A group of U.S. lawmakers recently urged the Securities of Exchange Commission (SEC) an investigation whether Shein, a popular online fashion retailer, is using forced labor in Shein’s supply chain in the Xinjiang Uyghur region of China prior to their initial public offering (IPO).

In their letter to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, senators referenced a November Bloomberg story that stated that certain clothing exported to the United States by Shein was made of cotton from China’s Xinjiang region. They want the SEC to confirm that the company does not use Uyghur forced labor through “independent verification.”

Shein’s History of Human Rights Abuses and Forced Labor Allegations

This is not the first time that Shein has come under fire for allegations of human rights abuses in its supply chain.

According to an article, the company was accused of violating human rights, where workers are often working up to 18 hours a day, being paid as little as $0.3 per item, with no weekends and only one day off per month.

This treatment of workers, who are punished with two-thirds of their daily income for a single error, violates not only Shein’s supplier code of conduct but also Chinese labor regulations. However, Shein has denied all the allegations and stated that it had a zero-tolerance policy towards forced working conditions.

Growing Concerns Over Ughyur Forced Labor

Furthermore, the latest allegations of forced labor come amid growing concerns about the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in China’s Xinjiang province. The Chinese government has been accused of detaining Uyghurs in re-education camps and subjecting them to forced labor. Several multinational corporations, including Nike, H&M, and Burberry, have faced backlash for their alleged use of forced labor in Xinjiang.

Shein has not yet commented on the latest allegations of forced labor, but the company has stated in the past that it does not source any products from Xinjiang. The US lawmakers who called for the investigation into Shein’s supply chain have cited reports from human rights organizations and news outlets that have linked the company to suppliers in Xinjiang

Hence, Real Research, an online survey app, launched a survey on the allegations of Shein’s working conditions and forced Uyghur labor to gauge public opinion on this. Hurry and answer the survey on allegations of forced labor in Shein’s supply chain on the Real Research app on May 5, 2023, and win 60 TNCs as a reward.

Survey Details

Survey Title:
Survey on Allegations of Forced Labor in Shein’s Supply Chain

Target Number of Participants:
10,000 Users

Demographics

Nationality: All
Age: 21-99
Gender: All
Resident Country: All
Marital Status: All
Language: All
KYC Level: All