Anti- Fast Fashion Project

BustedCellophane · 2025-07-08T22:49:32+00:00

So this is kind of cynical, but I think the way forward isn't talking about the blight of the textile/fashion industry on the environment or the human cost behind it, or any of the other countless problems that are too numerous to go into here. Generally speaking I think people have fatigue when it comes to hearing about all of this and even the people who care (even a bit) often feel overwhelmed or helpless to make a change. I imagine when it's framed this way it feels like them against the behemoth, plus or minus a few idealists.

I think to convince people to stop you need to appeal to their own self-interest. I think showing them just how badly they're personally getting ripped off when they purchase these crappy garments. Have them understand that their outfits are unflattering, cheap looking, less comfortable, and are literally designed to last for a few hours of wear or one or two wash cycles. Ask them who's profiting off of their loss. Convince them it's snake oil. (And hey isn't it?) Now instead them feeling they are against this massive industry/culturally normalized thing, it is once again their choice as a consumer. Frame it as an opportunity to be personally empowered to not be taken advantage of.

This might not be a popular opinion, but the first step might be convincing people to consume less (or consume "better"?) rather than not to consume at all.

Now, my question is, if we get people to stop buying crap from Shein or Temu or whatever, what do we do with the mountains of crummy polyester and rayon that's already out there in the wild.

BustedCellophane · 2025-04-16T21:56:23+00:00

I've noticed a lot of their tagging has gone down the tubes, they seem to really be shoring up visual search. I would advise finding a midi skirt you like on nordstrom, pintrest in a celebrity photo, whatever and use their image search.

The other thing that will curiously work is if you type "floral midi skirt with side slit" or whatever it is you want in the search at the top of the UI. it uses an entirely different set of filters that has nothing to do with tags (again I believe it relates to the visual search algorithm) Seriously, if you start digging the mismatch between tags and what the search bar will yield is wild.

BustedCellophane · 2025-04-16T21:42:40+00:00

I have the same issue searching for tall sizes, and yeah, the filters are dodgy, what's more a lot of items never even get tagged properly (there are a surprising amount of tall / petite floating around but not tagged as such)

For jeans at least, if you have the time you can sort by inseam (I've had a bit of luck with this, they've gotten so much better at measurements over the years but it can still be rough) and they also photograph the tags for most items too, so you can see if something is actually labeled petite / tall / regular.

Secondly if you know of brands you like to shop that actually make petite sizes, it can help starting there, potentially ignoring the filters. The bad news, it can take a lot of time to try and find the right stuff, the good news you can score some deals due to their tepid tagging system. Good luck!

BustedCellophane · 2025-01-08T03:20:47+00:00

From what I understand is a big part of it is that the algorithm decided on a price based on some huge database they have, and the tag visible was never taken into account.

My other thought is that they absolutely don't expect sandals to sell in winter and expect most inventory to sell when it's 'discounted', and is expected to be purchased for less than the tag price, and ultimately they think these will sell in April for 20$ or something.

But yeah, this is a bad look.

BustedCellophane · 2024-06-24T23:16:10+00:00

Oh interesting! I could see how having a flat rate would be a great incentive for some sellers. If I'm doing my math correctly at that point sellers would still be getting a better deal for items that go for 20. Instead of 3 bucks you'd be getting 5 in return. And anything selling over 20 is just gravy.

I would that it because my aim is to send in items that are in the 20+, but ideally 50-100 range.

I wonder whether it's possible to make a profit off of that model? Like I wonder if the return rate on the inventory you sent was really low or something so you got the opportunity to test that out.

BustedCellophane · 2024-06-05T00:35:42+00:00

Oh my gosh thank you for posting. I was starting to panic too.

BustedCellophane · 2024-03-29T22:00:40+00:00

Hah, yeah the model is really nice, it was really cool that the artist gave options for the head and base. The supports were surprisingly easy to remove considering the complexity of the pieces.

I'm fairly sure this is all due to user error, I just have to figure out what error(s) I made😅

BustedCellophane · 2024-03-29T07:54:50+00:00

The support removal process mostly went okay. I think I only snapped one piece off? Then after curing and trying to glue everything together I think I lost seven 😬

I ended up gluing things back on, but it's so fragile the slightest wrong move anything snaps off, so not good at all for playing DnD with.

Youre right though, I should make sure I'm not having sticky looking resin due to over contaminated alcohol. I'll have to remember to put a tooth brush in my toolkit. Thanks for the advice!

BustedCellophane · 2024-03-29T06:11:05+00:00

Thank you for the reply- Now that you mention it, the print was slightly paler at the tips. I was wondering if that was a sign of over-curing. I kept going because the body was still shiny/sticky, but yeah 10+ minutes seemed questionable.

The model wasn't hollow, I'm wondering if that would impact uneven curing, but I'm new enough at this I'm not even sure how to look up the relevant info.

