Because of this, there are as many as 600,000 items listed on the site at any given time, according to BBC. Social media users, various media outlets, and even the Mexican government have criticized some of the products that Shein has carried on its website due to cultural appropriation and cultural insensitivity. In July 2020, a scandal sparked when Instagram and Twitter users — notably Marissa Casey Grossman — shared posts that displayed what Shein called a “swastika pendant necklace” being sold on the website (via Refinery29).
Shein sold wedding dresses before it became a fast-fashion retailer
In this article, we delve into the background of Shein, its remarkable growth, concerns surrounding its business model, and the implications of its expansion for British companies in China and beyond. The Chinese brand insists that its method of producing clothes in small batches is more efficient and that little goes to waste. A spokesperson said that its business model “balances consumers’ wants and needs and the inventory process”. But it’s also drawn criticism over its environmental impact, a lack of transparency and allegations it copies small designers, which Shein denies and says it takes seriously. US lawmakers have lobbied to delay Shein’s public offering until they can verify that the company does not benefit from forced labor. In May 2023, the company raised $2 billion in funding and some sources say the company is eyeing an initial public offering as early as 2024, Bloomberg reported.
Meanwhile, a recent investigation by BBC News revealed that job adverts for workers at Shein factories and warehouses appeared on Chinese recruitment websites, which said that those from certain ethnic backgrounds, including Uighur people, must not apply. Shein X, the retailer’s tutorial programme, recently ran a competition for young designers with a $100,000 (£74,227) prize and fashion collection on offer in a bid to boost its credentials. A senior Shein executive told the BBC that it also has a team reviewing technical forex trading strategies new designs by its suppliers before they reach the website, to try to filter out any infringement issues, which it takes seriously. Using an army of influencers, from student “campus ambassadors” to reality stars such as Made in Chelsea’s Georgia Toffolo, Shein has amassed more than 250 million followers across its social media channels. But some critics say these efforts pale in comparison to the company’s output of an estimated 314,877 new styles per year, according to a Business of Fashion article, which used data from retail analytics firm Edited.
A 2021 investigation by the Chinese digital publication Sixth Tone uncovered a pattern of “loose oversight and poor working conditions” at some of Shein’s manufacturers. It discovered that Shein’s suppliers often subcontract orders to small workshops inside rundown buildings to cut costs. Because these businesses don’t deal directly with Shein, the company cannot verify their working conditions. According to its 2021 Sustainability and Social Impact Report, Shein uses The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework for its sustainability efforts and social impact. On its website, Shein says that its digital supply chain limits excess inventory and reduces waste.
- Consumers are also criticizing Shein for its damaging impact on the environment and for clothing that is harmful to consumers.
- US lawmakers have lobbied to delay Shein’s public offering until they can verify that the company does not benefit from forced labor.
- Shein gave fast fashion a whole new meaning by using AI technology to identify trends and an online-only model to churn out thousands of garments in record time.
- Shein sits at the crest of a new wave of ‘ultra-fast fashion’ retailers that are attracting scrutiny for their environmentally damaging practices.
- It’s unclear how much this change will affect Zara’s overall environmental impact, but it’s a step in the right direction.
- In fact, it has cemented its reputation among regular people, particularly Gen Z shoppers, who promote the brand through unsponsored clothing hauls and outfit posts on social media.
Throughout the early 2010s, Shein launched overseas sites in Spain, France, Russia, Italy, and Germany, and began selling cosmetics, shoes, bags, and jewelry, in addition to womenswear. According to a translated article from the Chinese tech site LatePost, by types of quantitative trading strategies 2016, Xu had assembled a team of 800 designers and prototypers, dedicated to rapidly producing Shein-branded clothes. Shein also began honing its supply chain, cutting out suppliers that produced “mediocre-quality products or images,” according to a 2016 press release. Analysts have dubbed Shein’s business model “real-time retail” because new designs can take as little as three days to produce, Vox reported.
There was, of course, almost immediate backlash on social media and, according to CBS News, users accused Shein of anti-semitism and demanded people stop supporting their brand. Shein eventually removed the necklace from its website and apologized on social media, claiming on Instagram that the pendant represented a Buddhist symbol for “spirituality and good fortune.” In 2020, a researcher interviewed 10 people who worked at companies that supply Shein’s products and reported her findings back to Public Eye. She discovered that these supply sites were riddled with fire hazards, such as blocked entrances and exits, second-story windows barred shut, and no emergency exits.
