Are shoppers to blame? As the huge fashion company seeks to raise money on the London Stock Exchange, conditions in Chinese factories are under the spotlight.
Shein workers exploited for £6 shirts
Are shoppers to blame? As the huge fashion company seeks to raise money on the London Stock Exchange, conditions in Chinese factories are under the spotlight.
It is 7.30am in the Panyu district of GuangzhouThe fifth most populous city in China. when Li comes looking for work. The street is lined with notice boards, put out by factories in need of extra labour, with examples of the clothes to be produced. Li examines a pair of shorts and checks the rate of pay being offered. Is it enough for the time involved? Hardly - but in the end he goes along anyway.
So many people in Panyu are making clothes for Shein that it is nicknamed "Shein village". Most of the 5,000 factories are geared to Shein's products, which cost on average less than £8.
Shein is now hoping to be listed on the London Stock ExchangeA place where investors can buy and sell stocks, which represent tiny portions of ownership in a company. . For that to happen, regulators need to be satisfied that it does business in an ethical manner.
That includes making sure that its suppliers treat their workers fairly. But a spokesman for the pressure group Asia Floor Wage Alliance describes the conditions in Panyu as "an extreme form of exploitation".1
There is no doubt that low prices mean low wages for the workers. "We get paid per piece," explains one. "It depends how difficult the item is. Something simple like a T-shirt is one to two yuan."
A yuan is currently worth around 10p; the worker reckons she makes 12 T-shirts an hour, earning her up to £2.40.
Workers in Panyu interviewed by the BBC said that they only had one day off a month. "We usually work 10, 11 or 12 hours a day," said one woman. "On Sundays we work around three hours less."
Low wages and long hours are not the only issue. In 2023 two of the companies supplying Shein were found to be using child labour. Shein has also been accused of using cotton from the Xinjiang region of China, where Muslim UyghursA largely Muslim ethnic group native to Xinjiang, in northwestern China. Since 2014, the Chinese government has subjected them to abusive measures, including forced labour, internment camps and forced sterilisation. are believed to be used as forced labour.
Last week Yinan Zhu, a lawyer for Shein, was asked by a parliamentary committee whether the company used any Chinese cotton - and said she did not know. Incredulous MPsMembers of Parliament. MPs are elected to represent people in 650 different geographical areas. accused her of not giving straight answers and showing "wilful ignorance".
Products like Shein's also have a heavy cost for the planet. The fashion industry is responsible for 8-10% of global carbon emissionsThings that are released, such as gases, as part of a process. E.g. greenhouse gases. - more than aviation and shipping put together.2
Surveys have found that the average fast-fashion garment is worn only seven times,3 and that Britons throw away 300,000 tonnes of clothes every year.4
Are shoppers to blame?
Yes: Most shoppers only care about what clothes look like and do not stop to ask how they can be made so cheaply. If shoppers refused to buy its products, Shein would quickly go bust.
No: Shein's advertising campaigns are designed to dazzle people with glamour so that they do not ask awkward questions. In a cost of livingThe money that someone needs to afford basic food, housing and clothes. crisis, consumers cannot be blamed for turning to cheaper options.
Or... They are to blame, but there is evidence that they are changing their ways. More people are buying or renting second-hand clothes and either upcycling or making more use of the ones they already own.
Guangzhou - The fifth most populous city in China.
Stock exchange - A place where investors can buy and sell stocks, which represent tiny portions of ownership in a company.
Uyghurs - A largely Muslim ethnic group native to Xinjiang, in northwestern China. Since 2014, the Chinese government has subjected them to abusive measures, including forced labour, internment camps and forced sterilisation.
MPs - Members of Parliament. MPs are elected to represent people in 650 different geographical areas.
Emissions - Things that are released, such as gases, as part of a process. E.g. greenhouse gases.
Cost of living - The money that someone needs to afford basic food, housing and clothes.
Shein workers exploited for £6 shirts

Glossary
Guangzhou - The fifth most populous city in China.
Stock exchange - A place where investors can buy and sell stocks, which represent tiny portions of ownership in a company.
Uyghurs - A largely Muslim ethnic group native to Xinjiang, in northwestern China. Since 2014, the Chinese government has subjected them to abusive measures, including forced labour, internment camps and forced sterilisation.
MPs - Members of Parliament. MPs are elected to represent people in 650 different geographical areas.
Emissions - Things that are released, such as gases, as part of a process. E.g. greenhouse gases.
Cost of living - The money that someone needs to afford basic food, housing and clothes.