Child labour discovered at Shein suppliers.

[HoxtHun]

Here:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/08/23/child-labour-discovered-shein-suppliers-london-stock-market/

Of course it is, this should not be a surprise to anyone

Even if you can’t buy the reputable brands, buying reasonable quality and keeping them longer and especially, washing them less, will help.

There was a bloke on R4 gapfinders talking about his clothing brand that essentially makes one run of each item, preordered. So there’s no waste. Expensive, but ethical and very long lasting.

I bought a lovely Toast dress from a charity shop about 5 years ago. It’s a go to for fancy events. It’s so well made looks good as new. I know not everyone likes Toast but if you buy quality it lasts, is my point.

Toast are a decent brand, ethically.

They were found out by THEIR OWN ethics audit.

There's a lot wrong with the whole fashion industry, particularly at the fast & cheap end, but it's unrealistic to demonise Shein as the problem. If Cos or Arket had come out and said their audit found two children working for suppliers and they'd ensured it was stopped, you'd be saying how encouraging it was that they took the issue seriously!

Me neither. I use charity shops or Vinted.

Not just for child labour, but their terrible quality. A £5 dress made of 100% nylon might be in budget but it looks like pure shit, and you're going to have to replace it.

I have fewer items than if i bought from Shein and co. But I can actually wear nice clothes and not pay to support this garbage company.

Some of us look stunning in sacks! But if you don't, there are other styles that might suit you. I'm wearing this one, £37 (but I got 20% off in an offer):

nomadsclothing.com/collections/sale-dresses/products/petal-burst-organic-fixed-wrap-dress?variant=45444664754475

The problem is not buying abroad. Not much is made here, and that goes far beyond just clothes.

The problems are overconsumption; throwaway culture; non natural materials; dyes; water use; labour practice etc.

Clearly, people aren't buying 6 Boden dresses in one go, to wear once, and throwing to landfill. They mostly aren't languishing in charity shops unwanted either, because people buy them again.

Surely everyone already knows Shein is the epitome of sweatshop. Masses just don’t care, so I doubt this latest headline will do much.

It's actually simple.
Stop buying. Stop consuming.
If a dress cost 5 euros and that includes delivery to your own door that's actually disgusting.
I never buy from Shein or Temu. Never did and never will.
The day people stop caring about fashion, the demand will stop, and these places will dissappear.
Buying only what you need means you have a tidy house, and a lot more spare money to do meaningful things with meaningfull people in your life.
But I am personally wondering if people have the capacity to want to live actual meaningful lives instead of empty shallow ones to be posted constantly in social media. Acquiring that 5 euros dress, and the new trend in runners equally cheap, to be admired by equally dumb people.
I personally find this very depressing.

Why do people keep banging on about landfill and the environmental cost of buying cheap clothes? You know you can buy clothes from Primark, Shein, etc. and not chuck them when you've worn them once? I have clothes in my wardrobe from Primark that are 5+ years old. I'll only get rid of something when I finally realise I won't wear it again and then it goes to the charity shop if it's still got some wear left in it.

That's great but unfortunately most people don't. If you can get another dress you like for £8, why wouldn't you?

People who strongly oppose fast fashion and overconsumption generally don't shop at Primark and Shein.

I don't believe a word of that. Their own 'auditors', if they actually have them, would and should have done these checks at the start of the process. Why didn't they?

In no way have they carried out due diligence; something has flagged to their legal team so there has been some quick swooping in to publicly 'discover' and disclose this. They knew about it. We're not idiots.

I'm pretty much in the middle. I'm a stupid size. (Short and round) so only certain clothes suit me. I've got some gorgeous dresses in my wardrobe from Phase 8, studio etc. most over 10 years old and get rolled out at weddings/events as needed. I keep quality clothes I've purchased, but do I have some cheap and cheerful t shirts from Shein, yes. My DD gets loads of her stuff off Vinted as she loves river island/new look and there are so many on there. But equally she's got a few shein bits too. Primark lasts well for DD and I always get leggings etc for her from there.

