POPULÆRE UTENLANDSKE UNGDOMSBØKER OVERSATT TIL NORSK

Hvordan bruke listen?

Bøkene er kategorisert i et utvalg av sjangre med engelsk tittel\serienavn [norsk tittel\serienavn] og navn på forfatter. Hvis du søker (CTRL+F) finner du lettest fram til spesifikke titler. 

 

Forfattere med mange standalone bøker bør søkes på med engelsk tittel eller forfatter, f.eks. Ali Hazelwood. I likhet bør serier søkes på med den engelske serietittelen for best mulig resultat.

 

Nedenfor hver tittel finner du hvor mange av bøkene i serien som er oversatt på norsk per dags dato, kalt "status". 

Listen inneholder bøker spesifikt skrevet for ungdom og bøker som ungdom har vist stor interesse i å lese, men som kan være både middlegrade eller voksen. 

Forbeholder skrivefeil. Titler legges til kontinuerlig. Vet du om noen titler som mangler eller ser noen feil? Kommenter gjerne nedenfor.

 

Symbol:

Queer =  🌈

Anbefalt 18+ =  * 

Mangler oversatte bøker i serien.

PARANORMAL\LOW FANTASY & MAGISK REALISME

 

Wake Over Me [Våk over meg] av Amy Plum (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker utgitt på norsk

 

Ruby Red [Rubinrød] av Kiersten Gier (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker utgitt på norsk

 

We Both Die At The End [Begge dør til slutt] av Adam Silvera 🌈

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

Before I Fall [Før Jeg Faller] av Lauren Oliver

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

House of Night av P.C. og Kristin Cast (serie)

Status: 12 av 12 bøker på norsk

Beautiful Creatures [Vakre Skapninger] av Cami Garcia og Margareth Stohl (serie)

Status: 4 av 4 bøker på norsk

 

Hush, Hush [Fallen Engel] av Becca Pitzpatrick (serie)

Status: 4 av 4 bøker på norsk

 

The Mortal Instruments [Skyggejegerne] av Cassandra Clare (serie)

Status: 6 av 6 bøker på norsk

 

The Infernal Devices [Den Mekaniske Engelen] av Cassandra Clare (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk 

Twilight Sagaen av Stephanie Meyer

Status: 4 av 4 bøker på norsk 

The Selection av Kiera Cass (original trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

The Selection: The Heir av Kiera Cass (duologi)  

Status: 2 av 2 bøker på norsk 

 

Strange the Dreamer [Den ukjente drømmeren] av Laini Taylor

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk (notat: boken er publisert i to deler)

 

Daughter of Smoke and Bone [Ønskemesterens datter] av Laini Taylor

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

Piranesi av Susanna Clarke

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

The Raven Boys [Ravnekretsen] av Magie Stiefwater

Status: 4 av 4 bøker på norsk 

Half Bad av Sally Green (trilogi) 

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

Evermore [De Udødelige] av Alyson Noel

Status: 6 av 6 bøker oversatt 

Night School av C. J. Daughtery

Status: 5 av 5 på norsk 

Darren Shan [Sagaen om Darren Shan] av Darren Shan

Status: 12 av 12 bøker på norsk

Norra Latin [Drømmenes skole] av Sara Bergman Elfgen

The Night Circus [Nattens sirkus] av Erin Morgenstern 

Status: 1 av 1 bok oversatt

Hazel Wood av Melissa Albert

Status: 1 av 2 bøker på norsk

 

 

 

DYSTOPIA AND SCIENCE FICTION

Delirium av Lauren Oliver (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

Divergent av Veronica Roth (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

The Hunger Games [Dødslekene] av Suzanne Collins (trilogi + prequels)

Status: 5 av 5 bøker på norsk 

GONE av Michael Grant (serie)

Status: 6 av 6 bøker på norsk

 

BZRK av Michael Grant (serie)

Status: 1 av 4 bøker på norsk

 

The Host [Verten] av Stephanie Meyer

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

Matched [Cassias Valg] av Allie Condie (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk 

 

Ender's Game [Enders Spill] av Orson Scott Card

Status: 1 av 4 bøker på norsk

 

Schyte [Ljå] av Neal Shusterman (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

The Maze Runner [I Dødens Labyrint] av James Dashner (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk 

 

Ready Player One av Ernest Cline (duologi, bok 1 kan leses for seg selv)

Status: 2 av 2 bøker på norsk

 

Legend [Legenden] av Marie Lu

Status: 1 av 3 på norsk 

The Lunar Chronicles [Månekrønikeren] av Marissa Meyer

Status: 4 av 4 på norsk

Uglies av Scott Westerfield

Status: 3 av 3 på norsk 

The Handmaids tale [En tjenerinnes beretninger] av Margaret Atwood

Status: 1 a 1 på norsk

The Lord of the Flies [Fluenes herre] av William Golding

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

The Hitch-Hikers Guide to the Galaxy [Haikerens Guide til galaksen] av Douglas Adams 

