Everlane, a clothing retailer known for minimalist staples, sustainability, and “radical transparency,” has been folded into a company on the opposite end of the branding spectrum. 

Shein, one of China’s most prominent ultra-fast-fashion platforms, is acquiring the San Francisco-founded direct-to-consumer brand.

The deal values Everlane at approximately $100 million — a steep discount from what it commanded at the height of the e-commerce boom — and was approved by Everlane’s board over the weekend, according to reports from Puck (opens in new tab) and Bloomberg (opens in new tab).

Rebekah Cook had just stepped out of Everlane’s Valencia Street location Monday afternoon when a reporter told her the full scope of the news. The San Francisco resident, who said she has bought roughly 15 pieces from Everlane over eight or nine years, did not hide her dismay.

“Hearing those two stores together was pretty shocking,” Cook said. “I associate Shein with being much more exploitative.”

Michael Preysman and Jesse Farmer founded Everlane in 2010 on a pledge to publish the per-unit costs of its garments alongside retail prices. The company’s valuation initially topped $250 million, and projected revenues approached $550 million by 2025.

The company gained an early following among urban millennials who wanted ethical consumption and clean aesthetics. But “radical transparency,” a term Everlane trademarked, turned out to be hard to live up to. Watchdogs accused the company of greenwashing by being less than forthcoming about its supply chain and the sources of its raw materials.

Sales slumped in the work-from-home pandemic era. In 2020, the company laid off hundreds of retail and customer support employees after they tried to unionize. Ex-staffers accused the company of systemic racism. Interest rates ticked up, venture-capital funds ran dry, and Everlane found itself saddled with $90 million of debt.

Shein’s acquisition is a debt-driven exit by L Catterton, the private equity firm whose majority stake in Everlane came with approximately $90 million in liabilities. Common stockholders will not receive a payout, according to a note sent Sunday morning.

Customers and former employees lamented the news. 

“I haven’t worked at Everlane in almost 10 years, but it’s a pretty sad day for the people that built it,” Nan Yu, a former CTO at the company, posted on X. 

Others remarked on the broader demise of sleek, aspirational direct-to-consumer branding. 

“I wonder if one day my kids will larp millennial style with warby parker shades, outdoor voices totes, whatever glossier made and everlane shoes/jeans,” a former Everlane employee wrote on X (opens in new tab). “Feels like the start of some kind of energy that has since been taken to its logical extreme by the new residents of Greenwich village and SoHo. I don’t know what shein is but I hope it works for them or something.”

For Cook, the sale cuts against everything she believed the brand represented. She described Everlane shoppers as people seeking quality and intention in their purchases — a contrast, she said, to Shein’s customer base, which she associated with bulk hauls of cheap clothing worn once and discarded.

“You always see people on TikTok unboxing hundreds of items they paid $2, $3, $4 for, and they end up in a thrift store,” Cook said. “That kind of speaks to the quality and what people are looking for when they’re purchasing from Shein, versus what they’re looking for when they’re purchasing from Everlane — which is usually something they’re wanting to hold onto.”

Everlane had announced plans to move its headquarters to Los Angeles from its offices on Folsom Street after a dispute with property owners led to a San Francisco Superior Court lawsuit early last month, according to Gazetteer (opens in new tab).

The acquisition comes as Shein navigates significant legal and regulatory headwinds, including a February lawsuit (opens in new tab) from the Texas attorney general alleging that the company sold clothing containing toxic chemicals and routed U.S. consumers’ personal data to the Chinese government.

Shein separately paid $700,000 last July to settle a consumer protection lawsuit (opens in new tab) filed in Napa and joined by San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sonoma counties.

“Customers should expect that when they buy products over the internet, those products will ship on time or they will be told as much and offered the right to request a refund,” District Attorney Brooke Jenkins said at the time. “My office will not hesitate to act when companies do not follow California law when it comes to sending delay notices. I want to thank my fellow district attorneys for working collaboratively to resolve this action.”

Cook said she expects to keep shopping at Everlane, though she is uncertain what will change under new ownership. “I’m sure it’ll be a little bit before things are actually switched over,” she said. “But hearing this was pretty shocking.”

Everlane Vice President Kevin Walther had no comment. Reps for Shein didn’t respond to a request for comment.