I don't think you'll stop fast fashion and I don't think the more expensive brands are all that ethical either, they just keep a better mark up.

And in other news, water is wet

Of course they use child labour. No one is ordering from there, seeing those prices, and not knowing that.

A lot of the clothes can also be unsafe to wear due to levels of lead and other toxic chemicals in the cheap dye and fabric.

Why do people keep banging on about landfill and the environmental cost of buying cheap clothes?

They should keep 'banging on' about landfill and environmental impact. You say that you have clothes that last for five years and then they go to charity shops... so you buy more Primark or whatever. Good quality clothing lasts longer than that - and costs more.

I'm not having a pop at you for your choices but your 'banging on' comment about landfill/environment make you sound ill-informed and ignorant at best.

@Restaurantcritic
be nice if they paid a proper wage

The amount of chores some parents want their kids to do MN want to look at them selfs.

Yes. Or they will be used for some other low paid, probably dangerous work.

Yes I know. Not perfect at all but better than many.

FFS. Of course being expected to tidy your room or empty the dishwasher is just the same as being enslaved in a sweatshop. No difference whatsoever.

Also the tired old "well they're all the same, it's impossible to buy ethically, even Expensive Brand is not perfect" - well not really. If you buy from Temu or Shein you know beyond all doubt that the company you are using is exploiting people and doesn't care a single jot about the planet and sustainability. Which is why Temu/Shein are rated 1/5 by the Good On You Guide. As is Zara. New Look is better at 2/5 along with M&S and River Island. Uniqlo is better at 3/5 as is Superdry. You can go on their website and find the 4/5 brands or the 5/5 brands and shop accordingly.

But even if you're not up for shopping at People Tree (5/5), you are better buying from M&S than Shein, or from Uniqlo rather than New Look. Or even more sustainable, Vinted or charity shops.

Both the solution and the problem is money. Countries want foreign businesses to invest in their citizens, provide employment, generate GDP, etc. Clothing companies (for example) want to maximise their profits and, if their consumer profile is high enough and their product is in demand then that is where it goes wrong - higher and higher profits driven and able to be driven by employees of a low social economy with nobody fighting for their rights.

Companies that do care will not be strong-armed into accepting whatever conditions the host company demands - they will stipulate that employees are treated and paid fairly and expect proof of this. They will send in their own auditors, unannounced, to ensure that this is so.

In order for this to be viable, a company has to be certain that its customer base insists on fair pay and conditions for workers making the clothes. If the customers are more interested in cost-savings then there is no impetus for the company to put in place anything but the bare minimum required - and the cycle continues.

The only thing that would really make the change needed is regulation - huge import taxes with the host country being forced to demonstrate that fair pay and conditions are permanently in place. That could also be the driver for manufacturing to move back to the UK/EU if the cost differential is marginal.

Money talks.

Yep. As consumers we have very little influence…but we can try at least. 20 years ago even there wasn’t this huge churn of fashion. Trends change in a blink of an eye and social media doesn’t help. Though it’s good to see that second hand and vintage is a trend, especially for young people.

I have never bought from Shein, but I have bought ftom Sainsbury's Tu range. Probably not much better.

I have a whole load of reasons (excuses?) lined up about why I don't shop more ethically for clothing. It's difficult though. When you buy eggs, you can clearly see if they are caged hens, free range, organic free range etc. It would be helpful if there was a similar system for clothes.

People mentioning child labour providing jobs- how about these massive companies actually pay adult workers a decent wage so children don't have to work in the first place?

I'm sure they've got more than enough to spare. But people will do anything to avoid questioning their shopping choices and inconvenience themselves slightly.

I'm surprised that no-one has mentioned the part social media plays in this. There are loads of haul videos, you never see look at my Versace haul. It's always huge bags from Shein or Temu often as a paid video. People watch and then see things they like and buy them. I've now deleted Temu as I realised I was buying things just to get free shipping. I do have a few items from there that I love, or have seen on retail websites for a lot more.