2023-07-08 14:12:38
By WG
Posted 11 hours ago, Updated 9 hours ago
This is not the first time that the Chinese firm, a real steamroller of fast fashion, has faced criticism. CHEN LIN / REUTERS
The Mexican Ministry of Culture sent a letter to the firm after detecting “garments with distinctive and characteristic elements of the culture and identity of the Nahua people”.
The Chinese fast fashion giant again in turmoil. In a statement published this Friday, the Mexican Ministry of Culture accuses the giant Shein “abusive cultural appropriation“, believing that this actor has plagiarized indigenous patterns to design certain clothes.
The administration sent a letter to the firm after detecting “clothing with distinctive and characteristic elements of the culture and identity of the Nahua people“, located in the province of Puebla, explain the authorities. The press release notably points the finger at the use of a floral print: however, for this people, “these clothes are not only embroidered flowers, but they also represent a part of their biocultural environment and a part of their history». Ce «know that has been passed down from generation to generationmust therefore be preserved.
While the clothes of the Nahuas are made by hand thanks to “ancestral techniques“, parts sold by Shein are “made of printed and industrially produced fabric“, denounces the ministry. These products weigh on the local economy, which has “no way to compete in the market with industrially produced garments“. In addition, the government regrets “moral damages“, the populations having beenstripped of their identity as a group».
Read alsoThe Shein brand invites influencers to visit its factories and causes an outcry
“Invisibilized” communities
«We call on the Shein company to publicly explain why it is privatizing a traditional and collective cultural expression“, specifies the press release. The case is taken seriously by the authorities, who emphasize a “principle of ethnic consideration» and call to respect the «indigenous communities“, who have “historically been invisible».
This is not the first time that the Chinese firm, a real steamroller of fast fashion, has faced criticism. Difficult working conditions in its factories, bargain prices, overconsumption… The brand is regularly in the spotlight. She has also been accused of cultural appropriation before, notably in Mexico: a year ago, the government sent a letter, this time again after Shein reused Mayan motifs on a blouse.
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