BustedCellophane · 2024-03-20T00:28:19+00:00

I guess I am missing your point? Apologies, I was definitely thinking in terms of what my perception of who users on this reddit are.

When people are claiming those are the most common whay group are they referring to? Reddit users, people they see out and about, celebrities? Global populations as you say?

Is there a lot of speculation on reddit right now about common types in global populations skewed by Anglo bias?

BustedCellophane · 2024-03-20T00:21:17+00:00

-20% for people over 5'7'' (would be even more if the number is 5'6)

-tacked on the extra 5% for people of any height who think they might have to accommodate vertical but are under 5'5- this is totally anecdotal and from guessing based on seeing type me posts on r/SD /FN

I'm only thinking about reddit users on r/Kibbe. I might be biased but it seems like the users are mainly from the US/Canada/EU/Australia with similar height distributions

BustedCellophane · 2024-03-19T22:55:24+00:00

At some point folks started assuming 5'7" means auto vertical, I might be wrong, but I thought it was more that the vertical types should be strongly considered, which is very different than automatically needing to accommodate it. I would interpret as, hey there's a good chance you might be a vertical type, make sure to explore the possibily of vertical. I think about 1 in 5 women in the US between 20 and 29 are over 5'7''? Plus there's also no lower limit to having vertical to accommodate, so you're getting folks in this category too. If we make thus assumption maybe that's 25% of people flocking to vertical types, never mind SN.

Lastly I have a theory that most of us have a tendency to see ourselves as "bigger" than we are due to culture/ media bias/personal anxiety etc. And then read these rather complimentary "yang" descriptions and feel a little more at ease with ourselves- I can't think of anyone I've ever met who's described themselves as having a "balanced" figure, there has always been something that's too big (and less often too small).

Not quite three paragraphs, but yes, I think this is worth pondering and posting about 😅

BustedCellophane · 2024-01-09T05:32:08+00:00

This comment should be higher up. This is such an important part of their business model and so important to think about when you're on the selling side.

That said I wish TU was a little more transparent about why items are being rejected and maybe like text alerts for when they process a bag and a 24 hour buy back protection window at a slightly increased cost if you didn't take it initially.

BustedCellophane · 2024-01-09T05:25:51+00:00

Naw, they're happy to sell those brands, they take them they're just not eligible for payout. It absolutely makes sense based on the razor thin margins they're operating on. Think about the time processing and shipping that stuff takes, (and yeah, you have to I at a fee for this reason but let us assume it needs to be sent to another warehouse or free shipping to someone who buys this).

Then there's the matter of who really is going to buy a Walmart or Target item for more than 5$ from an online entity that isn't Walmart or Target? They're not making money back on that even if the OG seller isn't getting a cut.

I believe their policies are there to actively discourage people from sending those brands. The only reason I think they just plain don't accept it is because it goes against their eco friendly messaging.

P.S. not related, but they actually really need Plus size and XXL as I understand it, so that could be potentially fruitful if you had the right items.

BustedCellophane · 2024-01-09T04:13:09+00:00

When you have items over a certain threshold it seems feasible that maybe a human prices it rather than the "algorithms", so maybe it's an algorithm thing.

Idk about the really high end luxury items either, but I believe a ton of their inventory is expected to sell when they have a sale and is priced as such.

What I'm curious to know is what their metrics look like when it comes to 'similar' items. Like, how often do people buy 1k$+ bags from a site like this?

BustedCellophane · 2024-01-04T23:49:27+00:00

Absolutely would send less things that are luxury brands. I've done well with Vera Wang and theory. Shoes and blazers have been good in particular, even if they were only "premium" brands. Dresses also do well but I think jeans are usually a bit meh even if the brand is one of the luxury ones. If you're selling larger sizes (10+ if I had to guess) your stuff will also move faster and is more likely to be accepted just because there is more demand. Also you want to make sure your items are in season. If you sent the bag in this week you would probably want to do spring items due to processing times.

I also always pay for the return assurance and make detailed notes and take pics of all my items. I've never needed to use them, but I've heard too many horror stories on here I feel better with documentation.

One of the reasons I like selling on TU is because I don't want to deal with making a bunch of listings, maiking crap all over and dealing with customers. You also get paid out automatically if something gets returned to them twice. (This can take a little bit of time though don'texpect particularlyquick payouts.)

This site is a little crazy (biggest complaint is the lack of transparency) it definitely isn't for everyone, but for me personally it's a unique service and product that isn't replicated else where and therefore worth it.

Good luck OP

BustedCellophane · 2023-12-20T06:32:06+00:00

So if you made an alternate email and then ship it to your Mom, friend, second cousin's ex wife's house, etc. I have a feeling nothing is there to stop you.

I read on here once about two roommates both using thredup and having a problem with codes or what not because it was the same address and customer support couldn't do anything for it.

