By Zoey B. Grade 9
Workers in a factory, from greenamerica.org
Fast fashion is a highly debated topic today – it’s a way for teenagers to get trendy clothes at cheap prices, but how many are actually aware of the brands they’re supporting? Dozens of micro-trends have been rapidly rising to popularity and then being replaced just as quickly. This has created a massive market for companies that make cheap clothing, producing hundreds of pieces a day to keep up with the latest fashion.
That raises the question, though, of ‘where all these pieces coming from?’ and, well, according to investigations and articles, this clothing isn’t coming from an ethical source. Many fast fashion brands have faced allegations of exploiting factory workers, stealing designs, and not being environmentally friendly, with one of the most notable being Shein.
A documentary investigation in 2022 found that Shein workers regularly work 18 hour days, and some factories pay workers as little as 2 cents for each piece of clothing they make, and in these factories, workers can be fined two thirds of their daily wages if they make a mistake on a garment. Other factories pay their workers a base salary of roughly $556 per month. For comparison, monthly minimum wage in America is $1,160 and that still isn’t enough for most people to live off of, so you can only imagine how much someone would struggle to survive off less than half of that.
In Shein’s 2021 sustainability and social impact report, the company itself found that 66% of their factories violated the code of conduct, and another 12% were in violation of their zero tolerance violation policy. Over 700 audits were completed in 2021, and in them, 14% of factories were discovered violating work hours, and 27
Shein has been accused multiple times of stealing designs from both up and coming creators, and big brands such as Cookies SF, and often there’s not much smaller artists can do to get their designs back, but large brands can and will fight back. On November second, Cookies SF filed a lawsuit against Shein on the grounds of copyright infringement and counterfeiting. Shein has faced over 50 federal lawsuits in the U.S as a defender, accused by both massive companies such as Levi Strauss and Ralph Lauren, and small designers such as Bailey Prado and Maggie Stephenson.
All in all, Shein’s workplace ethics are extremely questionable, and with all the evidence against them, should you really buy from them? In my opinion, the answer is no, some cheap crop tops aren’t worth the lives of workers trying to provide for their families, but evidently not everyone feels the same way. Shein continues to make billions of dollars, and adds thousands of items to their website every day.
Works cited
Brotherton-Bunch, Elizabeth. “As Evidence of Shein’s Bad Labor Practices Grows, It’s Time for the U.S. to Close a Key Trade Loophole.” Alliance for American Manufacturing, 17 Oct. 2022, https://www.americanmanufacturing.org/blog/as-evidence-of-sheins-bad-labor-practices-grows-its-time-for-the-u-s-to-close-a-key-trade-loophole/.
Gilchrist, Ava. “The True Cost Of Shein Is One We’re Not Willing To Pay.” ELLE, 19 Oct. 2022, https://www.elle.com.au/fashion/why-is-shein-so-bad-27846.
Holmes, Helen. “Fashion Giant Shein Sued for Stealing Weed Brand Cookies’ Sweatshirt Design.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company, 12 Nov. 2022, https://www.thedailybeast.com/fashion-giant-shein-sued-for-stealing-weed-brand-cookies-sweatshirt-design#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Wall%20Street,trademark%20infringement%20or%20copyright%20infringement.
Jackson, Sarah. “Shein Factory Employees Are Working 18-Hour Days for Pennies per Garment and Washing Their Hair on Lunch Breaks Because They Have so Little Time off, New Report Finds.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 16 Oct. 2022, https://www.businessinsider.com/shein-factory-workers-18-hour-shifts-paid-low-wages-report-2022-10?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=559da6e7-a3a2-43a7-8779-dc041b94364a.
Weinstein, Asher. “Unpacking Toxic Textiles.” Green America, https://www.greenamerica.org/unraveling-fashion-industry/unpacking-toxic-textiles.