(THEME MUSIC PLAYS)
IMAN AMRANI: Shein is the fastest-growing
fast-fashion brand on the planet...
I'm here with a Shein haul.
..selling cheap clothes in every colour, size and design.
You can't finish Shein like you can't finish TikTok.
From the point of view of marketing, they have absolutely nailed it.
Shein have taken the fast-fashion model of producing clothes
and put it on steroids.
This year the company was valued at £84 billion.
But, alongside its meteoric success,
there are growing criticisms.
Shein's business model is exploitation.
I want to investigate
the brand that's popping up on all our social-media feeds
to find out the truth about this fast-fashion phenomenon.
It's a story that takes us from the UK...
It's a story Shein have sent an email
saying they're looking Shein have sent an email
saying they're looking for some new clients.
saying they're looking ..to China...
..where for the first time
our undercover cameras will go behind the doors of Shein's factories.
Oh, I'm literally obsessed with it.
My name is Iman Amrani.
I'm a journalist,
and, like most people, I've bought my fair share of clothes
from fast-fashion retailers over the years.
If you type 'Shein' into any search engine online,
you'll see that nearly every newspaper and media outlet
has done an article or a video or a story about one aspect of Shein
at one point or another.
Mostly they talk about how successful the company is
Mostly they talk about and how quickly it's managed to grow
to be the biggest and how quickly it's managed to grow
to be the biggest fast-fashion retailer online.
So, I wanted to know how it's managed to grow so big so fast.
(BIRDS SQUAWK)
In the past few years
we've seen lots more fast-fashion brands be born, In the past few years
we've seen lots more fast-fashion brands be born,
like Missguided, Boohoo, I Saw It First, ASOS
and, of course, Shein.
Shein launched in 2015,
evolving out of an online wedding-dress wholesaler, Sheinside.
Shein scraped social media for emerging trends,
turning them into designs
which they commission in small batches
from a network of thousands of factories in Guangzhou, China. which they commission in small batches
from a network of thousands of factories in Guangzhou, China.
These factories rely on an army of migrant workers
to produce the orders as soon as they come in.
Shein have this test-and-repeat method of producing clothing.
They effectively treat it like a laboratory Shein have this test-and-repeat method of producing clothing.
They effectively treat it like a laboratory
so they can throw an idea at it.
And if they do well and we buy lots so they can throw an idea at it.
And if they do well and we buy lots of them, they produce lots more.
And if they do well and we buy lots This allows them to test out
thousands of different styles on us every day.
This machine operates on a completely different level.
This machine operates During the pandemic
Shein flooded the UK with its cheap, trendy designs
through its innovative use of another Chinese success story - TikTok.
Shein? Shein.
She-in.
And they've used content creators
as a way to almost be the faces of their brand.
So, you will see predominantly young women
buying lots of clothes or being gifted lots of clothes from Shein.
buying lots of clothes or being And because they're so cheap
it will be so easy And because they're so cheap
it will be so easy for you to click these links
it will be so easy and go and buy them for yourself.
Shein sales figures skyrocketed by almost 400% to £14.5 billion.
Their website is becoming more and more attuned every day
to convincing people to buy more and more fast fashion.
And, today, they supply to 220 countries worldwide.
When it comes to Shein,
you don't know anything When it comes to Shein,
you don't know anything about how the company's structured,
where they pay taxes,
where they produce, let alone under what circumstances they produce.
There is a lot of concern about how opaque the company is.
Right now a lot of people really do care
about the conditions that people are working in.
They also care about sustainability and the environment.
They also care about sustainability But somehow Shein has managed
to not have to really deal head-on with many of these issues
and have continued to grow in popularity,
and I want to know how they manage to do this
whilst providing more questions than answers.
The Shein business model is really problematic at both end.
The Shein business model You have millions of people
that are incentivised to buy stuff they don't really need.
The other side the problem is
that production cycles are so short
and pressure is so high
that workers are exploited and pressure is so high
that workers are exploited and work absolute inhuman hours.
I want to understand how, despite these criticisms,
Shein has managed to seduce shoppers like you and me.
(BIRD SQUALLS)
I'm going to meet one of their best (BIRD SQUALLS)
I'm going to meet one of their best customers, 17-year-old Safiya.