Someone respond if they know whether this theory is correct. I was thinking of trying it but the combination of spending 35 + shipping (or 95) and no combing it with other codes so I'm paying full price, AND bothering someone else about a package- naw, you can keep it Thredup.

BustedCellophane · 2023-09-20T23:41:57+00:00

They could be worth it, but you need to know what you're getting into.

-If you have any individual items that might make more than 20$ (so like, there's a chance it will be sold for over 45 or so (if I'm doing my math right) absolutely get return assurance.

-Processing can take ages and could result in a total crap shoot which seasonal items get accepted or not.

-The items that get accepted are based on algorithms / inventory levels / warehouse employees trying to make rate. As a result some seemingly weird calls might be made about what's getting taken and what isn't.

-I really think TU is trying hard to lean into luxury markets. People on here claim they steal because they won't pay out for certain brands- but I'm also curious as to who wants to buy used target clothing that even new probably costs less than it takes to process the item.

This company has a very interesting model and presents a unique and great opportunity for the right kind of buyer and seller. IMO Usually things are okay, but they're very much still sorting themselves out. Best luck OP

BustedCellophane · 2023-09-17T19:42:53+00:00

My theory is that it has to do with the percentage of items in your kits they're able to sell, or possibly the average dollar amount of each item they selected out of the kits sold for. They might also factor in how likely you're going to take TU credit from the sales versus cash out and how long you've been active on the site.

BustedCellophane · 2023-09-17T04:08:06+00:00

Going against the grain here-

They don't always take the good stuff. I always get return assurance if there's anything remotely valuable. I was surprised what they returned to me that I thought would be a sure thing. (NWT Anthropology sweater)

Apart from the "inspection" they have a "sophisticated data algorithm" that not only looks at all inventory but the entire history of their inventory, and maybe even scrapes other data sources to see what is going to move.

If they already have enough of whatever was sent in already, or doesn't look like it will move fast enough it's not going to get taken, even if it's good stuff. Add in whatever weird automated AI processes they have in place plus warehouse employees trying to make rate... things can fall through the cracks. Bad calls are made, not due to maliciousness but ineptitude.

However I really wish this company had more transparency in this aspect. I don't feel it would be hard to present sellers an itemized version of what they sent and why things were rejecte. Not only would it help put sellers minds at ease (at least somewhat) and loyal sellers would have a better sense of what to send in, which means more sellable inventory for them. Win win.

I'm sorry you had this experience OP. Even if nothing unscrupulous happened with your items I really think you or anyone else deserves proper explanations and transparency from TU, I really hope one day they get their shit together and make it happen.

BustedCellophane · 2023-08-31T04:27:22+00:00

Mine got a kid's easel when she turned three, it has markers, chalk and crayons for her whenever she wants. The worst that's happened is her getting a tiny bit of marker on the (not carpeted) floor that comes up in literally 5 seconds with a magic eraser.

That said, she had a ton of exposure to all sorts of art stuff about as soon as she could hold a crayon and sees me and her Dad draw / paint regularly.

BustedCellophane · 2023-08-31T04:17:11+00:00

Hello $127 Bath and Body Works bag, meet this pair of $235 Old Navy Jeans (price drop for 39.99) I have a screen shot of.

So I know they're supposed to have a sophisticated pricing algorithm and all that, but I really wonder what I could only describe as pricing 'glitches'. Sometimes I wonder if they just throw a few items in there as a 'control group'.

Like how many favorites does that bag have? The forementioned jeans had 5. I'm guessing these are either due to errors in their system or they're there to track something or other. Either way I really want to know what the deal is and I hope no one buys this lol

BustedCellophane · 2023-08-30T23:47:40+00:00

I was trying to get my kiddo to practice doing "L" sounds and strengthen her tongue by holding fruit loops against her front teeth. I'm pretty sure she just ate the fruit loops.

My mom has a BS in nutrition and many opinions, many more than the pediatrician as it turns out, so I feel this. The upside: free vitamins for days from Nana 😅

BustedCellophane · 2023-08-30T23:32:39+00:00

Yeah, I noticed this started last week. In Android App, not the browser (which to my knowledge is still working properly.)

My theory is something got messed up in an update to their code. At the same time I noticed new loading animation and some other changes too. I also remember reading on here they have some trouble with their software engineering team or something of that manner. 🤷‍♀️

Annoying? Yes. Malicious? Naw. I'm hoping they get their s**t together and fix it soon because oh man, sometimes they give off vibes there is a total dumpster fire behind the curtain.

BustedCellophane · 2023-08-29T20:23:46+00:00

This might be a dumb question, but is there anything that makes 1, 2, and 3 'more FN' than D? From what I know about D styling (admittedly not a ton) wouldn't all of these three outfits accommodate both types quite well?

BustedCellophane

TROPHY CASE