The latest investigation into fast fashion company Shein found that its factory workers’ wages were as low as three pence an hour, while they worked for 18-hour shift. The company infamously pumps 700-1000 styes every day, making clothes that sometimes sell for just over one pound.
In the 47-minute documentary by Channel 4, Untold: Inside the Shein Machine, workers at the factory can be heard talking about their poor conditions.
One says, “There’s no such thing as Sundays here.” Speaking to the i newspaper, the documentary’s presenter, Imran Amrain, said: “It’s a scramble to the bottom. If somebody cuts a little bit more off the prior the cost to make something, they are beating you.”
In a hidden camera investigation, it was found that workers were earning a maximum of 500 pounds per month to produce 500 items of clothing per day. Meanwhile, others were not receiving a basic salary and were getting paid 0.27 yuan (three pence) per garment produced.
Factory bosses were found to be under a huge amount of pressure to deliver hundreds of small batches of clothes in record time during the investigation, and this created a stressful and exhausting working environment for staff. It was also found that workers regularly got into disagreements with bosses over quality control and workloads.
In order to turn their company around, they announced a number of measures that would help protect the environment. For example, they are aiming to reduce GHG emissions by 25 per cent by 2030. Despite these efforts, Shein seems to be aware of its suppliers’ shortcomings.
In response to the latest documentary, a spokesperson for the company said in a statement, “We are extremely concerned by the claims presented by Channel 4, which would violate the code of conduct agreed to by every Shein supplier. We have requested specific information from Channel 4 so that we can investigate.”
“Any non-compliance with this code is dealt with swiftly, and we will terminate partnerships that do not meet our standards.”
