Fish Lens: Fast fashion brand Shein has a terrible rep, so why are they still so popular?

2. Poor working conditions their workers are allegedly subjected to

Untold: Inside The Shein Machine, a documentary by British television channel Channel 4 was released in October 2022.

The documentary revealed a number of concerning allegations:

1. Long working hours: Workers in two of Shein’s supply factories in Guangzhou, China worked 18 hours a day, with only one day off a month. The documentary also reported that workers, who had little time outside of work, often had to resort to washing their hair during lunch breaks.
2. Low salaries: Workers in one factory made a base salary of 4,000 yuan (S$776) per month, and were expected to make 500 pieces of clothing per day, with a commission of 0.14 yuan (S$0.03) per item. At the second factory, workers did not receive a base pay but were paid 0.27 yuan (S$0.05) per item.
3. Financial penalties: Making a mistake on any item of clothing would reportedly lead to a penalty of two-thirds of their daily earnings.

Under China’s labour laws, workers should not work more than 40 hours a week. Shein has admitted to the breach in working hours, but denied the other allegations.

Image via Shein.

Ironically, Shein’s own 2021 sustainability and social impact report found that 83% of their suppliers’ factories were in some violation of their code of conduct, with corrective action required.

According to a report by Bloomberg, Shein’s cotton has also been linked to China’s Xinjiang region, which has been accused of using forced labour.

3. Accused of copying designs

Multiple artists have also accused Shein of copying their designs.

The hashtag #sheinstolemydesign has 16.2 million views on TikTok alone.

One of the top videos, posted in November 2021 by user Tracy Garcia (@transformationsbytracy) alleges that Shein ripped off the design of her silk lace cami.

@transformationsbytracy Shein knocked off my design. #sheinstolemydesign #slowfashiontiktok #handmade #latinxbusiness #fyp ♬ SAD GIRLZ LUV MONEY – Remix – Amaarae & Kali Uchis

“They’re just constantly getting away with it because they’re a big company and I don’t have the money, I don’t have the resources to pursue any of this, and it sucks that they are going to keep stealing people’s designs,” she says in her video.

Dazed reports that Shein eventually removed the listing, but just half a year later, in May 2022, Tracy posted a video alleging that they had copied another one of her designs again.

@transformationsbytracy Shein knocked off my design again! #sheinstolemydesign #sustainablefashion #fastfashionsucks #FrunktheBeat #fypシ ♬ original sound – TransformationsByTracy

Instagram fashion watchdog Diet Prada has also called out Shein for ripping off luxury brand Bailey Prado.

Image via Diet Prada/Instagram.

And more recently, Cassey Ho, CEO and head designer of Popflex Active, an activewear brand, says that Shein stole the design of her Pirouette Skort.

Image via Blogilates/Instagram.

Airwair, which owns the Dr. Martens brand, as well as Ralph Lauren, have also previously taken Shein to court over copyright infringement.

No stopping their rise

Even with all this negative publicity, Shein is somehow still thriving.

In April 2022, private investors valued the company at US$100 billion (S$133.4 billion) during a fundraising round, making it the world’s third most valuable private company.

They were just behind ByteDance, which owns TikTok, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.

As of December 2022, they have bested Zara to become the most popular fashion brand in the world.

And according to Forbes, they made about US$16 billion (S$21.6 billion) in sales in the first half of 2022.

So, what is it about Shein that makes consumers tick?

Simply put, it all comes down to cost and inclusivity.

Reddit user rosiegirl8903 shared her experience with being able to find “weird styles” that fit her personality at an affordable price.

Meanwhile, EverteStatum87 feels caught in a “beggars can’t be choosers” situation when it comes to affordable plus-sized clothing.

Twitter user @yung_tsubaki aired her frustrations with not being able to get “pretty” clothes that fit her.

forever 21 fucking sucks. torrid is so limited and plus size stores only seem to have business casual clothes??? being in this body in a world where people hate what i look like is extremely discouraging. so yeah i shop on shein.

— White T Poison (@yung_tsubaki) January 30, 2023

Some, however, believe that people should not shop at Shein regardless.

“I’m poor and plus size I have no other options” yea you do you just don’t want to look and you’re stuck in that “get more for good value” mindset. I’m poor and fat too and I still go for small businesses first over the large ones and I haven’t bought from shein in 3 years.

— Esperanza 💀 (@lalassu_xul_) January 29, 2023

Shein’s side of the story

In December 2022, just two months after the Channel 4 documentary was released, Shein said that they would spend US$15 million (S$20 million) over the next three to four years to improve conditions in hundreds of factories in its supply chain.

This include physical enhancements and the implementation of a feedback system for workers.

Shein also runs the Shein X incubator programme for designers to leverage their production, marketing and selling capabilities.

According to the description on the brand’s corporate site, Shein X designers “benefit from our massive global community, enabling products to reach millions of fashion lovers worldwide. Best of all, designers profit from the sales of their creations while maintaining ownership of their designs.”

In January 2023, Shein announced that it would onboard another 1,000 aspiring designers and artists to the programme.

Shein’s corporate site also states a target to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions across their value chain by 25% by 2030, and achieve full textile circularity by 2050.

They’ve also launched Shein Exchange, a resale platform for customers to to buy and sell previously owned Shein products.

Image via Shein.

In June 2022, the brand made a donation of US$15 million (S$20 million) to an NGO working with textile waste workers in Ghana.

However, their actions have been criticised as greenwashing by Greenpeace.

“Producers like Shein should be made financially responsible for the cost of cleaning up the environmental and health damage caused throughout the supply chain, regardless of the geographical extent of the damage,” the organisation said.

The choice to not shop Shein

I’m not proud of it, but up until a few years ago, I was a frequent Shein customer.

And like many consumers, I shopped there because it was cheap, convenient and had an unbeatable variety of designs.

I eventually stopped as part of my efforts to reduce my overall environmental impact.

But I must acknowledge the the privileges I enjoy that allowed me to make this choice.

1. Being a common size

For starters, I am a regular size, which means that I have no problems with getting nice clothes that fit well, whether new or secondhand.

Many shops don’t stock sizes larger than XL, which means that those who are plus-sized may struggle with getting clothes that they like.

Image via Shein Singapore/Instagram.

Meanwhile, on Shein, sizes go up to 4XL, with a dedicated Plus+Curve section.

2. Not having to dress up for work

I’ve also always worked in jobs with fairly relaxed dress codes, which means no pressure to dress up for work.

In fact, my current office fits consist largely of three pairs of sweatpants and four crop tops that I have on frequent rotation.

(On a kinda related note, if you like dressing down, we’re hiring!)

I can imagine that if I had a different career which required me to meet clients, or do regular presentations, this option would probably not be available to me.

3. Having access to alternative options

Another factor that made me stop buying from Shein was poor material quality.

The clothes would often end up misshapen after a few washes, and I’ve had straps on tops sewn the wrong way.

I’m not alone in my experience: