Is Romwe Fast Fashion? Read Before Buying That $5 Dress

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Are you wondering is Romwe fast fashion? Or maybe you want to check to see is Romwe ethical before buying? Then, you might want to think twice before buying that $10 dress.

We discuss the question is Romwe ethical, where Romwe clothes are made, the materials used, and whether Romwe is a fast-fashion brand.

What is Romwe?

Romwe is a fast-fashion brand creating rapidly changing clothing styles for girls and guys. The brand focuses on socially inspired streetwear, including aesthetics such as yk2, anime, goth, and cyberpunk looks.

Founded in 2010, the brand has grown globally to over 50 million users. The brand is owned by the parent company Global Egrow E-Commerce, a Chinese company that also owns the fast-fashion brand Shein.

Is Romwe Fast Fashion?

Yes, Romwe is a fast-fashion brand. The company creates rapidly changing styles to keep up with the latest trends and produces best-selling looks on a mass scale.

As part of the brand’ sustainability claims’, Romwe claims to only produce around 100 items of each style before scaling up to mass production – this is a serious greenwashing claim, as the brand is still making garments on a large scale as part of a fast-fashion model.

When looking through hundreds of reviews of Romwe’s products, we see issues regarding incorrect sizing, poor quality materials, and poor quality garments, which lead to customers wearing clothing only a couple of times before discarding it in landfills.

In addition to mass-producing hundreds of styles at an already low price, Romwe also heavily discounts clothing in regular sales across its site, promoting the overconsumption of its clothing. For example, when researching, we found tops on sale for as little as $2.50.

What Materials Does Romwe Use?

Looking through the Rowe collection, virgin polyester and cotton are the most widely used materials and both have significant adverse environmental impacts.

Virgin polyester relies on nonrenewable fossil fuels to create, is not biodegradable, and ends up either in landfills or sent to developing countries. In addition, cotton is a natural fiber; it’s grown using large amounts of water and pesticides, which can pollute the soil and waterways.

Cotton is also grown in areas where labor is not regulated, meaning workers are often exploited with low wages and unsafe working conditions.

As previously mentioned, many of Romwe’s garments also get negative reviews, with customers saying that clothing is ‘thin’ and ‘flimsy’ due to cheap and poor-quality materials being used.

Is Romwe Carbon Neutral?

No Romwe is not carbon neutral, nor does the brand disclose any information about its greenhouse gas emissions or whether it is working to reduce them.

Is Romwe Ethical?

While Romwe’s website states that it only works with ISO-certified partner factories and complies with fair labor standards, including SA8000®, the brand does not disclose any information about which factories or which country Romwe garments are produced in.

Due to the lack of information about whether audits are conducted and any audit scores of its factories, we can’t say whether health and safety standards, fair wages, or the brand’s forced labor policy are met.

Where are Romwe Clothes Made?

Unfortunately, Romwe does not disclose its factory list, so we cannot see where Romwe clothes are produced.

Is Romwe Cruelty-Free?

Romwe gives no information on its animal policies online. Therefore we cannot say whether the brand is cruelty-free.

Overall Romwe Sustainability Rating

What we like

❌ Unfortunately, we didn’t see anything we liked regarding sustainability and ethics are concerned. Plus, the brand was one of the worst we’ve researched in terms of traceability and transparency of its supply chain.

What we don’t like:

❌ The lack of sustainable materials and eco-friendly fabrics, the lack of transparency around where its clothes are made.

4 Sustainable Alternatives to Romwe

If you want to discover alternative brands to Romwe that create clothing ethically and sustainably, check out the four alternatives below, or look at our guide on the best affordable, sustainable clothing brands here.

1. Afends

2. Kotn

3. WAWWA

4. Lucy & Yak

To discover more brand ratings and reviews including Outdoor Voices, Banana Republic, Nasty Gal, Zaful, and more, check out our Brand Ratings page.