Status: 1 av 5 på norsk 

Red Rising [Rød Revolt] av Pierce Brown

Status: 3 av 6 på norsk 

 

The 5th Wave [Den 5 bølgen] av Rick Jancey

Status: 2 av 3

 

MYTOLOGI

Circe [Jeg er Kirke] av Madeline Miller

Status: 1 av 1 bok på norsk

 

The Song of Achilles [Sangen om Akilles] av Madeline Miller 🌈

Status: 1 av 1 bok på norsk

 

RICK RIORDAN

Percy Jackson and the Olympians av Rick Riordan (original serien)

Status: 5 av 5 bøker på norsk

Percy Jackson and the Olympians av Rick Riordan (alle til dags dato)

Status: 7 av 7 bøker på norsk

 

The Heroes of Olympus [Gudene fra Olympos] av Rick Riordan (serie)

Status: 5 av 5 bøker på norsk 

 

The Kane Chronicles [Kane krønikeren] av Rick Riordan (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

Magnus Chase and The Gods of Asgard av Rick Riordan (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk 

 

The Trials of Apollo [Apollos prøvelser] av Rick Riordan (serie)

Status: 5 av 5 bøker på norsk

 

The Daughter of the Deep [Dypets datter] av Rick Riordan

Status:  1 av 1 på norsk

 

 

Aru Shah (The Pandava Quartet) av Roshani Chockshi

Status: 2 av 4 på norsk

 

 

 

HIGH FANTASY

LEIGH BARDUGO

Shadow and Bone [I lysets makt] av Leigh Bardugo (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

Six of Crows [Kråkenes Kunst] av Leigh Bardugo (duologi)

Status: 2 av 2 bøker på norsk 

REBECCA YARROS

Fourth Wing [Fjerde Ving] av Rebecca Yarros*

Status: 3 av 3 utgitte bøker på norsk [blir 5 totalt] 

 

 

SARAH J. MAAS

Throne of Glass [Glasstronen] av Sarah J. Maas (serie)

Status: 5 av 7 bøker på norsk

 

Crescent City av Sarah J. Maas (trilogi)*

Status: 3 av 3

 

Caraval av Stephanie Garber (trilogi)

Status: 2 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

An Ember in the Ashes [En Glo i Asken] av Sabaa Tahir (serie)

Status: 1 av 4 bøker på norsk

 

Red Queen [Rød Drønning] av Victoria Aveyard (serie)

Status: 3 av 4 bøker på norsk

 

Graceling [Nådegaven] av Kirstin Cashore (serie)

Status: 3 av 5 bøker på norsk

 

Incarceron av Catherine Fisher (duologi)

Status: 1 av 2 bøker utgitt på norsk

 

Eragon av  Christopher Paolini

Status: 4 av 4 på norsk

 

Iron Fey av Julie Kagawa

Status: 4 av 4 bøker på norsk

 

The Wardstone Chronicle [Den Siste Lærling] av Joseph Delaney

Status: 13 av 13 bøker på norsk

 

His Dark Materials [Det Gylne Kompasset] av Philip Pullman (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

The Chronicles of Narnia [Narnia krønikeren] av C. S. Lewis

Status:  7 av 7 bøker på norsk

 

His Dark Materials: La Belle Sauvage av Philip Pullman 

Status: 1 av 2 bøker på norsk

 

The Lies of Locke Lamora [Løgneren Loke Lamora] av Scott Lynch* (trilogi)

Status: 1 av 3 bøker på norsk

The School of Good and Evil [Skolen for det gode og det onde] av Soman Chainani

Status: 1 av 6 bøker på norsk

 

The Bone Season [Drømmegjengeren] av Samantha Shannon

Status:  1 av 4 bøker på norsk

 

 

THRILLER, MYSTERIE & KRIM

I Hunt Killers av Barry Lyga (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 på norsk

 

Boy Nobody av Allen Zadoff (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 på norsk

 

Thursday Murders Club [Torsdagsmordklubben] av Richard Osman

Status: 4 av 4 på norsk 

 

Sadie av Courtney Summers

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

 

 

E. Lockhart
We Were Liars [Vi var løgnere] av E. Lockhart

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

Genuine Fraud [Sanne Løgner] av E. Lockhart

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

 

A Good Girls Guide to Murder [Flinke Pikers Håndbok for Mord] av Holly Jackson

Status: 1 av 3 på norsk (serien er fortsatt under oversettelse)

The Shadow of the Wind [Vindens Skygge] av Carlos Ruiz Zafron

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

 

KAREN M. MCMANUS

One of Us is Lying [En av Oss Lyver] av Karen M. McManus

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

Two Can Keep A Secret [To kan holde på en hemmelighet...] av Karen M. McManus

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

 

 

CONTEMPORARY

Anna and the French Kiss (Anna, Lola, Isla) [Anna og Det Franske Kysset] av Stephanie Perkins (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 på norsk

 

Dear Evan Hansen [Kjære Evan Hansen] av Val Emmich, et al.

