It is 7.30am in GuangzhouThe fifth most populous city in China., China. Li is looking for work. The street is lined with notice boards, put out by clothing factories in need of extra workers.

Li looks at a pair of shorts and checks the pay being offered. Is it enough? Hardly - but he goes along anyway.

The area of Panyu in Guangzhou is known as "Shein village", because so many of the factories there make clothes for Shein. Shein is a huge fast fashionCheap clothing produced quickly by big retailers in response to the latest trends. brand. Its clothes, which are sold in the UK and other countries, are very cheap. Jumpers sell for about £6 and dresses for £10.

Low prices mean low wagesThe money you earn from your job. 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 worth around 10p. The worker makes 12 T-shirts an hour, earning her up to £2.40.

Workers in Panyu said that they only had one day off a month. "We usually work 10, 11 or 12 hours a day," said one.

Low wages and long hours are not the only issue. In 2023 two companies supplying Shein were found to be using child workers.

Shein has also been accused of using cottonA soft, white substance that grows as part of the cotton plant and can be made into fabric. 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 forced into work.

Clothes made by fast fashion brands are also bad for the planet, say critics. Making them produces carbon emissionsThings that are released, such as gases, as part of a process. E.g. greenhouse gases. , while most are only ever worn seven times.

Are shoppers to blame?

Yes! Most shoppers only care about what the clothes look like. They do not stop to ask how they are made. If shoppers stopped buying Shein's clothes, the company would not exist. We buy far too many clothes.

No! Shein's owners are to blame, not shoppers. Shoppers cannot be asked to find out how all their clothes are made. And when prices are high, people cannot be blamed for looking for cheap clothes.

Guangzhou - The fifth most populous city in China.

Fast fashion - Cheap clothing produced quickly by big retailers in response to the latest trends.

Wages - The money you earn from your job.

Cotton - A soft, white substance that grows as part of the cotton plant and can be made into fabric.

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.

Emissions - Things that are released, such as gases, as part of a process. E.g. greenhouse gases.