food kinda situation. Back then Shein didn't exist, and lo and behold, me and my friends managed to not walk naked to work despite this. The answer is to make responsible purchases and only buy what you need, plus take care of what you have. Could I afford to buy the latest trends? No. Would I have wanted the option to be able to, knowing that it meant women and children working in slave like conditions in China? Also no. Poverty is not an excuse for abuse.
Plussize people managed to clothe themselves before they discovered shein.
they also forget that when people criticise cheap fast fashion brands, the people that buy from them because they can't afford anything else aren't the ones that the criticism is directed toward. it's people buying exorbitant amounts of clothes they don't need when they could buy fewer, better pieces instead. poor people will just get whatever they need, not huge amounts of unnecessary crap.
L-carnitine helps putting down on weight. But be careful not to use to much. Losing weight too quickly can be dangerous. Stevia helps in reducion of craving for sugar.
It's interesting that most of the influencers going on these trips are young women. It seems like another example of the age-old idea that women, especially women of color, should provide unpaid labor in society. The people who expect this never directly say, "We are going to exploit you." They will make it seem like a fabulous opportunity that all women should aspire to, the same way marriage was marketed to women in the past. I will be curious to see how these influencers view these experiences as they get older and wiser. As someone who used to work in the performing arts, one lesson I learned the hard way was, do not agree to perform for "exposure!" This is code for "I want you to work for free." Due to patriarchy, it can be uncomfortable for young women to say, "My work is valuable, and if you want me to spend my time doing labor for you, even going on a luxury trip, then I need a contract and you need to pay me." These companies, consciously or unconsciously, are aware of this and they are exploiting this vulnerability for their own benefit.
Just posted commenting on how dodgy the gender & age bias of it all seemed, and then saw your notes here which articulate another aspect of it super well! 👏 Wish Mina had touched on this a bit, as it does feel like there is a whole larger conversation this practice ties into around ageism, capitalism, & associated use of women to financially exploit other women?
Very nice and important point
Hell yes ✊
from a gender/social perspective, I agree with you, but I really don't have sympathy for influencers not getting paid when they're literally gifted so many lavish things just for them to make content. they would have made content whether it was on vacation or not. They would have still made money as they do from their regular content, but now it's while on an all-paid luxury vacation. I see it as one of the consequences of the career. I also work in the arts, but I think there's a big difference between working for exposure as a trained craftsman vs an influencer who's literal objective is exposure
They hired women because they sell womens clothes. They want to reach other women's eyeballs and where are they?? They are online watching influencers, fashion, style, Makeup etc. You cant blame this on the patriarchy omg. This situation has nothing to do with glass ceilings or glass cliffs. Also how did the black girls become victims in all this? This is not unpaid labour. They get paid in airline tickets and hotels. They all sold out to Shein knowing what kind of company it is. The fact that they would pretend to ask questions and pretend that everything is fine and dandy shows they know about all the controversy and they think people are fools.. They all sold out for very little.
I think she was the most criticized creator because she calls herself an “investigative journalist” and “prides herself on questioning the status quo”.
and she claims she had no idea about shein's many, many, *many* alleged and confirmed human rights abuses?? this is actually comical
@@projectjupiter5523Right, like even if you aren't on the beauty space. You know Shein isn't a great brand, like she really thinks we brought what she said
and then doubled down when people called her out on it
27:17 OH MY GOD THANK YOU. As soneone who sews for a living, I have BEEN saying this since i heard those tiktoks. The technology statement was made by at least 2 of the influencers and it infuriated me because machines. Cannot. Sew. The only automation that can happen is perhaps to move garments along the assembly line faster, and other efficient management tools. But not. Sewing, cutting, hemming, any if that. Your average joe, jane, or jay likely doesn't know that sewing cannot be automated. Other creators who have touched on the shein brand trip discourse did not mention this, so THANK YOU!!! PEOPLE, WITH HANDS AND HEARTS AND FEELINGS, ARE SEWING ALL OF YOUR CLOTHES. And they deserve to be treated fairly, and compensated for their work.
