Shein is a well-known fast fashion company that started in 2008. Shein was the highest-selling online fashion site in 2022 with over $30 billion in revenue. When Shein began it was an online selling store for wedding dresses. Shein only branched out to general women’s items in 2012 and eventually branched out to things like home and decor, menswear, children’s clothes, pets, and plus size. Influencers and other celebrities have deal brands with discount codes to bring even more customers into their already big customer base. While there are all these good things about this website there are many controversies that come along with it.

Shein is currently under an assessment by SEC lawmakers. The investigation is to determine if Shein uses forced labor and child labor secretly. The U.S. has presently banned imports from Xinjiang over concerns of forced labor where almost all Shein clothes are made. While people in America are still getting their clothes, the site is now officially banned in India. These concerns were first looked at because this is a fast-rising brand that skyrocketed sales in 2022 from 47.3 million users in 2021 to 74.5 million users in 2022.

Shein is also getting looked into as it has over 6,000 factories. These factories are considered not eco-friendly as they exert more energy than they are suggested by the government of China. These factories produce microplastics. These microplastics are hard to eliminate in the air as we can’t see them. The factories also release chemicals into the air.

There is a boycott around Shein for its working conditions. Some employees take 75-hour shifts with few off days. These employees are constantly working in toxic fumes that the while the clothes are being made. While Shein has come out against these claims made by workers they say that workers have exceptional working conditions. Some workers have gone to the point to write “Help me” or “I have pain” on the tags of clothes they make. Shein has also come out to debunk these claims.

        Even with all of these concerns many people here at Rio still buy from the platform. 7th grader Emily Meadow states,” While I love the low prices of Shein I don’t think that it is worth it for the environment,”. On the opposite side 7th grader Bre’onna Dodley states,” I think that Shein is worth it as it is really cheap for the price”.

Even with these controversies, people still buy from Shein of their lack of knowledge that they have. If people became more educated on the subject then there would likely be fewer sales on Shein to reduce their carbon footprint. Whether you will still be buying from Shein or not Shein is destined to be around for a long time to come.