Shein suppliers' workers doing 75-hour week, finds probe (2024)

FAQs

What were the conditions like for Shein factory workers? ›

Shein launched an investigation after U.K. Channel Four documentary Untold: Inside The Shein Machine alleged that workers were subject to 16-hour-long days, got one day off a month, and earned wages of around 4,000 yuan ($572) per month to produce hundreds of garments for the online retailer each day.

Channel4's documentary, Inside The Shein Machine, sent undercover cameras to film factory workers who were forced to pull 17-hour shifts to make hundreds of garments a day. In one factory, they made a daily base salary of $20, which would then be docked by $14 if any garments had mistakes.

SHEIN Salary FAQs

The average SHEIN hourly pay ranges from approximately $23 per hour for a Sales Associate to $23 per hour for a Sales Associate. SHEIN employees rate the overall compensation and benefits package 3.2/5 stars.

“As a global company, Shein takes visibility across our entire supply chain seriously,” a company spokesperson said in a statement to Supply Chain Dive. “We are committed to respecting human rights and adhering to local laws and regulations in each market we operate in. … We have zero-tolerance for forced labor.”

Workers who make clothing for Shein at factories in China frequently work 18 hours a day—with only one day off per month—for as little as 3 cents per hour, an undercover investigation by Britain's Channel 4 found.

The average textile worker gross salary in China is ¥61,472 or an equivalent hourly rate of ¥30. In addition, they earn an average bonus of ¥922. Salary estimates based on salary survey data collected directly from employers and anonymous employees in China.

The documentary reported Shein garment workers are paid as little as four cents per clothing item in work shifts that can last up to 18 hours.

A documentary by Channel 4 alleged Shein's supplier factories were forcing garment makers to work 18-hour days, paying them as little as 3p per item, and permitting them just one day off a month. The company's business model relies on small batches and forecasting trends to cut inventory to “a single digit”.

Their prices are low because they practice fast fashion, use cheap labor, and have a lot of sales and discounts. However, their clothes are usually of good quality, and you can always return them if you're not happy with your purchase. So if you're looking for affordable clothes, Shein is a great option!

9-9-6 means working from 9am to 9pm, 6 days a week. This work schedule is very common in China, especially in the tech industry. While 996 itself isn't surprising in modern Chinese work culture, billionaire Jack Ma's comments about it have made a lot of people angry.

Does Shein pay living wages? ›

Shein has made no commitment to pay living wages to its garment makers. Instead, a 2021 investigation found that its Chinese garment makers are earning a piece-rate, sewing its clothes 75-plus hours a week with very little time off.

Chris Xu founded Shein in 2012 and has turned it into a fast-fashion phenomenon with Gen Z, selling trendy clothes in more than 150 countries. Backed by Sequoia China, it's one of the world's most popular shopping apps whose users love its low prices.

Shein has repeatedly come under fire for just about everything you can do wrong with a company, including poor working conditions, high levels of toxic chemicals in its clothing, copying independent designers' items, and mishandling customer data.

Shop for a cause: find out where your local LGBTQ+ businesses are and use your coin! Especially during these times, our support means everything.

However, just weeks before, Shein had been the focus of an investigation that found evidence of labor abuse in its supply chain. In at least two of its Chinese factories, the report found that workers were being made to do 18-hour days, seven days a week, with only one day off per month.

Is SHEIN a good company to work for? SHEIN has an overall rating of 3.3 out of 5, based on over 160 reviews left anonymously by employees. 50% of employees would recommend working at SHEIN to a friend and 52% have a positive outlook for the business. This rating has decreased by -11% over the last 12 months.

According to Dr. Sheng Lu, University of Delaware, Ethiopia, the fastest-growing African economy, has the lowest wages in the global textile industry. In an effort to attract foreign investors, Ethiopia has implemented the lowest minimum wage of any garment-producing country: only $26 per month, or about 23 euros.

Despite the big-name brands these workers produce for, new research shows that garment workers earn poverty pay which leaves them struggling to survive, highlighting the inadequacy of the legal minimum wage.

Research from the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) shows garment workers' average wages have decreased over the past 12 months by over a fifth (21 percent) from an average of $187 per month to $147.

How much do Chinese sweatshop workers get paid? ›

How much do Chinese garment workers get paid? Informational context on the clothing industry The minimum salary ranges from 1120 RMB (US$161) to 2480 RMB (US$357) per month depending on the location. This is a significant gap when compared to the projected monthly living wage of 5410 RMB (US$778) per month.

(1) Where a worker works in a factory for more than nine hours in any day or for more than forty-eight hours in any week, he shall, in respect of overtime work, be entitled to wages at the rate of twice his ordinary rate of wages.

On Monday, fast-fashion retailer Shein launched its resale program “Shein Exchange.” The online-only (and app-supported) peer-to-peer resale program facilitates the sale and purchase of secondhand Shein products.

Based in China and shipping across 150+ countries, Shein is the world's largest fashion retailer, as of 2022. The company was valued at $100 billion after a funding round in April 2022.

Originally, everything on the site shipped directly from China. Now, the clothing on Shein comes from several wholesale warehouses around the world. Although many items still ship directly from Chinese factories, local places offer shorter waiting times for the same products.

Nearly four decades of housing reforms have transformed China into a homeowner society with homeownership rates exceeding 90 % in 2019. However, exactly which household member owns the property has seldom been studied.

The Chinese people usually work between 08:00 and 18:00 each day, with a lunch break from 12:00 to 14:00. However, local variations may occur due to the time difference or policy in different cities.

Of the included 16206 Chinese government employees at baseline, 60.45% reported that they experienced negative stressful life events and 43.87% reported that they experienced positive stressful life events over the past year. Fatigue was reported by 7.74% of the sample at baseline and 8.19% at follow-up.