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

I'll Give You the Sun [Jeg Gir Deg Sola] av Jandy Nelson

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

The Midnight Library [Midnattsbiblioteket] av Matt Haig

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

Talking at Night [Samtaler i Natten] av Claire Daverley

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

 

To All The Boys [Lara Jean] av Jenny Han (trilogi)

Status: 3 av 3 bøker på norsk

 

Fangirl av Rainbow Rowell

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

 

Eleanor & Park av Rainbow Rowell

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

The sun is also a star [Sola er også en stjerne] av Nicola Yoon

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

Everything, Everything [Verden er en boble] av Nicola Yoon

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

Red, White and Royal Blue [Rødt, hvitt og kongeblått] av Casey McQuiston 🌈

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

 

13 Reasons Why [13 gode grunner] av Jay Asher

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

Our Chemical Hearts [Krystall hjerter] av Krystal Sutherland

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

Punching the Air av Ibi Zoboi og Yusef Salaam

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

The Perks of Being a Wallflower [Fordeler med å være veggpryd] av Stephen Chebowsky

Status: 1 av 1 oversatt

 

ANGIE THOMAS

The Hate U Give av Angie Thomas 

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

On The Come Up [På vei mot toppen] av Angie Thomas

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

Concrete Rose [Betongrosen] av Angie Thomas

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

 

ALICE OSEMAN 🌈

Radio Silence [Jeg håper noen kan høre meg] av Alice Oseman

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

Solitaire [Solospill] av Alice Oseman

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

Heartstopper [Hjertestopper] (grafisk novelle) av Alice Oseman

Status: 5 av 5 på norsk [flere volum kommer] 

This Winter [Denne Vinteren] av Alice Oseman (Heartstopper novelle)

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk

 

Nick & Charlie (Heartstopper novelle)

Status: 1 av 1 på norsk 

 

COLLEN HOOVER (følgene titler er på norsk via Gursli Berg)*

It Ends With Us

It Starts With Us 

Reminders of Him

Maybe Someday [En vakker dag]

November 9th 

Regretting You

Verity

Never, Never

Heartbone

ALI HAZELWOOD (følgende titler er på norsk via Cappelen Damm)

The Love Hypothesis

Love on the Brain 

Check & Mate 

SALLY ROONEY (følgende titler er på norsk)

Conversations with Friends

Beautiful World, Where are you

Normal People

Intermezzo 

JOHN GREEN (følgende titler er på norsk)

Looking for Alaska

The Fault in Our Stars

Turtles All The Way Down

Paper Towns

Let it Snow

Will Grayson, Will Grayson 

 

 

 

 

 

SHEIN II

Written in 2023. Originally written for a website I played games on to share with my friends. Some facts, especially numbers, may have changed since the time of writing. A few additions have been made to account for relevant updates in 2024.

Related content: SHEIN (2022); An introduction to fast fashion (2022).

UNTOLD: INSIDE THE SHEIN MACHINE

In Untold: Inside the Shein Machine, an uncover investigation exposed garment workers working condition. From getting paid 3pence per garment they worked on to 18 hours shift, a 75 hours work weeks with only 1-2 days off a month. The enforced working hours breached Chinese Labor Laws, and SHEIN's own supplier code of conduct.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SHEIN

On-going events SHEIN is involved in:

* Sued in the US for continously committing design theft at the point of organised crime (RICO Act)
* Under investigation for tax evasion in South Africa and The United States

* Per 2022, SHEIN has been under investigation by the US for the use of cotton produced by forced labor. The concern is traced to the use of cotton sourced from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region of China, which is known for severe breaches of human rights and exploitation of the Uighur minority group. The US bans the import of cotton produced by forced labor, meaning this can result in a ban of imported products with cotton from SHEIN to the USA.

* In fall 2023, SHEIN aquired Missguided & co-branded with Forever21.

* SHEIN continues to be one of the most downloaded apps internationally (rivaled by Temu)
     

A Short history of SHEIN:
SHEIN is a Chinese hyper fast fashion online retailer (as of 2023, with HQ in Singapore) selling everything from clothes and jewelry to interior and makeup. It was established in 2008 as "SheInside," but didn't take its place as a fast fashion brand before it bought up Romwe in 2015 and expanded beyond dropshipped wedding dresses. SHEIN can thank TikTok for much of its rise to fame, advertised by influencers and private users at far cheaper costs than traditional commercials (and noone to call them out for unethical marketing as they only exist online - still). However, it was not until the COVID-19 pandemic hit that SHEIN got evaluated as a $100 billion business from its $15 billion evaluation in 2019, gaining a +390% in revenue in 2020-2021. This gave it it's spot of the third most valued private company in the world. The growth relied on workers working in hazardious working conditions and not getting paid while lockdowns was enforced around the world. The growth, unsurprisingly, came from consumers now purchasing their clothes online as the pandemic reigned.  

