SHEIN has experienced explosive growth through obscenely low prices, achieved by exploiting trade rules (de minimis value to offer free shipping), forced labor in manufacturing, ghost shifts, plagiarism, use of garbage materials (incl. cotton alleged to be created via slave labor), and "just in time" manufacturing habits that triple-down on items that sell.[1] Not to mention a gamified app pandering to a very addicted audience (average SHEIN shopper is 35 and spends 60% more than most folks per month on clothes)[2] and seems to have a "I shouldn't have to pay what things cost to manufacture, and whatever I want in my size shouldn't cost me more" attitude re: clothing.H&M has positioned itself as more of an "eco friendly" and "fair wages" player but as a fast fashion retailer, has had accusations of similar practices in the past.
SHEIN seems a little different due to the nature, scale, and shameless lying infused in their approach. Their actions are orders of magnitude more intense even the grey zone manufacturing practices of Forever 21/Zara. Goes without saying no fast fashion is "ethical" by any stretch, but SHEIN is on another level.
[1] https://time.com/6695469/temu-shein-de-minimis/
[2] https://archive.ph/XRs9C
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