Shein, which is considering a stock exchange listing, said in its sustainability report in 2023 that when it discovered the use of child labor, it temporarily suspended orders from participating suppliers and did not resume cooperation until they had resolved the issue.
The company has been criticized for working conditions in its supply chain factories.
“Both cases were quickly resolved,” the Shein report claimed, noting that the minors’ employment contracts were terminated, back wages were paid, medical examinations were performed and delivery to parents or guardians was secured.
“After proper remediation, contract manufacturers were allowed to resume operations,” Shein confirmed, noting that both cases of child labor were detected in the first nine months of 2023, while no such cases were detected in the last quarter of last year.
The company announced that it has tightened its supplier policy. The new rules provide for immediate termination of the contract if the use of child labor or forced labor is discovered.
The information at the disposal of the British public broadcasting organization BBC shows that this year “Shein” has submitted initial documents to list the company’s shares on the London Stock Exchange.
In June, one of the US Republican leaders and the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Marco Rubio, who is an ally of former President Donald Trump, warned then British Treasury Secretary Jeremy Hunt of “major ethical problems” regarding Shein and the company’s “close ties to the People’s Republic of China”. . Rubio’s letter emphasized that Shein’s success was forged through child labor, slavery and trade manipulation.
Commenting on Rubio’s warning, Shein emphasized that the company has a “zero-tolerance policy against forced labor and respects human rights.” But shortly before that announcement, the Swiss activist group Public Eye published a report that excessive overtime was widespread at many companies in Shein’s supply chain.
Founded in China in 2008 and based in Singapore, “Shein” quickly conquered its place in the global fast fashion market, selling its products only on the Internet and addressing young customers with the help of social media.
The newspaper “Financial Times” (FT) reported in March that “Shein” sold goods worth 45 billion US dollars (40.4 billion euros) online in 2023 and the company’s profit exceeded two billion dollars. According to the documents obtained by the FT, in 2022 and 2021 “Shein” profit was 700 million and 1.1 billion dollars, respectively.
Although Shein is headquartered in Singapore and derives all of its revenue from outside China, the company was founded and still operates from China, so listing the shares requires the support of the Chinese authorities.
In November, “Shein” submitted confidential documents to make an initial public offering in the US, but the US authorities have not been responsive, so the company will apply to the London Stock Exchange, the FT reports.
2024-08-24 14:27:28