General issues with SHEIN:

• SHEIN is a opaque brand, shares zero information about what's going on in their supply chain, proper content of their products, or ethical treatment of workers. Opaque is the opposite of transparent. Transparency simply means that a brand is open about its practices (location of assembly, production country) without these needing to be sustainble or ethical. Transprency is considered the first step towards creating a more ethical and sustainable fashion industry. While the call for transparency intensifies, it also shows to just how hard it is to trace a global supply chain. From outsourced supplier and under-suppliers, and raw materials sources from several places around the world, any producer will battle the complexity of this production system to ensure better rights and ethics.

* SHEIN is considered hyper fast fashion, meaning that its volume of production and turn-around time is higher and faster than traditional fast fashion brands like H&M and Zara. Together with SHEIN'S  micro-batch-production strategy (you can read more about it in SHEIN I), this allows SHEIN to add on average 2 thousand new items to their page every day. This is an example of severe overproduction, which alone will deem a company unsustainable.

 > The wast majority of SHEIN clothing are in syntethic (plastic) materials (polyester, acryl, elastan, nylon, etc.) Syntethics are oil-derivatives that release microfibers throught the entire lifespan. Microfibers is a type of microplastis known for a myriad of environmental issues. The death of wildlife and accumulation into (sea) food sources like fish, is one example. However, syntethic clothes alone is not the larges sources of microplastic - car tiers, paint, fishing gear and other plastic products are also among top offenders. All plastic products releases microplastics, making the plastic crisis a global concern. Recent studies have found microplastics inside the human body, in the placenta, bloodstream, and the deepest of our lungs. The exact impact our plastic waste crisis can have on the human body still lacks research. Yet, in 2022 scientists claimed that we have already trepassed a safe limit for use of plastics within our planetary boundaries (plastic is categorized within "novel entities"). It may now make sense how this can make the recent rise of SHEIN a relevant concern.
 
> Using enduring materials like syntethics in low quality garments makes for a lot of trash, as the items become unwearable fast, but the fibers will endure long past our lifetime. SHEIN purposefully designs its clothes (and app!) to make you purchase something new again soon. This type of business model is common today as it upkeeps a rising demand, and it is entirely unsustainable. The result of a syntethic sweater not being wearable anymore is that it will become trash and pollution. Most likely, in the Global South due to waste colonialism and the secondhand garment industry. You can read a review of the book "Clothing Poverty" by Andrew Brooks here to dive into further issues related to the secondhand industry. Watch "Dead White Man's Clothes" on youtube or read about the Chilean Clothing mountain.


> Garment workers are one of the lowest paying workers in the world. They are primarily skilled women of color (~80%), making the exlotation of workers in the fashion industry a women's rights issue. Experiencing gender based violence, sexual harassment and modern slavery as well as low pay*, lack of safe working places and illegal work hours. Additonally, women can be laid off for getting pregnant.

*Low pay is the opposite of a living wage and the exact value changes between countries. CleanClothes define a living wage as: "A living wage should be earned in a standard working week (no more than 48 hours) and allow a garment worker to be able to buy food for herself and her family, pay the rent, pay for healthcare, clothing, transportation and education and have a small amount of savings(...)"


It should still not be forgotten that both men and women suffer the consequences of the unethical working conditions SHEIN (and other companies) upholds. The primariy effort you can make as a consumer is to uplift the voices of garment workers (make other people aware and listen to the people on the ground. They know how to make the appropriate changes the best), sign petitions, call brands out on socials, and donate to relief funds and alliances. Be cautious of which brands you give good word of mouths and money to as people don't tend to change their behavior after what sicence tells them, but rather what they see their friends and family do.


• SHEIN is ranked the most manipulative online retailer for using eight dark patterns. These primarily encourage young female consumers to overconsume in the fear of "missing out." It is another way to pray on women to uphold a unsustainable and unethical business by men that do not genuinely care for their safety or rights.

• SHEIN has countless times been found to steals designs from independent and small businesses. It also used religious symbols on carpets and sold them as "trends."

• Unsurprisingly, Pinkwashing or "rainbow capitalism" happens at SHEIN as with numerous companies in June. They release PRIDE themed collections simply to profit out of it without making any other support of the LGBTQIA+ communities. Instead, try to directly support LGBTQIA+ owned brands and creators. 

 

IMPACTS ON YOUR HEALTH

[1] Experts warn of high levels of chemicals in clothes - Canada

[2] German Greenpeace tested SHEIN clothing and found that 15% (7) of them breached EU regulatory limits for hazardous chemicals. Five of seven surpassed the limit by 100%.