We've also got these, which are super cute.
Look how pretty she looks as well. Oh!
(PHONE CAMERA CLICKS)
(BIRDS SQUALL)
I'll go get you an ice-cream now.
SONG: # I walk, you talk
# You want everything I've got
# I pose, you stare
# I know you like my hair... #
College student Safiya works in a cafe to fund her shopping habit.
(KNOCK AT DOOR)
Hi! Hi, Safiya. How's it going?
(CHUCKLES) You look incredible.
Where do you mostly get your clothes from?
I do a lot of online shopping at the moment.
I like Pretty Little Thing. I like Shein. I like Boohoo.
Shein specifically... Yeah.
..how much do you think the affordability comes into it?
Oh, massively.
I remember when it first started
I used to go through...they'd always be on my Instagram adverts
and I'd always have a little look,
and they used to have, like, jumpers on for, like, a couple of pounds.
I was wondering if you could show me
a couple of your Shein favourite pieces.
Yeah. So, some tops have just blown up on TikTok.
This one's been everywhere. I can't even avoid this.
This one's been everywhere. How much is that?
I think it's about £4.
This is £4?
Yep.
This is one Yep.
This is one of my favourite tops ever
This is one and I found it on Princess Polly
and it's, like, £38 or something ridiculous from there.
Like, that's from Shein. I think that cost me, like, a fiver.
Like, that's from Shein. Is it exactly the same as that?
They, like, literally copy places. OK.
(BIRDS SQUALL)
When you live in, like, a small town
you meet people and you can probably When you live in, like, a small town
you meet people and you can probably tell me the exact same thing,
the first thing they say to me is, "Where are you from?"
I have not seen anyone who is, like, a similar colour to me.
In Scarborough? No, not one.
It's not like there's anyone who's similar to you,
It's not like there's anyone you stick out anyway,
so, I may as well stick out you stick out anyway,
so, I may as well stick out and look good sticking out.
But the thing is that Shein is one of the worst
But the thing is because the prices are so cheap
that people overconsume
and view their clothes as disposable.
and view their clothes Amid the thousands of haul videos
there IS a growing number
of sustainability campaigners speaking out about fast fashion,
with Shein as one of their main targets.
This is the number of clothes these brands are selling with Shein as one of their main targets.
This is the number of clothes these brands are selling
This is the number of clothes on their US sites alone.
Our planet can't sustain this amount of clothes.
This making these guys look insignificant.
Horrifying.
I wanted to know if Safiya had seen videos like these too.
You hear things about every online shopping brand and you just think,
"Oh, like, is it true? Is it not true?"
And you're like, "Where am I buying this from?"
You DO think about that? Oh, yeah,
'cause sometimes you'll post a video, and someone will be like,
"Oh, you know, this is shipped from somewhere and it's not great."
"Oh, you know, this is shipped Like, how the people are treated
in, like, the factories and stuff that they're made in.
Are they paid enough? Are they treated nicely?
Online shopping brands are, like, seriously trying to gain our trust.
They're trying to...look better.
Last year Swiss human-rights journalist Timo
published a report about the pay and conditions
published a report in some of Shein's factories.
His researchers spoke to 10 garment in some of Shein's factories.
His researchers spoke to 10 garment workers from six different suppliers
and presented his concerns to the brand.
and presented his concerns After our report,
Shein said they would investigate After our report,
Shein said they would investigate the allegations themselves
and now they DID publish a sustainability report.
and now they DID publish In this report they said
they had investigated In this report they said
they had investigated 700-something suppliers,
and the result was that 83% of them required immediate action.
I want to know if Shein has taken the corrective action
it commits to in its own report.
(BIRDS TWITTER)
I'm meeting with a contact
who has extensive experience investigating Chinese manufacturing.
As his work often exposes wrongdoing,
we have agreed to conceal his identity.
Hello. Hi.
Thank you for coming to meet me today.
Thank you Sure.
I'm making a documentary
looking into the Chinese I'm making a documentary
looking into the Chinese online fashion brand Shein
looking into the Chinese and I'm trying to work out
how they manage to make so many items of clothes at such a cheap price.
