Shein is a Chinese fashion company that has become one of the biggest and fastest-growing ecommerce brands in the world. It has a reputation for fast-paced fashion, size inclusivity and price points that are unrivalled in the industry. Its soaring popularity has helped it to break the $100 billion valuation mark, making it more expensive than H&M and Zara combined.
Shein’s meteoric rise comes with a string of controversial practices and labour conditions in its supply chain that raise questions about its sustainability credentials. A new documentary, Untold: Inside the Shein Machine, takes viewers inside the factories that manufacture Shein’s clothes and offers the first-ever undercover investigation into the company’s labor practices.
The documentary is based on the work of journalist Iman Amrani and aims to shed light on Shein’s secretive business model and reveals the true cost behind its super-fast production methods. The film features interviews with workers who claim to have been paid less than the local minimum wage, and alleges that Shein resorted to a number of tactics to cut costs.
Despite its success, Shein remains a controversial brand, with many consumers complaining about its lack of transparency and the alleged exploitation of its employees. Despite its claims to be “committed to lowering emissions and reducing waste,” Shein has yet to prove that it can actually achieve those goals.
Another major concern is the company’s lack of transparency on its sustainability initiatives. Its website states it is committed to lowering its environmental footprint, and that it “only uses recyclable materials to create packaging” but doesn’t provide details on how it plans to do so.
Shein says it is working on a variety of ways to reduce its carbon footprint, including switching over its shipping fleet from diesel to electric vehicles, and using more recycled polyester and paper in its packaging. It also says it has made a commitment to the sustainable production of its own clothing.
Whether it’s through its social media campaigns, or its pop-up stores around the world, Shein continues to push its brand into the hearts of consumers. The company recently partnered with Katy Perry to support COVID-19, an event that raised millions of dollars for flood relief efforts in China’s Xinjiang region.
Some Shein shoppers have a deep relationship with the brand, spending as much as $280 on the site to get a year’s worth of outfits. They post photos of themselves wearing Shein-brand items to birthday dinners, divorce hearings, concerts and musical festivals.
Shein’s success has led to a surge in online discussion, ranging from positive to negative. Some people share screenshots of Shein orders that total thousands of dollars, while others point to the company’s reliance on a supply chain in China that is prone to human rights violations and the use of cotton from the Xinjiang region, where US officials have accused Xi’s government of abuses against the Uyghur minority.
While a number of consumers and retailers have publicly expressed their displeasure with Shein’s operations, the majority of them remain loyal. In fact, a recent poll found that 85% of Shein shoppers said they would still buy from the company even if it went out of business. In a statement, Shein said it was committed to the rights of its workers and that its contracts with factories require them to pay their employees in accordance with local laws.