During audits, Shein, a global online fashion retailer, discovered two instances of child labor in its supply chain. Child labor is defined as employing individuals under the age of 15 or below the minimum employment age set by the local region or country. In China, the minimum age for employment is 16.
According to Shein’s report, the company took immediate action by suspending contracts with the manufacturers involved in these cases. The issues were swiftly resolved, and Shein resumed working with these manufacturers. It is worth noting that this represents an improvement compared to 2022 when child labor violations were found in 0.3 percent of audits.
The report states that Shein followed its Supplier Responsibility Standards (SRS) Policy at that time and gave errant suppliers a 30-day period to rectify their offenses. The remediation steps included terminating contracts with underage employees, ensuring payment of outstanding wages, arranging medical checkups, and facilitating repatriation to parents or legal guardians if necessary.
To prevent future violations, Shein has strengthened regulations by requiring manufacturers to verify identification and maintain records during new hires’ screening process. Additionally, it has updated its policy to terminate suppliers who violate child or forced labor regulations.
Forced labor cases were not identified in the report; however, forced labor was found in 0.1 percent of audits conducted in 2022.
The report also revealed wage violations such as paying below the local minimum wage or delaying payments in 0.5 percent of audits conducted within China. All these cases were resolved within a month according to Shein’s report.
Shein relied on third-party verification agencies for auditing purposes across its supplier and subcontractor sites in China—approximately 3,990 locations—assigning each site a grade from A to E based on their compliance performance. With over 16,000 employees worldwide and collaborations with around 5,800 contract manufacturers globally as stated in the report.
In terms of supplier performance evaluation grades given by Shein; three suppliers had their contracts terminated due to failure to address policy violations; one received consecutive failing grades while another refused an audit request from Shein itself.
As a signatory member of U.N Global Compact initiative which requires adherence international labour laws prohibiting forced labour practices including child labour ,Sheins CEO Sky Xu wrote ”Balancing remediation and penalization we have supported our suppliers with training…while taking firm but necessary step terminate working relationships where warranted”
Furthermore ,Sheins aims include reaching net zero emissions by year2050 , adopting additional internal initiatives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions ,using renewable energy sources,and establishing fully circular textile supply chains also by year2050
Accordingly,in year2023 ,72%of sheins electricity came from renewable sources up from68%the previous year .However,this figure does not account for electricity usage among sheins suppliers/subcontractors.The company plans on implementing new initiatives aimed at helping suppliers become more energy efficient
Collaborating with Apparel Impact Institute,she introduced projects focused on reducing energy consumption & water waste at28 supplier sites.These projects are estimated save14k MWh electricity &46k metric tons carbon emissions annually
The reports states that sheins carbon emissions increased from9 .17 million metric tons(2022)to16 .68 million metric tons(2023),reflecting company growth
In addition,the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) was enacted in2018.This act prohibits imports products made using forced labour.The name refers Chinese Communist Party’s persecution Uyghur ethnic minority Xinjiang region involving use forced labour
British Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds emphasized that any company found guilty using forced labour should not be allowed do business UK