What would you recommend as being the best approach to take
to find out how these clothes are being made?
This will be the first time
undercover cameras have been inside Shein's factories.
What are the risks involved?
While I'm finding out about the brand here in the UK,
my contact sets up a parallel undercover investigation
with a woman in China who we are calling Mei.
If she discovers that workers only have one day off per month,
that would break Chinese labour laws only have one day off per month,
that would break Chinese labour laws
and Shein's own supplier code of conduct.
While Mei investigates how Shein are making the clothes,
I want to find out how they're selling them to us.
Marketing expert Andy
researched the websites of the leading fast-fashion brands
to work out how they convince us to fill our baskets.
Hi, Andy. Hello. Nice to meet you.
Hi, Andy. Nice to meet you too. How's it going?
Great, thank you. Come and take a seat.
I've been on the Shein website a few times in the past
and even shopped on it once myself at the start of the pandemic,
but what's really going on behind its digital curtain?
This is the Shein website.
Immediately the site's trying to take control of your browsing.
(READS) "New users only - free shipping on £9.99-plus."
Underneath there are, like... they look like little coupons.
Underneath there are, like... Oh, my goodness, so many categories.
"Up to 70% off."
They have hot products.
It's all about creating kind of this feeling of jeopardy.
VENETIA LA MANNA: One of the scariest things about Shein
is just how addictive it is to spend time on their apps.
is just how addictive it is There's the sort of infinite scroll,
and the algorithm and the tech is so clever
and the algorithm and the tech it feeds us exactly what we want.
Oh, my goodness, this is actually dangerous. it feeds us exactly what we want.
Oh, my goodness, this is actually dangerous.
So, you've put one in the basket and now it's offering you more.
So, you've put one in the basket I saw it on the website
and it was actually cheaper for me to get it than not get it
because it applied a discount.
What kind of sets that apart from other websites?
The research that we did looked at a single shopping trip
on a variety of different fast-fashion sites.
So, we counted the number of what we call 'dart patterns'.
So, we counted the number These are behaviours on the website
that force you into actions These are behaviours on the website
that force you into actions that you might not choose yourself,
timing counters or special offers that are gonna run out.
timing counters or special offers And we counted them up,
and Shein came out pretty much head And we counted them up,
and Shein came out pretty much head and shoulders above all the others.
and Shein came out pretty much head It's really the volume.
They're just layering up and layering up on your emotions
as you're working your way through the site.
These websites have got a lot of users,
so, you can try a piece of marketing out
and if it doesn't quite work, you can tweak it and try it again.
Data is making marketing more like a loaded weapon, really.
It's so highly tuned
that we can virtually manipulate customers
that we can virtually manipulate into doing what we want them to do.
(INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
They know the latest trends.
That's so cute.
They probably know what you want to buy before you know it yourself.
My colleague Mei is posing as a garment worker in China
to find out how it makes so many clothes so cheaply.
It's Mei's first day on the factory floor.
The pressure for factory bosses
to deliver hundreds of small batches of clothes in record time
creates a stressful and exhausting working environment for staff.
Already we're seeing
that not much seems to have changed in the factories
despite Shein's promises.
Thousands of new items drop on the website each day,
and each worker is under pressure
to complete hundreds of items every shift.
I want to understand how this machine that Shein has created keeps growing.
And especially I want to know
how it uses influencers to market their clothes,
mostly for free.
21-year-old Georgia runs an influencer agency
that represents up-and-coming talent
by negotiating gifted collaborations
with multiple fast-fashion brands like Shein
in the hope of big money deals in the future.
So, Shein have actually just sent an email
saying they're looking for some new clients for collaborations.
They've sent the requirements. Shall we do a post?
So, I'm gonna do a post, so, hopefully they choose loads.
Fingers crossed!
Oh, my God!
Today I'm going to join Georgia for a training session and photoshoot
with some of her influencers.
Hey! Hi!
Hey!
Let's go and get some content! Let's do this!
Are we ready? I'm ready, yeah.
(CAMERA SHUTTERS CLICK)
What were you going for, Jordan, in this picture?
What were you going for, Jordan, Extra-purple bitch.