Workers at factories in China that supply clothes to Shein frequently work up to 18 hours a day with no weekends and just one day off per month, according to an undercover investigation from Channel 4 and The i newspaper in the UK.

Jewish (Ashkenazic): nickname or artificial name from Yiddish sheyn 'fine beautiful'. Compare Schoen . Americanized form of German and Jewish (Ashkenazic) Schein .

How rich is the owner of Shein? ›

The combined net worth of its founders – Xu, Miao Miao, Gu Xiaoqing and Ren Xiaoqing – is almost $US40 billion ($60 billion), while one of its earliest and most prominent backers, Tiger Global, has made more than 20 times its investment.

shī ēn. to confer a favor on sb to confer a benefit.

From poor working conditions, high levels of toxic chemicals in clothing, and copying items from independent designers to mishandling customer data, there is now an overall worldwide push to boycott this company. The first of many allegations is that Shein workers are severely underpaid.

Accusations of breaking labour laws

Channel 4's documentary was the not the first time Shein had been bending the rules surrounding workers' rights; in November 2021, Shein suppliers were found to be making employees work excessive hours, according to an investigation by Public Eye.

Shein presents an option that's cheaper and more convenient than traditional fast fashion retailers, which adds to its attractiveness. They also produce even faster, meaning there's always an incentive to revisit the site week after week to check on new arrivals.

Good American founder Khloé Kardashian, famous stylist Law Roach, and American designer Christian Siriano were just a few of the celebrities that took part in this. “Shein is one of the most unethical fast fashion brands,” One fan commented on Khloé Kardashian's post that announced her partnership with the brand.

shein.com's audience is interested in Lifestyle > Fashion and Apparel & shopping.

Are Romwe and SHEIN the same? Romwe and SHEIN have a lot more in common than just their styles, prices, and business models. Romwe was acquired by SHEIN in 2014.

It's pronounced SHE- in.

Where is Shein located in USA? ›

For the US audience, the company sends all of its clothes from the Shein warehouse in Foshan, Guangdong to the one near Los Angeles. Even though the company has a longer delivery time than some of its competitors, their prices and the large collection has kept their audience hooked to the app.

The working conditions in factories were often harsh. Hours were long, typically ten to twelve hours a day. Working conditions were frequently unsafe and led to deadly accidents. Tasks tended to be divided for efficiency's sake which led to repetitive and monotonous work for employees.

Factory workers had to face long hours, poor working conditions, and job instability. During economic recessions many workers lost their jobs or faced sharp pay cuts. New employees found the discipline and regulation of factory work to be very different from other types of work.

Employees usually work with no ventilation, breathing in toxic substances, inhaling fiber dust or blasted sand in unsafe buildings. Accidents, fires, injuries, and disease are very frequent occurrences on textile production sites. On top of that, clothing workers regularly face verbal and physical abuse.

Workers are not paid overtime and toil in unsafe, cramped, dirty, and poorly ventilated factories. They frequently develop physical ailments due to the fast-paced, strenuous requirements of the work, which stem from trying to earn a living wage while being paid mere cents per garment produced.

In response to poor working conditions, labor movements organized alliances known as unions and pushed for reforms. Reform movements happened around the world but started in Britain and the United States. They focused on labor rights, social welfare, women's rights, and working to end slavery.

During the early Industrial Revolution, working conditions were usually terrible and sometimes tragic. Most factory employees worked 10 to 14 hours a day, six days a week, with no time off. Each industry had safety hazards that led to regular accidents on the job.

Poor workers were often housed in cramped, grossly inadequate quarters. Working conditions were difficult and exposed employees to many risks and dangers, including cramped work areas with poor ventilation, trauma from machinery, toxic exposures to heavy metals, dust, and solvents.

Accidents, fires, injuries, and disease are very frequent occurrences on production sites. Many production houses have not been able to find a solution, leading to innocent lives being lost. Verbal abuse is a common issue faced by factory workers.

factories are unsafe for children. they are exposed to things such as, dangerous machinery, toxic fumes, harmful substances that can cause physical harm and/or cause diseases. thus they are not allowed to work in factories.

How much did a child get paid in the Industrial Revolution? ›

Children in the mills usually worked eleven or twelve hour days, 5-6 days a week. Windows were usually kept closed because moisture and heat helped keep the cotton from breaking. Crushed and broken fingers were common in the coal mines. Most children working here were boys earning $0.50-$0.60 a day.

Research from the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) shows garment workers' average wages have decreased over the past 12 months by over a fifth (21 percent) from an average of $187 per month to $147.

Accidents, fires, injuries, and disease are very frequent occurrences on textile production sites. On top of that, clothing workers regularly face verbal and physical abuse.

Most garment workers do not feel safe at work. Not only are they working in dangerous buildings, but workers are routinely exposed to inhumanely high temperatures, harmful chemicals and physical violence.

Workers in the garment industry are required to put in 14 to 16 hours per day, seven days a week, and endure verbal and sometimes even physical abuse from managers. Oftentimes, workers are exposed to harmful substances while working without enough ventilation. Accidents and injuries are also frequent.

Workers in key garment- and footwear-producing countries are, on average, receiving just 55 percent of the pay they need to achieve a decent standard of living, according to data published Monday by The Industry We Want, a coalition of industry stakeholders calling for better working conditions and environmental ...

Sweatshop workers' conditions - It can be really bad

In the worst forms of sweatshops people are forced to work up to 72 hours straight, without sleep. Those complaining are beaten and abused. Cases of physical, sexual, and verbal abuse are common and well documented.