Everyone’s heard of SHEIN – the company that has emerged as a fashion giant in the past couple of years. At first, it seems almost too good to be true: cute clothes, fast delivery and extremely affordable prices. But, in the past months, along with SHEIN unboxing videos and try-on hauls, the internet has also been loaded with questions and controversies about the ‘behind the scenes’ of the company… From the workers’ 75-hour shifts to the “help me” messages inscribed in SHEIN tags, supposedly written by child laborers who worked for the company (pictures), SHEIN has left consumers with many unanswered questions. And the suspicious thing is, that online information about the company is very limited. In fact, I’ve recently spent a lot of time reading articles on the PROs and CONS of “SHEIN’s controversial empires,”, deciding whether or not purchasing from them is a choice I want to make. Although to this day, nothing I read left me with a completely clear understanding of how SHEIN operates, I decided to at least investigate further.…
SHEIN influencer trip
In December 2022, SHEIN decided to invite a couple of influencers (like Dani Carbonari and Kenya Freeman) to one of its factories in Guangzhou, China to show them that their factories are clean, modern, and that the workers are happy.
After interviewing factory workers, Destene Sudduth (@itsdestene_), a TikTok creator with over 4 million followers claimed that “When I asked them questions like, ‘What does your work week look like?’ Most of them work 8 to 6 and their commute is 10 to 15 minutes, just like normal. In one of her TikToks, she added “I expected the facility to be so filled with people just slaving away, but I was actually pleasantly surprised that most of these things were robotic. Honestly, everyone was just working like normal, like chill, sitting down, they weren’t even sweating.”
But people online were quick to call out their influencers, pointing out that no one believes this scheme and that SHEIN is gaslighting all allegations made against their company. (pictures of comments)
In a statement, SHEIN said the content created by the influencers on the trip was authentic. “Shein is committed to transparency and this trip reflects one way in which we are listening to feedback, providing an opportunity to show a group of influencers how Shein works […] and enabling them to share their own insights with their followers,” the statement reads
If there is one thing that the trip was efficient at, it’s getting more people to believe the previous claims made about SHEIN’s lack of ethics… If the company was serious about getting good press and showing what they claim to be the ‘real conditions’ of their factories, they could have invited investigative journalists instead of journalists they can pay.
Things to consider when buying from SHEIN
- Environmental Impact
Afterall, SHEIN is a fast fashion brand, emphasizing speed and affordability, leading to a constant cycle of production and consumption. This leads to massive waste, excessive resource consumption, and an alarming carbon footprint (6.3 mil. tons a year). SHEIN’s business model encourages a throwaway culture, promoting the purchase of cheaply made garments that quickly end up in landfills, aggravating environmental degradation.
- Unethical Labour Practices
Concerns over worker welfare and labor rights violations have raised serious ethical questions about the brand’s commitment to responsible sourcing and fair treatment of workers involved in their manufacturing processes, which explains SHEIN’s recent attempts to ‘cover up their trails’ using influencers. In spite of the company’s intention make it seem like their factories provide great working conditions, multiple studies, such as this one from the Business and Human Rights Resource Center, have reported that employees work 18 hours a day with no weekends, earning just two cents per item made, being fined two-thirds of their daily income if they make an error on a piece of apparel.
- Health concerns
A Marketplace investigation found that out of 38 samples of children’s, adult’s, and maternity clothes and accessories on SHEIN, one in five items had high levels of dangerous chemicals — including lead, PFAS, and phthalates. For example, scientists found that a jacket for toddlers had almost 20 times the amount of lead that is safe for children. A red purse, also from Shein, had five times the limit. Chemicals such as lead can cause damage to the brain, heart, kidneys, and reproductive system, and have long-term negative effects on our health. And although SHEIN has removed these items from its website, they have made no progress toward completely stopping the use of unhealthy chemicals in its products.
So… Next time you consider buying Shein, think about the full impact of your purchase. Every choice we make as consumers has the power to shape the future of the fashion industry, and by choosing wisely, we can be a part of the sustainable solution, not the problem.
Works Cited
Gamino, Debora. “The Environmental Impact of SHEIN: Is Fast Fashion Sustainable?” Eco-Stylist, 9 February 2024, https://www.eco-stylist.com/environmental-impact-of-shein/. Accessed 17 November 2024.
Jackson, Sarah. “China: Shein factory employees work 18 hours a day with no weekends earning just two cents per item, report finds.” Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, 16 October 2022, https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/china-shein-factory-employees-work-18-hour-shifts-with-no-weekends-earning-just-two-cents-per-item-report-finds/. Accessed 17 November 2024.
“A Look Inside Shein’s Factories | Office of Sustainability – Student Blog.” USF Blogs, 23 March 2023, https://usfblogs.usfca.edu/sustainability/2023/03/23/a-look-inside-sheins-factories/. Accessed 17 November 2024.
