Shein’s factories in Guangzhou, China, have been scrutinised because ethical issues and infringements of labourers’ rights have been brought against them. During investigations, long working hours, poor pay, and lax safety protocols have been called out.

Working Hours and Conditions

There have been reports of Shein employees in supplier factories working abysmal hours, with some working 75 hours a week. This surpasses Shein’s Supplier Code of Conduct, which has a cap of 60 hours a week and local custom. Workers complained of long hours with fewer breaks, resulting in physical fatigue and high turnover rates.

Safety and Labour Practices

Safety risks in the factories have also been revealed, such as blocked exit doors in case of an emergency and no proper fire safeguards. Instances of child labour have also been indicated, such as children as young as 14 being spotted at the factories. While Shein professes to have zero tolerance for the use of children, its compliance is poor.

The Realities Behind the Seams

Guangzhou, where SHEIN’s suppliers base their operations, is where working conditions tell starkly of the human price of fast fashion. Investigations by Public Eye and UK-based Channel 4 journalists have always come back with grisly facts.

• Most of the workers reside in the same buildings as the factories. Most buildings have machine-lined floors at ground level and small dormitories upstairs. One of the female workers reported that she worked from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. with only a day’s holiday per month. “We can’t leave,” she stated, “or we don’t eat.”.
• Apart from the inhuman working schedules, salaries are low. The factories provide piece payments, and inefficiency or a mistake decreases wages. This also contributes to workers going without meals and breaks so they can work extended periods.

The Business Model Fueling Exploitation

SHEIN relies on a unique, hyper-sensitive supply chain model. Unlike other fashion retailers that operate seasonally, SHEIN uses real-time social media, trends, and sales information to release thousands of new designs daily.

Here’s how they achieve it:

• It produces a tiny batch (as little as 100 pieces).
• Depending on how fast the batch sells, SHEIN increases or halts production.
• This model over-quickens the suppliers and makes them too agile, translating to employees as unrealistic schedules.
• Factory managers, out of fear of orders being out of business, pass this pressure by putting workers on stringent terms. According to Reuters, some suppliers operate on razor-thin margins, and it becomes economically impossible to maintain labour standards at the cost of profitability.

Informality and Subcontracting Role

One of the main reasons SHEIN’s supply chain is hard to manage is that it is secret and uses informal, unregistered subcontractors. These workshops work off the radar of government authorities, so they can:

• Avoid safety inspections.
• Pay workers in cash.
• Avoid paying taxes and social security, or benefits.
• Most of these subcontracting factories utilise migrant workers from rural communities. These are probably unfamiliar with their rights according to the law and will not report violations due to fear of losing their job or intimidation.
• A Public Eye interviewee, ex-factory supervisor, averred, “The orders come in too fast, so we export them to tiny workshops. Nobody’s got the time to check if everything’s legal.”

Criminalities and Safety Dangers

Incidents noted:

• Closed fire doors: Some factories shut exits to prevent theft, holding employees back in case of emergencies.
• No protective equipment (PPE): Employees handling dyes and chemicals were given no gloves or masks.
• No contracts or insurance: Employees are not granted legal protection in case of injury, sickness, or dismissal.

Other employees said they slept at the workplace during peak seasons such as “Black Friday” or “Singles’ Day” because of the large number of orders and tight delivery deadlines.

Problems of Child Labour

While solid proof of child labour on the books with registered suppliers of SHEIN is hard to come by, most investigations have concluded that subcontractors used child labour. In a documented case in The Sun, a teenager age 14 was discovered working in one of the workshops that supplied SHEIN. She worked 11-hour shifts and shared a small room with five other coworkers.

• SHEIN prohibits child labour but uses third-party inspections to implement it, often arranged in advance, allowing factories to hide abuses.

Political Pressures and International Impacts

SHEIN’s trade has been politically criticised, particularly within Europe and the U.S. Fears of forced labour, particularly in Xinjiang, led some lawmakers to call for import bans.

• In recent years, the company has tried diversifying its manufacturing by opening Turkish and Mexican plants. Nevertheless, Guangzhou is its main production hub because of the effectiveness of the local labour networks.

Greenwashing and Corporate Image Management

In reaction to the criticism, SHEIN has launched some PR initiatives:

It committed $15 million over three years to enhance tools in its supply chain in 2022.

It started publishing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reports.

• It initiated the SHEIN Cares Fund to benefit employee health and community building.
• Detractors dismiss its efforts as symbolic. Post-investment checks continued to show factories disregarding SHEIN’s Supplier Code of Conduct. In one surprise case, one of the factories was producing SHEIN-branded garments under another company name, going undetected.

Real People, Real Struggles

Workers’ stories give a human face to these issues. Mei (pseudonym) is from Hunan Province and moved to Guangzhou. She dreamed of a better life but wound up in a factory dormitory with little space. “We are like machines,” she said. “We sew, eat, sleep, repeat. Sometimes I forget what day it is.”

• Another worker described experiencing pain in her back suddenly, but still showing up to work for fear of losing her job. There were no medical benefits; taking one day off meant lost pay.
• These are not isolated stories. They are the real life of thousands who make the clothing that fuels SHEIN’s $100 billion valuation.

Conclusion

Even while Shein has attempted to solve labour problems, frequent reports confirm that most issues persist in providing ethical working conditions from its point of supply. Further vigilance and compliance with labour provisions are called for in ensuring that working conditions, labour welfare, and labourers’ rights in Guangzhou factories are ensured.