(ALL LAUGH)
In between outfit changes
I had a chat In between outfit changes
I had a chat with the youngest influencer, Millie,
who I'd heard is on her way to becoming a Shein girl.
(INAUDIBLE DIALOGUE)
You're 15? Yes.
You're collaborating with Shein at the moment.
Yes, I am. I do creative make-up on TikTok,
so, I have built up quite a large following, nearly 30,000.
so, I have built up quite How does it work?
So, they send me five items, How does it work?
So, they send me five items, I choose them off the website,
So, they send me five items, and then I make the TikTok,
so, I'll try the item on and do fun transitions.
I get a discount code as well,
so, people type in my code
and then Shein know that they've got that from my video
and they get about 15% off.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Isn't there always an incentive to be positive
even if the clothes aren't that good?
If you feel like an item isn't very good,
it doesn't fit right, it's not very good quality,
it's always good to say that
because I feel like if you lie to your audience they won't trust you.
But I guess you still need people to want to advertise with you,
But I guess you still need people so, you're balancing the audience...
Yeah, yeah, yeah. so, you're balancing the audience...
Yeah, yeah, yeah. ..speak to them,
and then giving the brand what they want.
and then giving the brand Face forward. Three, two, one.
(CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS)
Do you think that's cheeky that some brands give their merch
knowing that they're going to make a lot of money off it
but that those individuals don't always get paid?
but that those individuals Shein hauls are really trending,
so, if people do Shein hauls they do get more views.
Or Shein could maybe say,
"We will boost your video if you do this for us,"
so, it's helping the brand
because they're getting so, it's helping the brand
because they're getting loads of views on their items,
because they're getting it's helping the influencer
because they're getting reach out to a wider audience.
So, is success ultimately a numbers game?
So, is success Yeah, the more likes,
the more followers, the better engagement you have
the more chance you've got of getting paid, big paid deals.
Brands like Shein have seen that they are gonna get quite cheap marketing
by using these micro influencers,
and it really wouldn't cost them a lot to send somebody five items
if you look at the prices on the website
and the amount of money that they have to put in
compared to the exposure that they are gonna get on these platforms.
And if that person's got 8,000, 9,000 followers,
then, you know, that's happy days for Shein.
The influencers are working hard promoting clothes,
dreaming of big paid deals in the future
rather than just promoting 'gifts'.
But what they don't know
is what is going on behind closed doors
at factories like the ones Shein uses.
at factories My contact calls with an update.
(PHONE CHIMES) Hello?
How's everything going at the moment?
In China how many hours are you supposed to do?
It's worth remembering that this isn't the first time
that the working conditions in factories have been looked into,
and Shein stated they would take action.
But it is the first time cameras are capturing it in real time.
Did she say anything about how she feels about the experience?
If Mei makes a mistake, it will cost her three-quarters of her daily wage.
At 10:00PM
most of the garment workers have been on shift for 14 hours.
From Mei's footage
it's clear that there continues to be direct contraventions
of Shein's own code of conduct and Chinese labour laws.
What do you think, having heard all of this?
I'm starting to understand
both how the marketing and manufacturing branches of Shein work
but now I'm left questioning - what's the bigger impact?
There is another tribe of influencers
spreading a different message in the wake of the climate crisis.
Sunday-morning car-boot sale
and I've only got £20 because we are looking for the deals today.
and I've only got £20 because Shein joined the market
at a time when the entire industry Shein joined the market
at a time when the entire industry was facing criticism
about the damaging impact it has on the environment.
Many of the biggest brands were quick to respond about the damaging impact it has on the environment.
Many of the biggest brands were quick to respond
with bring-back schemes, recycled fabrics
and ethical clothing lines.
These people are quite fashionable around here today.
It's because everyone's come to get their Instagram pictures.
I'm meeting model and influencer Rosie,
who was approached by one of Shein's competitors
hoping to use her sustainability credentials to boost their image.
The light is hitting you just right.
They make it really difficult for us to be able to figure out
They make it really difficult whether or not they're greenwashing
and that is because
of the money that they're pumping into these campaigns,
which they have made through the exploitation of people and planet,
the very thing that they're trying to tell you
they're all about and they're all for.
When you think of Shein, what do you think of?
The world burning. Like...
(LAUGHS) The world burning. Like...