i cant wrap my head around the fact that all that clothing is made by hand. i definitely thought some of it must be sewn by machines somehow. that definitely puts the scale of worker abuse into perspective
@cwahlb1 sewing machines are operated by human hands( and feet). The fabric is held and manipulated by hand as its fed along a sewing machine. Hand sewing means you hold the needle and thread in hand and form stitches with your hands. Sewing machines make stitches, but you can not simply feed a garment into it. It takes skill, like welding. You must fold and move the fabric, often holding different layers of the material at a different level of tension, be knowledgeable in what machine to use for each task and how to operate them, and how different materials or techniques require different machines sewing techniques. It's crazy to think about, look at every stitch in your clothes. Someone was holding the fabric, carefully moving it along.
@@pash9516 yeah thats what i meant. ik the difference between sewing by hand and by machine. ive sewn before. i was trying to differentiate between a machine doing the entire process and a person doing it by hand (not literally) with a machine
Definitely lol sorry to have over explained, I just didnt want to mislead you and I'm so passionateabout thesubject 😁. It's crazy to think about how much human work it takes.
@@pash9516 i appreciate ur passion! and definitely appreciated learning from ur comments 👍
The gun violence x Biore campaign is so so so dystopian like??Wtf????
It makes me feel so dark dude
The part that rubbed me the wrong way the most about the Dani thing is that she basically hid behind that she’s a fat influencer. She kept saying that Shein partnering with her was a big deal because she’s fat and other companies wouldn’t. That made me so mad!! I’m a fat person and it’s so gross for her to be like “it’s okay to stoop to human right violations because I’m fat and therefore less than.” I follow so many other fat influencers that would never do that!
As Someone who lives in and loves Idaho, hearing someone say its their favorite state is so strange to me because people NEVER talk about idaho let alone say its their favorite state
My sister randomly became obsessed with Montana beginning when she was was about 7 for no reason, maybe it’s something unexplainable like that for her also
I recognize one of the "influencers" from the shein trip, Kenya she was a designer in project runway, you'd think shed be more educated about production and not supporting a brand that steals from small designers constantly
Some ppl wanna shut the door after they got in
I work in PR and let me tell you, we LOVE watching these fails as great exampled of what NOT to do lol
I'm a office management apprentice and when it came to PR the teacher just said "DON'T LIE, and you'll be alright". He made it sound so easy, and told us that we have a law that prohibits false advertising, when asked why there are so many PR and marketing lies, he just shrugged his shoulders. Why do we even have rules then?! 🙃🤣
I am a born and raised idahoan and it is very beautiful here but It’s not an ideal place for anyone who isn’t white, cis, and straight. Truly unfortunate
oh man I have been trying to figure out how to say this but yes! I was a part of the Add the Words Idaho in 2014, I have never been in a place with as much vitriol towards queer folks in any other state I've been to. I was raised in Idaho. It's fucking gross here. I get so spicy about. like hello? you can be fired for sexuality or gender identity. you can LOSE YOUR APARTMENT! people don't know
@MimicryBee Add on Idaho's extreme anti-abortion laws, and that place becomes an even bigger hellhole.
yeah, I think Mina is kind of blind about this side of social politics sometimes, it's kind of cringe tbh
@@miklotwovinii definitely agree, I get it’s ignorance on her end but it truly is cringe.
are they really country hicks like she's dressed up as? I thought it was more of a rocky mountain state and not hillbillies
Idaho warning for people of colour: the nature in Idaho is indeed pretty, but there are a lot of open and aggressive racists. You’ll be fine in Boise, but take care in wandering off beaten the path. Avoid the Hayden lake area and the Idaho-Washington border area. Spokane Valley is particularly awful. If nature is what you want, I recommend the western side of Washington State, the Oregon Coast or Montana/Yellowstone.
This is such important information! When I heard Mina say she loves Idaho I was just thinking "Hmm but I'm Mexican though. I feel like I'd not be welcomed there." Feel like they'd probably call me a wall hopper or something 😭
@@crazyowlgirlcncowner Spent a year in Spokane Valley back in grade school. Not a week went by where there wasn't one at least one instance. We were so glad to move on from there. All these years later, I hear from people living there that it's just as bad if not worse. That place could burn in hellfire for eternity and not single member my family would think that was enough.
