User:Munzira/Shein (company)
Controversies[edit][edit]
Environmental and health issues[edit][edit]
Deutsche Welle released in late 2021 a video detailing the ultra-fast-fashion system Shein is built on, criticizing the targeting of young adolescents less susceptible to make wise financial decisions, as well as the caused environmental impact. Other media outlets have pointed at the addictive nature of the app, noting how its low prices get people to buy things they do not need. Due to the affordability of Shein, most clothes are not high-quality and can lead people to dispose of them, exacerbating the textile waste problem.
In response to criticism, Shein launched a resale service on its US app that enables the buying and selling of secondhand Shein fashion. There are mixed reactions to the efficacy of this initiative. Shein pieces are highly affordable hence customers may choose to buy a new item rather than purchase a resale piece.
Lead toxicity concerns[edit][edit]
Shein has also cited in a Marketplace investigation overseen by professor Miriam Diamond at the University of Toronto for selling toddlers' jackets that contained almost 20 times the amount of lead permitted under Health Canada's safety regulations. The company also sold a red purse that contained 5 times the permitted amount of lead. Shein notified Marketplace that they would stop selling the two items and would stop getting supplies from the corresponding suppliers until the problem was addressed. It is still not confirmed how many articles of Shein's clothing line were affected. It is also not confirmed how far this issue reached in their global presence.
Human rights and labor violations[edit][edit]
In August 2021, Shein claimed on its website that its factories were certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and SA8000. This was disputed and was considered to be a breach of the United Kingdom's 2015 Modern Slavery Act. According to Reuters, Shein was also in violation of a similar anti-slavery law in Australia.
Public Eye, a Swiss investigative news source, conducted an investigation on Shein. This investigation involved privately contracted Chinese researchers to track Shein's manufacturing and packaging process in China and Europe. This investigation concluded that workers for Shein were completely undermined. This investigation reported the inhumane state of their factories. Some lacked fire escapes and/or windows. Workers were also found to be subject to very low pay. In some cases, Shein found loopholes to pay their workers under the minimum wage. In many cases workers were reportedly paid 20 dollars a day with a clause to be deducted 16 dollars in case of any mistakes in the garments they worked on in that day.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Shein has an in-house team to monitor supply-chain partners. Independent agencies such as Intertek Group will also be engaged to conduct audits.
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