(LAUGHS) It's awful!
It's awful. It's literally destroying the planet.
It's awful. It's literally Shein is so extremely cheap
and it is just built for one wear Shein is so extremely cheap
and it is just built for one wear because things fall apart like that.
It's such a single-use idea of clothes.
It's, like, disposable clothes that can never be disposed of.
If fast fashion is a no-no, what kind of brands do you want to work with?
I think definitely brands who sort of are really transparent
about their garment-workers' rights
and then also environmentally and ethically sound.
Often if I'm working with brands through Instagram
I'll ask for their sustainability breakdown
so I can see, like, their production line and everything like that,
and if they don't share that
that usually means and if they don't share that
that usually means there's something wrong.
Do you think they can ever be sustainable?
Shein's business model is that it isn't sustainable or ethical,
so, for it to become a sustainable brand,
it would have to completely break itself down and restart.
What is really amazing with Shein
is that on one side
you have this app full of colours is that on one side
you have this app full of colours and sizes and shapes
and it's a very bright world,
and then when you start to look
at who's behind that, and then when you start to look
at who's behind that, who's the company,
it's a big black hole.
Shein's founder is Chinese business mogul Chris Xu.
He is not a fashion person, he's a tech person,
he's good in algorithms,
and that's what Shein does brilliantly.
and that's what Shein does Colleagues and rivals
have described him as 'hard-working', Colleagues and rivals
have described him as 'hard-working', 'supportive', but 'ruthless'.
have described him as 'hard-working', Unlike other tech entrepreneurs,
he keeps a low profile and refuses to give interviews.
With Shein's unparalleled success,
he's estimated to be worth almost £5 billion.
The profits on cheap clothes clearly add up.
Fern worked for Primark for five years
before starting her sustainable lingerie business.
I'm joining her at a local vintage shop
to find out why she turned her back on fast fashion.
This is a lot bigger on the inside than it looks like from the outside.
Yeah, it's like an Aladdin's cave in here.
I usually start at the back where all the most dramatic pieces are.
Are there specific things that you look for?
I love a lot of lace, a lot of mesh, a lot of velvet.
I don't tend to like the design, trend-based things.
Why was it so important to start a sustainable fashion brand?
I worked in Primark for about five years,
so, I HAVE been in the fast-fashion industry.
Coming out of uni I kind of felt a responsibility
as being...you know, we're the next generation,
so, we need to sort of improve things and change up how we consume.
We're burning up so many fossil fuels
in our fabrics that we're using, so...
And it's just the overconsumption of fashion as well.
And I think when you buy a piece that costs a bit more
but you know it's been lovingly handmade by someone
and you can see their face attached to their brand,
I think, the consumer, they almost care about it more
I think, the consumer, and they want it to last longer.
Oh, wow!
It's all organic jersey,
so, they're very responsible in how they source the fabrics.
It's all dyed with eco-friendly digital dyes, so, they're very responsible in how they source the fabrics.
It's all dyed with eco-friendly digital dyes,
so, there is little water wastage. digital dyes,
so, there is little water wastage.
This is beautiful!
It looks so lovingly made.
Thank you. It looks so lovingly made.
So, how long would it take you to make a top like this?
It takes upwards of about 3.5 hours. to make a top like this?
It takes upwards of about 3.5 hours.
Each one.
OK. Each one.
That's not including the design process,
the sourcing, the bows that are all handmade.
It takes a lot, but I think it's such a pay-off at the end the sourcing, the bows that are all handmade.
It takes a lot, but I think it's such a pay-off at the end
and you know you're gonna get something really unique.
Despite being a small business,
one of Fern's designs was spotted by Shein
as it scraped the internet for new trends.
I made a set, handmade from lace.
Instantly it was a bestseller.
And then a couple of weeks later
I got a DM from a customer
who said, "Hey, I got a DM from a customer
who said, "Hey, I've just seen this set on Shein."
It seemed really obvious to me down to every last detail
It seemed really obvious to me that it was a copy.
Oh, OK.
There's not a lot of difference, is there?
There's not a lot of difference, It is very similar.
So, the bottom one's your design. It is very similar.
So, the bottom one's your design. Yeah, that's the original.