@@JoyceTaylor I'm so sorry you had to go through that. It truly sounds like a horrifying experience. It truly is one of the worst things to not be able to feel safe in the place that is supposed to be your home. I really hope those people can change for the better.
Fyi montana is very white but we are getting better.
I’m so sorry that this is something you’ve had to learn. Thank you for informing us.
Speaking to the SHIEN thing, and how difficult it is to *actually* fully automate clothing production, I watched an interesting video about the engineering of the James Webb space telescope recently (I swear this is going somewhere), and something that stood out to me was just how difficult it was to design its massive sun shield, purely because it was made from a very high tech fabric and would unfold like a giant kite when it got to space. However, even after all kinds of testing and reinforcement and calculations, they still basically just had to pray that it would unfold correctly when it launched because soft body physics are just that unpredictable. In other words, engineers at *NASA* have a difficult time building a mechanism to manipulate *one* single flat piece of soft material, in *zero gravity,* with *no air resistance.* Can you imagine how much more infinitely complex a machine that churns out t-shirts on its own would be to engineer? And how unreliable it’d be to operate? It’s no wonder that companies choose to just exploit people in countries with lax labour laws instead. Frankly, it’s disgusting to see SHIEN show the one single part of the process (in this case, cutting out pieces) that CAN be automated and pretend that it represents a revolutionary new process, and isn’t just a regular cutting machine that’s been the industry standard for decades.
One of the most odd and awkward brand trip vlogs I saw by a TikToker was this fancy luxurious cluster of tropical cabins right in the heart of an impoverished farm plantation where very poor workers were directly outside their shower cabin which had a giant window overlooking the plantation fields. The influencer was like "Wow The workers are literally right outside the shower window! That's weird." There was also another building in the same field with a mini brand store with their products. It was such an immense clash of classes on a whole a other level. The influencer was actually a genuinely nice person, but that video was really not a great look. I don't think I personally would've narrated the trip the way they did, but this is still such truly strange new territory for everyone.
To put some context on the F1 race, race weekends actually comprise of 5 races. Friday has 2 practice races, and Saturday had 1 practice and 1 qualifying race. The qualifying race determines your place on Sunday, which is the main race day. Bria got invited to the Friday and Saturday races but not the Sunday one. Unfortunately, F1 has become a hotbed for influencers, so there’s a lot of people who are not really into motor racing and have no idea what’s going on using these races as social media/clout opportunities. I think that’s what happened with Tarte. I feel like there’s a 50% chance they didn’t know that all the races weren’t the same, because it never seemed like this brand cared about motor racing. But I feel like there could also be a chance that Tarte’s leadership is out of touch with reality and their CEO has had multiple instances of being problematic. It’s all super annoying to fans who’ve been watching F1 for years because these influencer trips are one of the reasons why F1 has gotten so expensive.
For me what makes it MORE problematic is her saying “ no hard feelings” when she’s the one who did something wrong not the influencer who wanted to see the real race and then DOING HER HAIR while being accused of racism
WILL NEVER GET OVER THE F1 TRIP. Not a SINGLE formula one girly was invited.
I love F1, and this girl doesn't care about this sport. If she did, she would actually know what a great opportunity it could be to see the practice! It's sad that what she took from this was: "Less clout for me, I guess". Because sure, from an influencer pov, you'd think the race is more important ( = more views ). But certainly not in terms of experience. You get to see things you can't see during the race!
@@weird-guy I think Bria was right to say something about it. Yes, F1 has become a place to show off clout. But if they're hosting these trips to F1 races, it needs to be equal from influencer to influencer.
@@catherinevaz6139You missed the point
With the Dani/ SheIn thing, I think she's went viral because her tone in her vids came off holier than thou and "EYE do my research and y'all are just xenophobic followers" she insinuated that we just believe these things because we're idiots which is messed up
the bioré clip is crazy to me. while i agree with the message per se, it is bizarre to me to use it to sell pore clearing strips 😂 Like what, it wouldn't have happened if those kids had clearer skin?
