Shein: New shock revelations on the brand’s clandestine workshops

How does Shein manage to offer up to 50,000 new items per day at broken prices? Meanwhile, A new survey published by Actionaid France with China Labor Watch. Nevertheless, based on the testimonies of around fifty workers collected for two years on site, reveals the underside of the production system on demand set up by the Chinese giant.

Where traditional brands must provide for trends in advance. Furthermore, Shein has indeed imposed a new record rate of production of 4 to 10 days between the design of a garment or an accessory and its sale. However, The company first plays small “tests” orders from suppliers, generally below 200 items. Similarly, Its algorithms, doped with artificial intelligence, assess demand, then a more massive production is launched for popular articles, almost instantly.

“Organized misery” – Shein: new shock revelations brand's

Behind this extremely well-oiled model. Consequently, there is a migrant workforce which, for shein: new shock revelations brand’s lack of a residence permit in town (the famous “Hukou”), is underpaid and overexploited. Similarly, His role? In addition, Absorb the production peaks of the system then disappear when the request falls. Consequently, This “invisible” workforce is concentrated in the urban villages of the Metropolis of Guangzhou. Moreover, one of the main poles of production of Shein, a real labyrinth of crazy buildings, nicknamed “handshake buildings” as their proximity is extreme.

These hundreds of small workshops, often informal, work for subcontractors of Shein. Similarly, They produce clothes at an uninterrupted pace, chaining cutting, sewing, packaging and shipping in just days. “When factories under direct contract with Shein can no longer follow. excess orders are redirected to informal workshops, excluding radar, contributing to an opaque system of non-declared subcontracting. Officially, they are not recognized by Shein”, details the report.

According to the experience of infiltrated people on site. the testimonies collected, the part shein: new shock revelations brand’s of the room and the lack of social protection push the workers to work day and night non-stop to reach a salary allowing to survive and anticipate the off-peak periods. “”Misery is thus organized. at the service of a model which favors speed and profit to the detriment of human rights “, conclude the authors. The investigation also reveals a distribution of largely gendered tasks, but even more serious, an unpaid work of women. Some factories have implemented a couple’s recruitment mode, it being paid as a single entity.

In addition, workers have reported to undergo gender -based and sexual violence in the workshops, in particular verbal violence. Added to this is the absence of personal protection equipment. the exclusion of basic social protection systems (access or care in public school). In the wake of previous surveys. this research also confirms “A credible risk “ That textiles produced for Shein include shein: new shock revelations brand’s raw materials from Xinjiang, a province located in the far west of China, and theater of massive and systematic violations of the Uighur population.

Shein: new shock revelations brand&#039. s

Uighur cotton

Contacted by Novethic, Shein ensures that “This report is based on unfounded accusations and speculative assertions “.” Shein undertakes to create a safe work environment for all the employees of its third -party suppliers. We spend a lot of time. investment and efforts to ensure that workers in our supply chain are treated fairly and in accordance with local laws and regulations, as well as international labor standards. (…) GThanks to our business model on demand. we can maintain affordable prices for consumers while guaranteeing that workers are treated fairly “assures the spokesperson.

Anti Fast Fashion Law in the Senate: “If it is voted as it is currently written. we will have changed anything at shein: new shock revelations brand’s all”

For associations. on the contrary, it is necessary to regulate more industry. In France. an ambitious anti-Fashion law had been voted in the Assembly, but it was emptied of its substance when it was examined in the Senate. A joint joint committee must be reunited next September. At European level. the Directive on the duty of vigilance, which obliges multinationals to respect human rights on the whole of their value chain is also being unraveled.

For several months, Shein has been the target of several procedures launched by French and European associations. As she prides herself on being durable. she has just received a fine of one million euros for having made misleading shein: new shock revelations brand’s environmental allegations. The Italian Competition Authority thus points to Shein’s commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 25% by 2030 when they were up 23% between 2023. 2024. According to the Canadian NGO Stand.earth, if the brand was a country, “It would be the 100th largest CO² transmitter in the world “.