And the top one is their design. Yeah.
I could see how many people had purchased it and reviewed it,
so, I knew that they'd made money off of this.
So, how much were the items that you designed and were selling
compared to the copies that Shein were selling?
So, my design was about £65 to £70 around,
but the Shein copy, it varied from around £4 to £7.
but the Shein copy, It was incredibly cheap.
And what would you say to people
that maybe didn't have £70 And what would you say to people
that maybe didn't have £70 to spend on a set of underwear?
I deserve to be paid fairly for the work I do.
And I think it leads to the bigger question,
maybe our living wage needs to be up a bit, you know.
The fact that we can't afford clothing
The fact where people are being paid fairly
is saying something about our wages.
If I see a dress I really love and it's £14,
If I see a dress I really love I automatically think,
"But then how much has that person I automatically think,
"But then how much has that person been paid to create that?"
These workers are constantly under pressure
These workers and because they're paid by piece
they are incentivised and because they're paid by piece
they are incentivised to work crazy hours.
Workers employed directly by this factory
receive a base salary plus commission
on the amount of garments they complete each day.
So, they must keep a close eye on the numbers.
After an 18 hour day
this woman made £19,
roughly equivalent to three of Fern's this woman made £19,
roughly equivalent to three of Fern's underwear sets as sold by Shein.
What did you do after you saw what happened?
I posted about it on Twitter and I made an Instagram post
calling them out, and that's when they replied back to me.
And what did they say when they replied?
And what did they say They took the listing off the shop
and they kind of apologised
and then gave me an email address to contact,
which I did and then I never got a reply.
These people in these factories that are making clothes for Shein
they probably have more hours' practice and experience behind them
they probably have more hours' than I do.
Why should I get paid a decent wage than I do.
Why should I get paid a decent wage and they don't?
Why should I get paid a decent wage It's incredibly unfair.
And to think that I or a design I had stolen
played a part in that
was really upsetting.
So, you felt implicated? Yeah.
During a break
Mei learns that the monthly base salary comes with a catch.
While Mei was finding it hard to meet the minimum daily target,
the other workers were working until 2:00AM
in order to make the per-garment commission earn them a living wage.
In the past two decades
the number of clothes In the past two decades
the number of clothes made around the world has doubled.
the number of clothes Fashion is currently churning out
150 billion items of clothing every single year.
They have given us this idea
that we are entitled to buy as many new clothes as we want
as frequently as we want.
We know in the UK alone
we send a truckload of clothes to landfill every single second.
That high turnover of fast fashion has to go somewhere.
I want to find out
what happens to the clothes we put I want to find out
what happens to the clothes we put in the recycling bin here in the UK.
Hi! Hi, Maria. Nice to meet you.
I love the shirt. Thank you.
I love the shirt. Welcome to my queendom.
I'm here to meet the CEO of the clothing recycling charity TRAID.
This is huge. I've never seen this amount of clothes all in one place.
So, we collect 3,500 tonnes of clothes every year.
This is all out of season... OK.
So, like, winter stuff?
Yeah, absolutely. Yep.
Hi. How are you? Long time no see.
Christmas jumpers...
Christmas jumpers! They're a pain in the arse.
That should be banned as well. You're gonna cancel Christmas?
I want to cancel Christmas, yeah. Oh, my goodness.
That's not gonna go down very well with people.
No.
When you look at how cheaply you can buy clothes on fast-fashion websites,
When you look at how cheaply you can the high turnover of clothes,
maybe one of the winners the high turnover of clothes,
maybe one of the winners in all of this
maybe one of the winners is the second-hand clothes industry.
Our sales are sort of going through the roof at the moment
on the high street
because second-hand clothes are more in fashion.
But what we used to get in was quality clothing
that would just sort of stay in this circular loop.
Now what we get is a high portion of fast fashion,
it's not quality and it's not built to last.
It's dramatically increased over the last two years.
The quality of these isn't quite as nice.
I actually broke them the first time I tried them on.
But they were so cheap you can't even, like, complain.
You can still see the creases from the packet,
so, I'd say this maybe has not been worn. You can still see the creases from the packet,
so, I'd say this maybe has not been worn.
OK, that's interesting.
Shiny, night out.