😂😂 It's absurd and dystopian for sure. I think it was intended to say " I experienced the trauma of surviving a school shooting and so to help my mental health...let me pamper myself with some Biore strips." This is why the 90s is so nostalgic. Simpler times where this extreme excess in performative EVERYTHING was not the norm.
Yeah I get why the kid did it (student loans aren’t cheap) but it’s uncanny valley
No no it still would've happened, you just wouldn't WORRY about it because how can school shootings upset your when you have ✨clear skin✨
@@alice45-fgd-456drtThe aggressor would come in and decide to spare you for being too pretty to die obviously 🙄💅✨
@@crazyowlgirlcncownerGod that sounds like some Wattpad sh*t
Thanks to you, I can finally clean my room
Lmao I’m also cleaning my room while listening to this
I did the dishes
LITERALLYYY
re: the thought that influencer trips don't cost as much: the woman said the *magazine* wasn't paying for things because they were free, but they surely cost the hotels they were partnering with, the restaurants, etc. and what happens with the workers? the people who provide the food? that magazine (and potentially other brands) choose countries ravaged by tourism where a majority of the population lives under the poverty line. there is a cost associated with those brand trips that goes unaccounted for indeed. It's like the old adage, "nothing in life is free." When it comes to trips like these, I agree Shine on, Mina Le! 🤩
i only found out about dote during their fallout for not being diverse enough, i binge watched all the stories of the black girls on these trips and how they were isolated :(
That biore ad dude like actually I need a second like GOD
I feel like the marketing lady talking about how the brand trips are "more affordable than you think" was completely missing the point.
Yeah "affordable" because they were given things for free! (Or in exchange for advertising really)
Her missing the point or not- her commentary still insightful and shows how autocratic CEOs are finding ways to negate advertising laws. The trips are put on mostly for free, gifted to influencers for free, thus, the influencers don’t have to disclose ads legally.
I think her point was more for pointing out how companies/brand trips don’t cost as much for the people doing them as people (watching the content) think. For me and I think a lot of other people we assumed they probably cost a brand hundreds of thousands of dollars to do but like she pointed out it’s more “affordable” for the brand cause they can get a lot of stuff for free cause of exposure.
Absolutely. The point is they project an image of wealth, leisure and ease. They imply: "Buy this [whatever] and you’ll be a step closer to carefree luxury, too!"
I was thinking this the whole time too! It’s like great so it’s cheap… for YOU. But a normal person could never attain that because we actually have to pay for the flight the hotel and the product that these influencers are pushing for free…
That Shein trip was crazy but the blandly talking about a school shooting for a skincare ad was a bleak look at the direction we are heading. Won’t do what we have to do to actually stop them from happening, so let’s just monetize it
I had to go into my PayPay account yesterday, and I looked at the "Deals" section. I noticed that there was a pretty sizable discount on Tarte in there, and I cynically thought, "Oh, I wonder what's going on with them."
Smart gal
I was already prepared for the Shein Brand trip to be the worst of the ones described but knowing that it happened in my hometown kind of makes me feel even worse, in a very personal way. Like, the words gross or sick doesn't even begin to describe it. The fact that one of the bases of operation for Shein is literally exploiting people from what feels like my own community, and then have that grossly be on display as "content" to be digested by the masses and promoting them... I just feel really sick to my stomach. And also knowing that these brand trips almost never respect the locations they visit either, and that the people they invited will never get to see the real Guangzhou, the one that I intimately know... It just hurts me a lot. Sorry this got too personal...
There needs to be a horror influencer vacation 😏
i love this crossover
Does Fyre Festival count?
I think that the island trope or isolation trope is very Agatha Christie’s 10 Little Indians which has its own complex history. It is a way to create a fishbowl environment so the audience as the observers watch the rats eat each other.
that is so true! after trips you always see somebody coming out with “tea” or viewers questioning what happened between different influencers- by putting a group in a fishbowl environment, brands know the influencers will turn on each other and generate controversy/gossip which creates publicity for the brand.
I think the one woman on the shein brand trip got the most flack because of how she called herself an "investigative journalist" but then not really doing any critical investigation just talking about the top-level view that the company showed her
Shein's crossed from "commercial" to "propaganda" and I'm mostly just baffled anyone involved thought it was a good idea/would work. I don't have an issue with brand trips as a general thing - obviously some came with issues - as they're basically just a commercial, but that one was wild.
I hate to say it, but I don't think the backlash will have that much of an effect long term. Yes, some people are talking about it now, but it's mostly people who don't really shop at Shein anyway and already know that fast fashion is pretty dreadful. Pretty sure my more 'normal' friends haven't even heard of this Fingers crossed this is the beginning of the end, but I really doubt it
@@keirahazlewood4223 oh agree I don't think it's going to have any effect on anything I'm just surprised they thought it would sway anti-fast-fashion people.
Aside from the racist and problematic aspects of treating differently some of the influencers that these brands invited, from a marketing point of view, HOW did they ever think this was a smart idea? How could they think nobody would notice? Even if the influencers didn't talk about it, you could just compare the videos and the differences are obvious, I really don't understand how nobody said "But won't people realize it's different, considering it's being filmed?"
i remember haley pham being apart of i think dotechella or h&m and whilst she kept getting photos taken and posting about all of the fun she was having, the black girls on the trip were coming forward about having to share hotel couches to sleep and being straight up excluded from photos
That Biore add with that upbeat music "with countless anxiety attacks to locking myself in my room" "get it all out from your pores to your trauma" obscene.
I think the tropical locations for reality tv has a lot to do with wearing less clothes
my favourite quote from the shien tiktoks was when one of the influencers was like it can't be a sweatshop, they're not even sweating like omg
*I'm Kenyan, most of our fast fashion products are marked Made in India or Made in Bangladesh for clothes or Made in China for other things.* One thing, the 500 articles per person isn't the complete piece but a step in it. Second thing, they're dead end soul crushingly jobs that go nowhere. I literally know people in the exact same _everything_ outside time passing from when I was a small girl seeing them go to these places. They literally dress the same, talk the same, walk the same route to work or live in the same slum. My heart breaks every time I see someone young go into these factories. Third thing, those wages do make sense for us. They are poor wages but still living wages. Fourth thing, the reason the factory is so pristine is because they went in between shifts, the best time for such an event. Nothing nefarious was happening. Fifth thing, those machines are not state of the art lol. They're industrial, people really need to learn. Last thing, the West needs to learn a lot more about the rest of the world and our labor practices. A lot of this hate does seem "bleeding hesrt liberal" from this side. I remember a few years ago my aunt lost a job just because white kids were crying about "children in sweat shops." Most of these be better campaigns I come across are always making life worse for those factory workers you insist are exploited.
^^This comment should be pinned
I think Shein's business model is definitely problematic but I also agree with some points you have made here. Like 4000 yuan is actually not that bad in some provinces in China as the Chinese Premier Li Keqiang said that China has 600 million people with a monthly income of 1000 yuan in 2020. I also rmb in Shoe Dog, the memoir written by the founder of Nike, Phil mentioned that he had tried to offer higher wage for their workers in a developing country but the government stopped Nike from doing that coz that would disrupt the local wage level. Working condition in poor regions obviously still has a lot of room for improvement but they should not be considered abysmal just because they don't meet the western standard.
@@weird-guy I didn't even imply any of those things you seem to have read. Our wages are increasing normally, and everyone working in these factories earn a living wage. We do have benefits in our country (both opt out and opt in benefits) and who told you the working conditions are abysmal? Also, you clearly don't know economics if you think drastically increasing the salary of one sector of the economy would cause anything but economic collapse considering it's a working class populated sector filled with largely untrained labour. You have to have paced income increase across sectors.
