Adrianna, the founder of ‘It’s Called FaSHEIN Sweaty,' revealed to Bored Panda that she created the group "out of spite of another group."

"It has grown huge since August of 2021 when I made the group," she told us via Facebook. The group is open to everybody, everyone is welcome, and shaming bodies isn't tolerated.

According to her, managing a group of this size isn't super complicated like it might appear from an outsider's perspective. However, "it can get a bit chaotic with the 30+ post approvals a day!"

One of the recurring challenges the team running the group has to deal with is the number of reposts that people share. "We really enjoy all of our wonderful group members and their constant love and support for the group," Adrianna praised the community.

We were interested to get the group founder's opinion on why clothing designers sometimes end up creating such bizarre pieces. "I think it’s because they want to push their creativity into artwork. I think they use it as a creative medium," Adrianna said that some designers might not consider their creations fit for everyday use.

"I think they know it’s not an everyday outfit but they still look for ways to make it so outside of normal so that it has potential to give them more publicity," she said, adding that some designs might not actually be all that bad—simply incredibly creative.

Bored Panda was also curious how Adrianna envisions the future of the Facebook group. She opened up to us that she likes ‘It’s Called FaSHEIN Sweaty' just the way it is and will "love it no matter what!"

"I have a great team with me and I’m excited to see where it goes!"

To call the fashion industry huge would be an understatement. The global apparel market is estimated to generate a jaw-dropping $1.7 trillion in 2023, according to Gitnux. By far the biggest apparel market is located in the United States. In 2022, clothes sales there reached a whopping $310 billion.

Meanwhile, Statista notes that the apparel industry’s revenue had reached $1.53 trillion in 2022, potentially growing to nearly $2 trillion by 2027. Unfortunately, a market so big creates tons of waste. 

As Earth.org points out, 92 million tonnes of textiles are wasted each year and end up in landfills. Or, to put it in slightly more down-to-earth terms, that’s the same as a rubbish truck full of clothes dumping everything in a landfill every single second. Meanwhile, textile waste in the US is equivalent to an American throwing out an average of 37kg (81.5 lbs) of clothes each year.

With this in mind, it makes sense that people buy fewer clothes and that their wardrobes only have high-quality items that they genuinely love. What you don’t want to see is mass-produced, seasonal garbage that ends up being thrown in the bin the moment fashion trends change. It’s not only consumers who are responsible here though. Clothes designers, too, have to strive to create items that have long-lasting value.

Created in the last days of summer, 2021, ‘It’s Called FaSHEIN Sweaty’ has amassed nearly 52k members in the nearly 2 years since then. The Facebook group is focused on a single thing: “We are just here to shame clothes!!”

So if you’re planning on joining the group, remember that you’re supposed to have fun by sharing witty and barbed quips about terrible clothing designs. However, this doesn’t mean that you can write just about anything: there are certain rules that you have to keep in mind to ensure that everyone in the community is enjoying themselves.

First things first, try to remember that the entire point of the ‘It’s Called FaSHEIN Sweaty’ project is poking fun at bad designs. Not people, but their clothes! It should never be the person wearing or modeling the outfit who gets insulted.

The administrators and moderators stress that there should be absolutely no awful behavior on the group. “We like silly, not mean,” they point out. Dehumanizing language of any kind is not allowed. There’s a zero-tolerance policy for any sort of bullying, ableism, sexism, transphobia, racism, and homophobia. If you ignore this, you’ll be banned. It’s as simple as that.

The team running the group explains that “authentic, expressive discussions make groups great, but may also be sensitive and private. What's shared in the group should stay in the group.” According to them, nobody should message another member of the group without getting explicit permission that they can do so. Meanwhile, members are asked to censor any and all private information in the pics and screenshots they share on ‘It’s Called FaSHEIN Sweaty.’

The team notes that the entire community is supposed to be supportive of all bodies and identities here. “We do not allow people to be disrespected for their health, gender, sexual orientation, or anything similar. Some people will never be healthy and they are still deserving of respect,” they write.

Meanwhile, members are urged not to post sexually suggestive clothing, lingerie, or men’s underwear. “If you are unsure, go the safe route and do not post.”

As a whole, the team running the group asks its members to think about the community and put it first. “Give more than you take in this group. Self-promotion, spam, and irrelevant links aren't allowed. Make sure everyone feels safe.”

‘It’s Called FaSHEIN Sweaty’ is far from the only clothes-shaming group on social media. Previously, Bored Panda spoke to Mary Waldron, the founder of ‘You can’t just slap some fabric together and call it a dress.’ In her opinion, clothes can be considered to be really bad if they’re utterly impractical.

"The dresses I tend to really gawk at are the ones that look like they could fall off, tear, or just completely malfunction at any given moment.” However, personal taste is still a factor. "At the end of the day, if a dress makes you feel happy when you wear it, then you wear it relentlessly because your body is your own to dress how you want to."