Mm-hm.
Maybe someone changed their mind on going out.
This is a perfect example.
Really, really bad.
It won't degrade either.
This is Shein as well. There's a lot of Shein in here.
This you cannot resell because it's so cheap to buy in the first place.
Well, it can only have been
this much in the first place... Yeah, yeah.
this much in the first place... ..and your bargain self is like,
"Well, I can't be spending more than ..and your bargain self is like,
"Well, I can't be spending more than it would have cost in the shop."
Yeah. You know?
One thing about Shein that takes most people by surprise
is their returns policy.
Sometimes the cost to them of a return simply isn't worth it,
so, they'll issue a refund and allow you to just keep the clothes.
So, where do you think the responsibility lies then?
So, where do you think So, really, it's up to the producer
to stop producing So, really, it's up to the producer
to stop producing unwearable, unsustainable clothes
that have no additional value or life.
So, Shein, because they don't have a face,
the influencers are the face and the brand
for these organisations.
Wearing a garment once,
which was a huge driver for overproduction of fast fashion.
If you're throwing into the bin
clothing that still has life in it and other people can wear,
what you're doing is you're perpetuating
new clothes needing to be made
and using up the earth's natural resources.
Shein donated $50 million
to kind of offset the effect that their fast fashion has.
to kind of offset the effect What do you think about that?
You can't say that you're committed What do you think about that?
You can't say that you're committed to solving a problem
when you're the person creating the problem.
They are producing and making these clothes
and then trying to offer some small solution
to a much bigger problem that they're creating.
It's greenwashing, making people think it's OK to buy this rubbish
when it's not.
Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world.
In fact, it's more polluting than air travel and shipping combined.
There's people dying globally from climate change,
and our clothes are driving that.
I've just received the next batch of footage
I've just received from our Chinese journalist, Mei.
After a 14-hour shift
Mei goes for dinner with two other employees
Mei goes for dinner to find out more about their lives
as some of China's to find out more about their lives
as some of China's 15 million garment workers.
Mei goes back to the factory to see if it's still open.
It's against the law in China to work more than eight hours a day
and overtime is no more than three additional hours.
Employers must also guarantee at least one day off a week.
Mei is discovering
that factory workers Mei is discovering
that factory workers are regularly working 16 hours a day
that factory workers with only one day off a month.
This is also in breach of Shein's own code of conduct.
This is relentless.
Whether or not, you know, you looking at that website makes you feel like,
"Oh, I'm gonna think about the person in China that's making this,"
the reality is you are connected to that person.
You can try and deny it, but they've made the product.
You can try and deny it, To be sure these issues
aren't just a reflection To be sure these issues
aren't just a reflection of this one Shein supplier,
Mei goes undercover in a second factory.
She finds the conditions to be incredibly similar.
Again wages are based on how many garments they complete
rather than how many hours they work.
With no base salary at this factory,
wages are entirely dependent on how many pieces you can complete.
And while the piece-rate is higher than before,
it is often reduced when workers make mistakes.
And again typically only one day off per month.
And with a never-ending demand of new styles being tested on the website
and thousands of suppliers in competition with one another,
and thousands of suppliers the factory environment is stressful.
So, when you see how much they're getting paid per item,
So, when you see how much it's so small,
that incentivises people it's so small,
that incentivises people to work even harder
to just churn out as many pieces as they can do.
It's not that, you know,
this company is unique It's not that, you know,
this company is unique in having practices like this,
but this is a massive company that is making so much money.
I contacted Shein's head office with our findings.
In order to protect both our reporter, Mei,
In order to protect and those she worked with,
we haven't disclosed the exact locations
of the factories we filmed in.
Their PR team sent me a response, which said:
Specifically on the matter of working conditions and hours, they told me:
And, finally, when it came to design theft,
they said:
Recently Shein said it's hoping
emissions reduction of 25%
to achieve an overall emissions reduction of 25%
across its entire business. emissions reduction of 25%
across its entire business.
All I can hope is that this time
the issues we found All I can hope is that this time
the issues we found will finally be addressed by Shein
and that other journalists won't be asking these same questions
and that other journalists in the future.
Captions by Red Bee Media
Copyright Australian Broadcasting Corporation