[3] "Shein contained toxic substances in amounts hundreds of times above acceptable levels, the government of South Korea's capital Seoul said on Tuesday, May 28." - Soul, South Korea

 

> How does this happen? Items produced by SHEIN (or other, similar companies) are imported by private persons are NOT obligated to meet EU safety standards. This means they can contain chemicals that can cause you severe health issues that otherwise are banned in EU or the US\CAN. Common are chemicals linked to cancer or hormone disruption. These can be resiudes from the raw materials (farming or plastic production), dyes, and other additives that are added to clothes during the manufacturing process. The content of dyes and additives are not required to be shared like the fiber content, so this goes for all types of clothes you purchase. Items with water-resistant qualities are strongly linked to the presence of PFAS ("the forever chemicals") and phthalates. You can read more about chemicals in clothing here.

 

Unsafe chemicals in clothing links to pollution in three important ways. First is your health as your skin absorbs them from being in contact with the garment. Second, is the chemicals that will be washed out into the waterways, and third is the majority of disposed garments leading to landfill where the chemicals can pollute the local water sources, soil, air, and the people and working\living there. 

 

Many countries experience the placement of landfills disapporioately affecting communities of color. This issue resaches from Western countries like the U.S. to the Global South where waste colonialism again exploits and pollutes communities of color to upkeep their profit and sales to western countries.

In other words, it impacts you, and every human that deal with a garment like this throught the supply and waste chain. The environment, and environe relying on polluted natural resources.

 

The real Environmental Impact of the fast fashion industry - An overall review of the fashion industry where you get to see how big SHEIN is compared to traditional fast fashion brands.

 

 WHAT CAN I DO?

• Don't buy things you don't need - is it a need or a want? Check if you alredy own a similar piece or if you already have something you can use! #ShopInYourOwnCloset

• Reduce how often you buy synthetical fibers in clothes that are being washed a lot or quickly shed fibers (especially, fake fur, teddy, fuzzy items)

• Choose fibers that are purposeful for the use you're buying an item for, fx. syntethics is purposeful in swimwear, sportswear, but not as much in a loose sweater.

• Find ways to extend the use of your garments, for example, with a bra strap extender if you fluctuate between sizes, reuse, repairs and repurposing

• Prioritize finding a good item that you will use a lot and love no matter the price. Longevity is one of the best consumer actions for sustainable clothing use.

• Borrow, swap, lend, resell, and inherit clothes more often!

• Always do a quality check on what you buy. Check the seams and if the garment doesn't look askew; is the fiber a good pick for what you're gonna use it for; does it lint easily; do buttons and details sit well; can it be washing machine cleaned and so on. How does this item fit into your lifestyle? (more on this below.)

• Always use your right to complain for poorly produced items. It can make it less profitable to produce low-quality items! Honestly, always use your right as a consumer. Make sure it stays protected and keep protecting you.

 

Q&A'S

I can only afford SHEIN to stay well-dressed, what do I do?

That's okay. You're not the issue if SHEIN is the only brand that makes your ends meet. The issue is overproduction by SHEIN and overconsumption from consumers of higher disposable income. Remember, you can still help calling SHEIN out for its bad practices, and make an effort to care for your clothes! You can buy a brand and want them to do better.

 

SHEIN is the only brand that have plus-size clothing I like!

That's okay. Plus-size clothing only makes up around 8% of todays market. The plus-size demographic is far from the issue causing overconsumption. Remember, you can still help calling SHEIN out for its bad practices on social media and sign petitions for a more ethical fast fashion industry! Also, take well care of your clothes! You can buy a brand and want them to do better!



[Insert brand] is also fast fashion and is just as bad as SHEIN?

Correct! However, SHEIN has been given extra attention recently for overproducing low-quality garments at an alarming rate. SHEIN encourages immense overconsumption where it cannot ensure the ethical treatment of workers, environmental standards, or safe use for its consumers. SHEIN being unsustainable does not make [insert fast fashion brand] sustainable. Instead it is worrying how SHEIN is portray traditional fast fashion brands in a good light.

 

I don't want to buy SHEIN anymore, but I can only buy fast fashion: What do I do?

Pick your local fast fashion store, or secondhand. Your local fast fashion store is bound to national safety laws. You do not have to boycott fast fashion to not consume SHEIN. Sustainable consumption primarily relies on these principles: the speed at which you consume new and the length of time you wear an item for. Options to take care of your clothes and recognize quality are important even when shopping fast fashion!

 

Learn the different fiber qualities to make purposeful choices for what you're buying! 1 2 3 4

Learn to spot basic quality in your clothes! 1 2 3

Keep an eye out for certifications! 1

How to wash, repair and mend your clothes with #LOVEYOURCLOTHES

Use the Goodonyou.eco brand directory to search for ethical and sustainable brands!

 

Does SHEIN own other brands?

Yes, SHEIN, Zaful and Romwe are tied to the same owners and parent company. As of fall 2023, SHEIN acquired Missguided and co-branded with Forever21 (F21 can retail on their webstore).

