Fast-fashion retailer Shein is no stranger to hot water. Over the last few years, the brand has not only come under fire for alleged plagiarism and labour violations and claims of high amounts of lead being found in some of its clothing.
Recently the brand attempted an image overhaul by sending influencers over to one of its factories to ‘report’ on the positive experience. But unfortunately for the brand, and the influencers involved, this turned into the Shein version of a good marketing campaign.
Shein was founded in China in 2008 and since then has become one of the biggest online fashion retailers in the world. With its miniscule price tags and strong social media presence — particularly on TikTok where #sheinhauls have become the norm — it’s no wonder the company has become something of an e-commerce behemoth.
Last year, Shein raised US$1 billion at a valuation of US$100 billion with a view to IPO. According to the Financial Times, this number jumped to US$3 billion in January of last year, despite the company’s valuation allegedly dropping to US$64 billion. However, Shein is said to have denied the accuracy of this information.
Regardless, Shein is still apparently looking to go public, which could happen as early as this year.
But the company hasn’t been without its problems. Far from it. It was been accused repeatedly of stealing artist’s designs, one of which resulted in a US$100 million lawsuit last year. There have also been multiple reports of alleged labour law violations , clothing containing lead and sweatshops conditions that contribute to the company’s ability to pump out thousands of new designs each day.
To make matters worse, a congressional report appeared within days of the recent influencer trip. Titled ‘Fast Fashion and the Uyghur Genocide‘ it alleges that both Shein and competitor Temu have been complicit in ethnic cleansing through their business practices and forced labour.
With things not looking so hot for Shein, it put its marketing machine to work. But instead of answering journalists’ questions, or even sending any to report on factory conditions, the company set up an influencer famil to Guangzhou.
Influencers on the trip included Destene Sudduth, Dani Carbonari, Aujené, Fernanda Stephany Campuzano, Marina Saavedra and Kenya Freeman.
The subsequent videos were unsurprisingly a string of positive “reports” that debunked the “misinformation” that has resulted from more robust investigations into Shein.
Sudduth posted several videos of the trip to her 4.1 million followers. In the videos she showed footage of one of the 6000 factories Shein operates where she spruiked how clean it was and how happy the workers were.
In a second video about a Shein Innovation factory tour, Sudduth stated that she interviewed workers who were said to be “taken aback” by questions about alleged child labour and the presence of lead in clothing.
The content was overlaid with “facts”, such as staff relocating to the city for better job opportunities.
“I expected this facility to be so filled with people slaving away but I was pleasantly surprised that a lot of these things were robotic,” they said in one video.
“Honestly people were just working like normal, like chill, sitting down. They weren’t even sweating, we were the ones sweating walking through the whole facility.”
Both videos included footage of the influencers being treated to lavish lunches courtesy of Shein.
https://www.tiktok.com/@itsdestene_/video/7246190820376841514
Another influencer on the trip was Dani Carbonari, who goes by @itsdanidmc. In a now-deleted video, they talk about why they went on the influencer trip, mentioning aims of debunking rumours and getting information out to consumers. In the same video they revealed they signed a brand deal with Shein ahead of the trip.
“They have definitely not underpaid me and taken great care of me,” they said in the video.
@franchesca_leigh #duet with @Danidmc #sheinpartner how do you say fast fashion propaganda without saying propaganda? #shein #influencertrip #brandtrip #shein101 #danidmc #fyp #fypシ
All videos from the Shein trip itself have also since been deleted. However, according to Gizmodo, Carbonari did say: “I think my biggest take away from this trip is to be an independent thinker. There’s a narrative fed to us in the US, and I’m one that always likes to be open-minded and seek the truth.”
Since the trip there has been strong social media backlash against the influencers involved. On TikTok in particular there is a plethora of reaction videos and stitches taking aim at those who “sold out” to a company like Shein for a free trip.
This has resulted in some of the influencers involved seemingly deleting evidence of the trip from their profiles. This includes a reaction video from Carbonari who in a now-deleted video says she wasn’t paid for the trip and that she has more of an awareness of what’s going on behind the scenes at Shein than those criticising her.
i just think its funny she said “im not the one” like girl….ur getting mad over valid criticism https://t.co/3EHgj8o5gB pic.twitter.com/q6kt6rxBbS
— dais🔻 (@daisyjasminee) June 24, 2023
Shein has since addressed the backlash in a statement on Instagram.
The company is yet to address the allegations freshly brought forward by journalists and social media users off the back of the trip.
Deputy editor
A multi-award-winning journalist, Tegan has been reporting on technology, telecommunications and gaming for the past 10 years. She regularly appears on mainstream media channels as an expert tech commentator. Her previous roles include editor of Gizmodo Australia and global reviews editor at Finder. She has also served as a reporter and editor across Business Insider, Lifehacker and Kotaku Australia. Tegan is also the co-host of one of the top technology podcasts in Australia, Weird Tech. You can find her on Twitter @Tegan_Writes.
