SHEIN, an online fast-fashion retailer, stated that its contract manufacturers must only purchase cotton from permitted regions, not China, for products sold in the United States, which is its largest market.
In written testimony to the chair of a British parliamentary committee, SHEIN’s general counsel for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Yinan Zhu, stated that approved cotton sources include India, Brazil, Australia and the United States, and, “in limited cases,” some nations in the Middle East, Europe Africa as well as Southeast Asia.
SHEIN has been accused of using cotton from China’s Xinjiang area, where the Chinese government is accused by the United States and nongovernmental organisations of using forced labour and violating the human rights of Uyghurs.
SHEIN could not clarify if comparable limits on cotton sourcing apply to markets outside of the US, like the UK, where it intends to have an initial public offering.