 

What is an alternative way to consume fast fashion?

Consider embracing a slow fashion mindset! Prioritize the points that are doable for you. Perfection is not the goal. Slowing down consumption and getting the most out of what you already own and will own is! Learn a skill that keeps the garment alive, or how to make your own.


I want to check if a brand is good or bad, but I don't know how!

Learn to spot greenwashing OR use GoodOnYou.eco to check brand reviews!

Eat & Flourish: How Food Supports Emotional Well-Being (2022) by Mary Beth Albright

I don't tend to write a lot of reviews of non-fiction books because how should I even do that when I cannot even start to question what is being said. I can comment on how it is being shared and the focus of the book, but that's not very interesting when I choose to pick up the books for the information I hope they can offer me. I picked up this book in hope of finding some ways to improve my gut health and emotional wellbeing, and that is what I got. I loved learning more about how the human body works and which foods supports which processes and moods in the body based on scientific studies. Overall, I will bring with me this knowledge into the future in the hopes of creating better eating patterns for myself. This book advocates for a mediterrian style diet with focus on whole foods, fermented foods and a higher intake of fiber. As well as, cooking and eating with somone instead of alone. Community is a way of strenghtening our emotional wellbeing, and cooking let us use all our senses. Maybe there's some truth to the saying "food is medicine" when it contains benefitical ingredients, pleasure and community.

Here are some of the highlights and main takeaways I got from the book. I share these in hope that they may help you too!

What can food do?

* Moderate our responses to stress, anger, anxiety, sadness, and so on. 

* Reduce and induce inflammation in the body and brain

* Long-term eating patterns can set us up for long-term well-being

A Healthy relationship with food

* Includes pleasure, and how and what we eat.

* Is sustainable long-term.

* Is not just about how many calories and nutrients a person eats in a day.

* Includes a regular eating pattern.

* Knows that everyone are different, and that if several people eat and exercised the exact same every day, they would still not look the same.

* It's a journey.

Food ↭ Emotions

* Emotions impacts what and how we eat, and what and how we eat impacts our emotions. When we feel down or distressed we are more likely to make food choices that are bad for our mood, and further enhance the circle. However, the idea of neuroplasticity includes that our eating habits\patterns can change and start working more in our favore if we change to foods that better support us and our moods. Which comes first (food or emotions) is hard to say, but they impact each other both ways. 

* Mood impacts how we experience food and factors like the intensity of taste and flavor, and more. The same goes for the color of the food, how it is served and the texture of the food. Food may taste sweeter if you're happy, while they may taste more bitter if your favorite sports team just lost their game. Depression may cause a preferance for sugar and enhance sweet and bitter flavors. Anxiety is directly related to our perception of taste (based on altered serotonin and noradrenaline levels in our body).

* How the food is presented impacts our experience of sweetness. Coffee tastes better in a white cup than a blue. Desserts taste sweeter on a round plate than a square plate, on a white plate than a black plate. We expect food and drinks with stronger colors to taste more intensely.

* How we eat matters. Eating with people and using mealtime as a mean of strenghtening community helps. Verbalizing how we feels makes the emotions less intense, as well as strenghten our sense of belonging. Eating alone and being lonely negatively affects our health. The risk for heart disease increases.

* Planning, buying groceries and cooking for ourselves and other people are all healthy habits. They may create good feelings as we associate each action with people we like, taking care of loved ones, being selective about which produce we get, making us feel like we're picking especially good ingredients.

* Your body may need more of certain nutrients when it is experiencing certain emotional states. For example, if you're often stressed you may eat more magnesium-rich foods, or if you're sad, zinc.

* Hanger is your body telling you you're hungry, but also activating this as a negative feeling. Chronic stress can change the hangry neurons and result in inflammation. When you're hungry, eat properly. The agRP activity in your gut will not be properly reduced or turned off until next time if you only drink a diet coke to 'curbe your hunger.'

* Trauma can change your gut microbiome. Yet, there is not one "perfect" gut microbiome nor a perfect way to eat. We are all unique and need to make changes after our needs. Our gut microbiome changes every single day around what we eat, medication, exercise, age, if we have pets, if you gardened, who you're around, your sex, emotions and genes. As well will the microbiome of someone with anxiety look different from someone without it.

* Often we may anticipate a food more than the pleasure we get when we eat it. This may be especially true for fat and sugar-rich foods, f.ex. sweets, ultraprocessed foods, and fast foods which our brains crave as easy energy. However, the same foods may increase inflammation in our body and starve the bacterias in our gut for nutrients to keep us healthy. The more frequent we eat these foods, the more we will take notice of access to these foods around us, yet recieving less pleasure from actually eating them.

Food, mood, and inflammation - the gut

* Having meaning in your life lowers your genetic expression of inflammation and cortisol. 

* Having a "higher purpose" in life makes your cortisol levels reduce faster after activation.

