It was only last August that I penned a piece about Shein’s frankly absurd ‘Shein Cares’ initiative because we knew at the time that this fast fashion giant was anything but kind. Even back then stating that Shein clearly treated their garment workers poorly and produced an exorbitant amount of clothing was met with “But, they’re giving $300,000 to animal welfare charities, how bad can they really be?”.

As it would turn out, far worse than we initially thought.

Enter Channel 4. Inside The Shein Machine is a new documentary from the UK broadcaster hosted by journalist Iman Amrani, where they have sent an undercover worker into Shein’s factories in the Chinese province of Guangzhou and what they discovered is gut-wrenching. “The factory has a very inhumane system”, said the undercover reporter during the footage. It was discovered that in one factory workers receive a base salary of roughly $556 per month, however, in order to get that pay they have to make over 500 pieces of clothing per day, per person, and that the first month’s pay is withheld from them (presumably to stop them leaving). In another factory, workers were receiving the equivalent of just four cents per item they made. As a reminder, many of Shein’s garments retail for under £5. Workers in every factory were working up to 18-hour days with just one day off per month leaving some women to wash their hair during their precious lunch breaks. Then there is the horrific discovery that workers were penalised two-thirds of their daily wage if they made one singular mistake on an item of clothing, and when you’re working those hours at that intensity it’s probable that many workers are making mistakes daily.

Shein, founded in 2015, has become a mega fast fashion site making well over £14bilion in profit each year. Shein has been frankly ingenious in their use of social media marketing, luring its customers by assaulting them with adverts and endorsements via Instagram and now TikTok. One interviewee in the documentary notes that “Shein has taken the fast fashion model of producing clothes and put it on steroids.” Shein is everywhere with a cult-like following. It is global. They upload about 1,000 new items to their website every single day because they know that people want things cheap and in large quantities, and thus Shein thrives while it helps kill our planet and ruin the lives of thousands upon thousands of garment workers. The fashion industry is responsible for at least 8% of all global emissions (UN Environment, 2019). From garment creation to distribution, the impact of having so many fast fashion brands is becoming catastrophic, and as one brand rises to stardom the others try to follow suit.

Perhaps the most angering part of this whole sickening mess is that many of Shein’s consumers know exactly who and what they are buying from and they simply do not care. Hopefully, this new exposé will encourage people to speak up online, condemn Shein and educate people on what they can do to help bring this monstrous trade down.

Shein has responded to Channel 4’s documentary saying, “We are extremely concerned by the allegations presented by Channel 4, which would violate the Code of Conduct agreed to by every Shein supplier. Any non-compliance with this code is dealt with swiftly. Failure to meet Shein standards will result in termination of partnership. We have requested specific information from Channel 4 to assist further investigation. Shein’s Responsible Sourcing standards hold our suppliers to a code of conduct based on International Labour Organisation conventions and local laws and regulations, including labour practices, and working conditions.”