@@weird-guy @@weird-guy and I'm saying wages haven't stagnated in Kenya (and most African countries in fact). I've never heard of any African country where people work two jobs to earn a living wage and this isn't happening in China, India or Bangladesh either. Working conditions improve regularly around the world, you must be delusional to think this is only happening in developed countries. The few cases of deplorable work conditions in Africa have been linked to European and North American tied organizations where they were actually found to have slaves, had dangerous working conditions, were employing children and weren't paying a living wage as recently as this year with Unilever, a few years back with Marks and Spencers and last year with Monsanto. Second hand fast fashion and fast fashion in general is a global problem and developing countries aren't on the moon. I see KZheadrs advertising how to "ethically purchase SheIn" and that's the same thing. What most developing countries face is dumping where poor acting developed countries (usually Western countries) flood our markets with trash. For this instance, Australia was the worst where they'd "donate" shipping containers full of clothes but most of it was unwearable fast fashion or otherwise waste they didn't want to dispose of appropriately.
yeah i feel like there needs to be more nuance. getting rid of exploitative (and child) labour etc. is of course good. but people act like those exist in a vacuum. Parents don't send their kids to work because they want to, they do it because the alternative is to starve. if you take away those things there just absolutely has to be financial support or development of better/higher paying jobs for the parents, otherwise you're not really helping anyone.
Mobilizing Gen Z's fixation with """Mental Health Awareness""" as an advertising tactic to sell beauty products is so insane, and also so very very predictable, lmao. Like if they put that Biore ad in a satirical movie/show about the shallowness of the "movements" of today, it would feel too on-the-nose and overdone. That influencer showing off her cute workout clothes and fit body while rotely reciting a script about anxiety and a freaking SCHOOL SHOOTING, to then reveal a trite hashtag product slogan tying it all back to the stigma of mental illness, was like a punch to the face.
Liquor companies do trips for bartenders and bar managers. Has been going on for at least 15 years. Liquor companies also did a boxing event a few years ago and there’s even an org called BBO, bartender boxing organization. It’s funny when I see things happening on social media with influencers that bartenders have also benefited from for years but with a different product, booze.
its so interesting seeing these happen with companies of products we dont consider as "influencer content" like u would never think about alcoholic beverage "influencers" so why would there be trips lile these for companies that sell liquor i wonder what other "niche" influencer products have brand tripd
Working in healthcare, it makes me so upset to see how companies do the same…but profiting off the sick
I love the little life checks mina does at the start of her videos
TOTALLY!! also, there's some weird fetish Americans (mostly) have with exotic (their preferred name for third world countries when is vacay time) countries. like, probable dates back to those adventure in the jungle books of colonialist times and I'm not even joking
You didn't just hit us with THE TOXIC GOSSIP TRAIN again 😂💀
There's a huge side of this that takes place between med companies, private doctors and insurances. If you feel that all dermatologists suddently are pushing the same brands (in my experience this was insane when looking for severe acne treatments) ignoring other cheaper products that work the same or have extremelly similar ingredients for no apparent reason it's really not just a feeling.
I love how informed you keep me! I saw all this go down on twitter but didn’t take the time to really investigate the issue. For example, didn’t realized how predatory SHEIN was for picking the influencers they did (underrepresented POC and + sized ppl). Not only that, but how the shift to sustainability from fast fashion has affected what brand deals are considered good partnerships nowadays. Great video as always!
As an Idaho resident, I can understand why visiting would be fun. But living here full-time is another story. 😅
My thoughts exactly! The love-hate relationship I have with my state is wild lol
I was actually just thinking about this topic because Linda Sun whom i adore, yesterday posted a video about her Love Bonito sponsored trip to Singapore and i was not feeling her sponsoring a brand that isn't sustainable or transparent about their labouring practices 😑
wow I loved Linda suns content too :(
the most interesting influencer trip I've seen this year is not gonna mean a lot to the younger viewers, but I found it really really interesting. The owners of Officine Universelle Buly, a luxury candle and toiletry brand from France, invited a large group of influencers that are more in their 40s+ that do "French lifestyle" vlogging to their chateau for a week, my god the place was absolutely gorgeous and yet still felt lived in and like a home, and one of the activities they did was work in the chateau garden where some of the ingredients for the products are sourced, lol, like in their gift bag before they went was personalized wellies, gardening shears, and gardening gloves, lol, like super super high end, but I thought it was a little funny, until you realize what they were for, they were also gifted candles and toiletries and combs and brushes and stuff too that were personalized when they got there. Honestly, maybe I'm getting too old, but I'd prefer an influencer trip like that one, lol
definitely not getting too old, im 20 but that sounds like an absolutely dream holiday. i was sold at personalized wellies.