* Purpose makes you less reactive to negative stimuli.

* Gut bacteria is responsible for making short-chained fatty acids which protect against inflammation

* 50% of our dopamine is created in the gut.

* 90-95% of serotonin is created in the gut. 

* Oxidative stress may be caused by excessive sugar intake and many spikes in your blood sugar across the day. 

Helpful nutritional and food facts from the book

* A person needs 14grams per 1,000 kcals to properly feed the fiber-loving bacteria in our stomach. If the bacteria does not get the fiber it needs, it may begin eating on our stomach lining, which can cause issues over time. The book recommends that women get 25grams and men 38 grams a day.

* 5 fruits and vegetables a day (2 fruits, 3 vegetables?).

* Eat probiotics and prebiotics every day. Prebiotics feeds the good bacteria in our gut, probiotics can reduce inflammation. 

    * Eating foods\drinks with active strains of Bifidobacterium longum reduces stress in participants while doing traditionally stressfull tasks. Fx. yoghurt, fermented foods (not pickled, fermented without vinegar. You want the lactic acid bacteria alive), kombucha, fermented cottage cheese, kefir, miso paste.

    * Prebiotics are high in onion and garlic, oats, apples, banana, black beans, kidney beans, avocado, broccoli.

* Omega-3-Fatty Acids (esp. DHA, EPA) is one of the best researched nutrient in support of mental health. It promotes sleep, decreases anxiety, allivates depression and is an "essential fat" in our diet. It can be retrived from fatty fish, seaweed and algae, or be added to other products like milk. Omega-3 ALA can be found in walnuts, flaxseeds and leafy greens, and can be transformed in the body to DHA\EPA. However, ineffectively. Most people do not eat enough omega-3.

* Omega-6 is to find in soybeans and corn, thus making it a nutrient we tend to have too much off due to them being common in ultraprocessed foods.

* Eating fermented foods and a higher intake of magnesium regularly may reduce social anxiety.

* Serotonin in the gut is created by getting enough of the amino acid, tryptophan (oats, nuts, cheese, turkey), and vitamin B6. However, tryptophan may also lead to inflammation if we do not have enough of the good gut bacteria and our body cannot process it well.

* If you're nervous\afraid a lot and adrenaline is pumped into your blood, you usually have a higher need for vitamin C. Humans cannot make vitamin C on its own. Food suggestions: citrus fruits, yellow peppers, kale, broccoli, brussel sprouts, strawberries.

* If you're angry\mad a lot it may cause stress, brain fog and memory issues. Suggested foods: tuna, salmon, anchoves, pumpkin seeds, beans, lentils. Foods with calm scents like rosemary and lavendel.

* Foods that support sadness are: dark chocolate (with cocoa butter), hot peppers, eggs, turmeric.

* Foods for when you're happy: oysters, leafy greens, nuts.

* Anti-inflammatory foods: beans, legumes, tomatos, nuts, olive oil, leafy greens, fatty fish, turmeric, oregano. Black tea, green tea, whole grains, cinnamon,

* Music can impact our eating speed. Fast music speeds it up, slow music speeds it down.

* Having a food ritual - saying thanks, eating with people - may make us take better food choices within a week.

* Exercise frequently to reduce chance of inflammation in your body. All types of exercise counts!

Strategies to eat more diversly

* 30 plants a week -> Eat all types of plants. Includes fruits, vegetables, grains, herbs, spices, berries, nuts and seeds.

* Eat the rainbow -> different color of the fruit may benefit different parts of your body

* The NOVA scale -> how to avoid the worst of ultra processed foods

* PING -> pleasure, inflammation, nutrients, gut microbiome.

How foods have changed over the last century

* The nutrient value in 43 crops have decreased since 1950 due to reduced soil quality and biodiversity in farming fields. Higher nutrient levels in foods affects the taste, aroma and mouthfeel of foods. Less nutrisious foods may thus be less pleasureable to eat.

Consumed (2020) by Aja Barber | Book Summary

Consumed: The need for collective change: collonialism, climate change & consumerism (2020) by Aja Barber is the book about the fashion industry that most easily takes you into the historical and current context of its workings in a way that is accessible and easy to understand. It encourages you to take a look at how you consume fashion, and offers tools and techniques to challenge your shopping habits. This book appears written for Western consumers.

This book is a good choice for anyone who wants to learn more about the fashion industry and sustainable fashion and does not know much beforehand. It takes you through the topics of colonialism, climate change, feminism, racism, white supremacy, the patriarchy, poor (poverty) v. broke, the secondhand for-profit industry, and more. I think for many this may be a challenging book, so I will start with this quote: "When we normalize changing our opinion when presented with new information, what we do is we allow everyone to move forward."

