There is something inherently unpleasant about fast fashion and the throwaway culture it creates. It’s not just dirt-cheap prices that encourage the short shelf life of the clothes our kids hang around with. Aggressive social media campaigns, which are quickly becoming the industry’s primary marketing tool, are also encouraging young people to embrace waste.
Open Tik-Tik or Instagram and a whole generation of young people are being implicitly taught that it’s okay to wear something for a few weeks, then throw it away and move on to the next trend because it only costs a few quid. Perhaps worse, an army of shortlisted celebrities are getting rich by bombarding impressionable customers with this poisonous message.
Most of those who allow themselves to be drawn in are unaware of its dirty secret; which is that it’s almost impossible to make a £3 t-shirt without someone or something paying a premium price somewhere else – whether that’s because of the environmental impact or the consequence. harsh conditions often encountered in factories where clothes are produced. Others are happy to ignore it in the endless pursuit of being trendy and cool.
Ultra-fast fashion, of the kind pioneered by China’s Shein, is just a more extreme version of this broken model. So the idea that the company’s decision to stay away from New York and seek stock market float in London is a major blow for the UK is nonsense. The Square Mile may need a serious boost, but isn’t that hopeless yet?
This is a narrative that the incoming Labor government must immediately reject, especially if the party’s attempts to portray itself on the side of workers are anything to go by.
Just a few weeks ago Keir Starmer was in Glasgow telling people his so-called six steps to change; one of which was to get paid for work with a “new deal for working people”.
This represents “the biggest level-up in workers’ rights in a generation”: no more zero-hours contracts or so-called “fire and rehire” policies, plus a “real” living wage because “dignity and respect at work are vital for economic growth It matters,” the Labor leader promised.
In this case, Shein’s turbocharged fast fashion juggernaut seems completely outside Starmer’s vision of what modern Britain should represent. Obviously, the Government does not directly control the stock market, but it certainly has a huge impact on who we court as a country and the message we try to project to the rest of the world.
There’s little to like about Shein. A 2021 investigation by Swiss campaign group Public Eye found evidence that staff at Shein’s Chinese factories were being made to work 75 hours a week. The report alleged that some employees worked three shifts a day and received only one day off per week, often in unsafe conditions. The company promised to conduct a “targeted investigation” into the allegations.
Then, last autumn, a Channel 4 documentary reported that some Shein factory workers earned an average of £19 for a typical 18-hour shift, produced hundreds of products a day and were unable to go home until they had finished their job. In some cases, wages were stopped and deducted. In response, Shein pledged to invest $15 million (£11.8 million) to improve standards.
Meanwhile, according to Synthetics Anonymous 2.0, a report on fashion sustainability, consumption of virgin polyester and oil emits the same amount of CO2 as about 180 coal-fired power plants each year.
Shein may feel he has been unfairly targeted because many of the allegations he faces are against his rivals, including British chain Boohoo. But the difference is that, being British, a powerful combination of shareholders, MPs and NGOs can put intense pressure on the company to improve standards.
Any claim that a private Chinese retailer would be subject to the same lobbying from Beijing, a regime with a terrible human rights record, or that Western campaigners would have the same influence over Shein’s practices is patently foolish.
Shein has gone to great lengths to convince the world that it is not a Chinese company, including moving its headquarters to Singapore in 2021. However, changing residence does not change the facts. This is an organization founded in Nanjing, China, by Chris Xu, a Chinese entrepreneur, that relies on thousands of Chinese third-party manufacturers for its products. But the real giveaway is surely the news that Shein needs approval from Beijing regulators to list its shares in London.
Meanwhile, Shein’s cheerleaders seem to be deliberately missing another important point; Management wants to come to the UK not because London is somehow more attractive to raise capital, but rather because of the questions and criticism it faces. America. If a company finds actual scrutiny this uncomfortable, isn’t that a huge red flag in itself?
For Shein, rolling out the red carpet is a symbol of how desperate London is. If Labour’s promise to put “decency and integrity” at the heart of the next government means anything, it should make clear that a company with a track record is not welcome here.