I'm watching this after watching Swell's video on it a week ago or so....the part that i found irritating just like Amanda did was that Dani stated like she was a professional "investigative journalist" with years of experience at getting "the real story" and how this trip genuinely showed the "truth" based off what the Shein workers/officials told her (regardless if it was true) and what she was shown in this manufacturing building.
Omg I was also thinking of swell's video :)
Tarte brand trips has got be money laundry, there's no other explanation tbh 😂
i remember when the bulk of videos talking about these influencer trips were about the racism experienced. it honestly was just a shock seeing how many denied what was happening, and it really sucked having to see all these people experience being left out or just outright being treated badly.
For me, as an f1 fan, the tarte trip to miami was problematic because A LOT of women become fans of f1 nowadays and have to deal with a lot of misogyny from male fans. These influencers don't have to deal with that and only show interest for 5 minutes to take photos/stories. Many fans would sell their soul to attend a race but simply don't have the money, while these girls got this amazing opportunity and don't have any idea how lucky they are.
I don't know if this is still the case, but about a decade ago it was fairly common for video game reviewers to get flown out to fancy locations for a preview/early access review event. Brand trips for gamer guys, lol.
I drove through Idaho on a road trip last month and it was GORGEOUS. Definitely underrated. I stopped in the town Napoleon Dynamite was filmed too, fun time 😆
You really truly should be questioning yourself when you start pitching your experience with gun violence as a marketing tool for blackhead removal.
The school shooting survivor went to where I go. I am also a school shooter survivor and I was on campus near where it happened. She wasn’t there. I cannot imagine profiting off of that tragedy this way
Also that girlie talking about how the trip was “actually affordable because we didn’t pay for most of it” def doesn’t negate the actual dollar value of the trip. Like oh it was so cheap because we didn’t get charged for the hotel room! Girl what, that didn’t mean it was 0$ value
Also you have to have enough financial influence to get these things for free in the first place! It’s a business transaction.
I like how you call Shein the "final boss" of fast fashion.
Love this breakdown, and just one more reminder that the *most* sustainable thing we can do is simply stop consuming. If you have to have something, get it used/swap with friends.
We need a wardrobe tour soon Mina!!
I think for me my issue with people ordering on Shein is that it’s all online. Obviously H and M isn’t the best company, however they do have physical stores and my own sister works at an H and M store. She has told me it has been the best job she has ever had. She gets decent pay (above the minimum wage in my location). She has fair hours especially considering she is a student. She can always get time off. She got proper training for all aspects of the job, and her coworkers have all work at that H/M for at least a year. Some have even been working there since that H/M opened in my town around 5ish years ago. So it can be the teeniest tiniest bit easier for me to shop at H/M because I know at least some of their employees are treated well and fairly. With Shein I have no idea how any of their employees are treated and being that they don’t have physical stores all I know about are the factories and not one person seems to have a fair life there. It can be so hard deciding which company to support, as it’s almost impossible to find one that is ethical, sustainable, and affordable. I’m a broke college student who sometimes needs business wear, and while I try my hardest to buy second hand sometimes I can’t find a pencil skirt in my size. So I have to turn to H/M. I suppose what I’m trying to say is, in todays climate of the world you have to pick your battles and remember how much you can give, it’s an easy fight for me to not shop at Shein but it is a difficult battle thinking about spending my whole two weeks pay check on one one skirt for an interview.
I feel like another aspect that makes physical stores that sell cheaply made clothes superior to Shein is that you actually get to try on the clothes in the store and are more likely to not buy it if it’s not perfect, instead of buying a lot and either not returning stuff you don’t like or returning it and having it go to waste
I’m from idaho and was so low key excited to hear Mina say she loves it here lmao
Oh how I remember those collabs back then. Great video, and I hope you enjoy your trip Mina!