The first part of the book was my favorite. It takes you through how colonialism (historically) and colonialism (currently) have shaped and continue to impact the fashion industry, especially workers involved in the supply chain as farmers of raw materials, as garment workers or resellers in the secondhand industry. Barber draws a clear line on how Western production and consumption rates affect people and the environment. It urges people to acknowledge that colonialism is ongoing, and that continues to benefit cis, patriarchal, white supremacist capitalist agendas. 

Dictionary 

Cis - People identifying with the gender they are born as.

Patriarchy - "Patriarchy is a socially-constructed system where males have primary power. It affects many aspects of life, from political leadership, business management, religious institutions, economic systems and property ownership, right down to the family home where men are considered to be the head of the household." From it, society takes male-gaze centered beauty standards put on women; primarily men in the most powerful positions; competition between women, and how women have to "powerdress" in men clothes; the gender pay-gap; "boys will be boys"; women's achievements erased from history; the nuclear family ideal. However, it also builds on cis-heteronormativity

Heteronormativity - "The belief that there are two separate and opposing genders (women and men) with associated natural roles (masculine and feminine), which are in line with their assigned sex (female and male), and that heterosexuality is a given, rather than one of many possiblem sexualities." The assumption that everyone is "naturally heterosexual," and the privileges that come with being heterosexual. Heterosexuality is viewed as superior to queer sexual- or gender orientations.

White supremacy - "the belief, theory, or doctrine that white people are inherently superior to people from all other racial and ethnic group. White supremacy is also the backbone of queerphobia. White supremacy benefits from white, cis heteronormativity.

Capitalism\neoliberalism - "an economic and political system in which a country's trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit." What's important to mark is that profit for business owners is created by exploitation and that this is an inherent trait in capitalism. Capitalism cannot be ethical nor "green." Capitalism relies on heteronormativity and is built with white supremacy.

Highlighted quotes from Consumed

* [Consumerism] "Fast fashion perpetuates urgency, detachment and indifference towards clothing, basically marketing clothing as disposable."

* [Colonialism] "‘That system is one of extracting raw resources under conditions of exploitation to transform through consolidated technology into a value-added product and then centralize the financial gains to be made back into the hands of mostly white men. For the companies operating in this type of economy, whether they call it linear or circular, the goal remains to source as much material as possible for the lowest internalized cost."

* [Secondhand industry] "‘The global second-hand trade is part of the colonial business model, where the corporate entity is the colonizer and everyone else is the colony."

* [Greenwashing] "None of us should be thanking any brand which participates in recycling clothes, or puts out those handy bins for you to bin your own clothing waste in their stores. They should be doing that (and not using it as an enticement for you to buy more), and they shouldn’t be using it in their marketing material to make you feel good about their actions."

* [poor v. broke] "‘I shop fast fashion because I’m poor.’ But do you challenge the descriptor of ‘poor’ as probably ill-fitting? Because being broke is a state; poverty is systemic. Let’s face it, no one wants to be poor, especially not poor people, and no one should claim the title of ‘poor’ because they need a fast doorway out of a conversation about harmful cycles they find themselves caught up in."

* [climate change] "10 per cent of global carbon emissions are from the textile industry." (...) "At its current rate, the fashion industry is projected to use 35 per cent more land to grow fibers by 2030. That’s an extra 115 million hectares of land that could otherwise be used to grow food, or left to protect biodiversity.’ Thomas also states that the clothing industry is responsible for 20 per cent of industrial water pollution."

* [climate change] "Climate change is a powerful “threat multiplier”, making existing vulnerabilities and injustices worse. Especially under conditions of poverty, women and girls face greater risk of displacement or death from extreme weather disasters. Early marriage and sex work – sometimes last-resort survival strategies – have been tied to droughts and floods."

* [colonialism, white supremacy] "ISN’T A JOB BETTER THAN NO JOB? The simple answer is no. The long answer is: these jobs are not better than nothing, because before we instilled these systems in place, many of these countries were thriving in their own way. Don’t forget, before colonialist rule, India was known for its fabric production. British colonialism actively disrupted that economy and began to trade off the back of it. Indigo from the Gold Coast was sought after by early European traders, who exploited natural resources for their own wealth accumulation. These places have always had the resources to thrive, and certainly the labour, but an uneven playing field has made it appear as though ‘they need us’, whereas we built this whole thing off the backs of them. There is nothing fair and equitable about pilfering and exploitation. What would be fair is fair prices, fair wages and evenly shared power"

* [consumer action] "The items we own that aren’t ethical are not going to magically pay the garment worker, but we can respect all garment workers by using our items and giving them all a good life."

* [Consumer Identity] "We have become a nation of consumers. Our primary identity has become that of consumer, not mothers, teachers, farmers, but consumers. The primary way that our value is measured and demonstrated is by how much we contribute to this arrow, how much we consume."

Further resources (from the book): 

Fashionandrace.org 

Global Fund for Women

Clean Clothes Campaign

Asia Floor Wage Alliance

Labour Behind the Label

The Garment Worker Center