There are tens of thousands of styles on the retailer’s site, and each day, about 1,000 more are added. For context, this production pace is even speedier than the “ultra-fast” sites that dominate fast fashion’s Instagram era; Missguided and Fashion Nova, for example, reportedly release about 1,000 new styles a week. Shein’s business model, like that of its fast forebears, abides by the tenet that more is better, that excess can be made accessible through mysteriously low prices, with little care for environmental costs or transparency about its labor force. In July, a group of designers filed a federal lawsuit against Shein that alleges copyright infringement and racketeering.
In January 2021, after repeatedly being accused of ripping off independent designers, Shein launched Shein X, a program intended to “inspire and support young designers to chase their dreams,” according to the company’s website. Since then, the program has worked with around advanced markets review is a scam or legit broker 1,500 designers and artists from all across the world, according to PR Newswire. Specifically, Shein helps its Shein X designers with manufacturing, marketing, and sales while allowing them ownership over their designs and a piece of their line’s profit. On more than a few occasions, Shein has been accused of ripping off designs from both well-known names in fashion and lesser-known, independent stores and individuals. The company has been in the news previously for paying workers as little as S4 USD per hour.
The people who make Shein’s products are reportedly overworked and underpaid
These five brands are the first to come to mind when discussing why the fast fashion industry is so controversial. Yet Shein’s emergence as a fast fashion juggernaut can’t solely be attributed to the price of its clothing or its ubiquitous internet presence. The retailer is also nowhere to be found in the physical world — at least not in brick-and-mortar stores, although it has previously hosted in-person pop-up events. Shein appeared to have sprung out of thin air into the mainstream, unlike fast fashion’s old guards, whose spacious, brightly lit stores were proof of their dominance. Yet, Shein is so far ahead of competitors like H&M, Zara, and Asos, according to an analysis by Apptopia, that it’s difficult to compare them. Although the firm has paid out more than $1m (£741,000) to independent designers to date, Twitter still sees complaints from smaller businesses.
Labor law violations
Of these products, researchers at the University of Toronto found that two Shein items — a jacket made for toddlers as well as a red purse — contained higher amounts of lead than is healthy. The jacket tested as having 20 times the amount of lead that is safe for children to be exposed to, and the purse, five. Along with this, a children’s tutu dress from Shein was tested as having an elevated (but not necessarily unsafe) amount of phthalates.
Some claim that Shein has allegedly copied their designs and sold similar items at a lower cost. It has also been accused of copyright infringement and faces lawsuits from the likes of the maker of Dr Martens boots, although the e-retailer has previously denied any wrongdoing, external. Shein is partnering with fellow fast-fashion retailer Forever 21, furthering the retailer’s efforts to expand its product offering beyond Shein-produced items. Forever 21 items will be sold on Shein’s site and Shein is hosting pop-ups in Forever 21 stores. The survey found that Shein customers buy or resell secondhand clothing online one to four times a year on average. Despite reports that Shein’s clothing is disposable, 62% of respondents reported wearing Shein items 10 or more times and 33% said they get 30 or more wears out of Shein clothes.
Shein’s AI technology creates new clothing at a record pace
Apart from the speed and abundance with which the company updates its website, Shein is also unique in its reliance on social media influencers for marketing. As Wired reported, the brand sends free clothes to influencers, who then make content featuring the items they receive — some of which become the famous Shein hauls — and offer discount codes to their followers, from which they often receive a commission. Shein is a huge name on social media, but there is a lot of information and history regarding the brand that most influencers aren’t mentioning. Before you consider adding another fitted mini skirt or crop top to your Shein cart, you should know a few things. The retailer has stayed mum on ethical fashion and sustainability, but it’s hard to imagine Shein embracing corporate accountability without widespread consumer pressure. Regardless, Shein seems poised to be the fashion giant of the decade, and investors are scrambling to look for other retailers that could copy its speedy supply chain.
Although it’s based in China, the firm mainly targets customers in the US, Europe and Australia with its cut-price crop-tops, bikinis and dresses, costing just £7.90 ($10.70) on average. After posting glowing reviews of their trips, the influencers faced a lot of backlash for ignoring mounting allegations of questionable labor ethics and concerns about Shein’s role in climate pollution. In December, the company released findings from its 2023 Circularity Study, which surveyed 3,515 Shein customers ages 18 to 29 and 30 to 45 in the US, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, France, and Germany. As of this writing, H&M’s market cap was about $20.5 billion and Zara’s parent company, Inditex, had a market cap of about $114 billion. In 2019, The New York Times reported that Fashion Nova was paying employees below the legal minimum wage by the Federal Labor Department.