26:13 Wow how sad the influencer didn’t realize that the person employing these Chinese workers in a sweatshop obviously instructed them to lie
Im planning to do a zine about fast fashion and brands, i’ll probably quote this video (and the sources) in that. So thank you Mina as always 🖤 Also these days i’m reading the last part of No Logo by Naomi Klein (the “no global bible”, before the no global movement was destroyed by my country’s police brutality) and it’s crazy to see the process she was talking about 20 years ago taking us to THIS. I wonder what she thinks rn about all of this, the presence of brands is SO pervasive we barely notice and things like the school shooting tiktok are possible. This is complete madness and we normalised it.
i’m commenting to get a reminder when you’re done! this sounds like you are putting your heart into it & i’d love to support it and read it (:
@@bucky7505 thank you sm!!! i’ll let u know if i do it 💫
Seeing mina up close without makeup was a scare jump in a "I just saw an angel" type of way, I feel like my soul was cleansed, my taxes paid, got a well paying job, I knew she was pretty but she's above pretty what the heck
YOU DESCRIBED IT PERFECTLY
I was obsessed with your Idaho photos last time! Your video was awesome!
amazing video! so rare to find youtubers justifiably criticizing brands. this was refreshing to watch ❤
As usual, you have us accustomed to utter excellence with your research topics. Thank you, Mina!! It's so important to shine an empathetic and realistic light on issues so intentionally manipulated and obscured.
Getting paid in-kind (paid with things and trips) is still taxable business income for the influencers at value, but the tax compliance is probably super sketch/nonexistent...😬
A friend of mine criticized tarte for the brand trips given their eco/natural theme, especially in their early years, and they blocked her!
This video is soooooo perfect thank you so much (and OMG you're GORGEOUS in the sponsor section of the video, ur always gorgeous but idk the shots are beautiful)
Oh my god, I am from Idaho, but I live in Texas now. I get homesick for the wilderness in Idaho. The Sawtooth Mountains are one of the most beautiful places on the planet and my heart literally aches for going back.
This is why I am very selective with the influencers I follow or support. Money runs the world. Most influencers don't take questionable deals because of lack of knowledge but because they pay well and they are willing to take a fall and make an apology video. It is a sad reality.
I think what people dont realize is this type of bartering happens in literally every industry that sales is involved in. In design, often the manufactures will pay for trips, and dinners for specifiers in hopes that they will recommend their product. It is icky in varying degrees. It is interesting to me to see it play out online how people feel about it.
your videos are really growing on me because your videos arent usually on topics that im familiar with and the viewpoint given isnt from a pop culture, drama, gossip kind of way but has thoughtful commentary on said topic. P.S that Biore ad is WILD.
I recently noticed a lot more brand trips across all sorts of different types of influencers. There were a few big brand trips for cleaning products where they invited a bunch of cleantok influencers, there was the fashion brand trips, ect. In the past year I have noticed the amount of brand trips and PR boxes increase a lot. Maybe more people are being encouraged to be vocal about them or something. It reminds me of the earlier days of YT influencers and all the big brand deals (like the Ford Fiesta challange) and brand trips and tons of PR boxes. Parts of it died down for a while but it seems to be ramping up again.
Mina never disappoints with her dressing 🔥
Flashback to the DOTE trip back in the day
Thank you Mina, always love your insights
Your videos are always so well and carefully made. Thank you for your great work!
I also really love Idaho! I was surprised with how beautiful it actually is there! Have fun!! Also....woah what a stretch for that Biore partnership.....not a good look
Wait, you mean you're not dressed up to audition for a part in Oklahoma?
Thank you for the Where 2 Shop link. I'm really excited to check it out as a resource.
I hate apologies that say "I'm not perfect". It's a cop out. No one is perfect and no one is asking you to be perfect. Using the "I'm not perfect" excuse minimizes bad CHOICES they made and makes a false equivalency between an active choice and an accidental mistake. It also portrays accusers as "unreasonable" because it falsely implies that accusers demand perfection. "I'm not perfect" is passive-aggressive BS, basically.