The high cost of low-priced fashion: Chinese company Shein merits greater scrutiny  

Slavery still exists in 2023; in fact, many of the products you use or wear every day could have been sourced from slave labor.  

In China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), it is estimated that close to 1 million Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities are being detained by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). In what the U.S. has deemed a genocide, reports show that the CCP is forcing Uyghurs into “re-education” camps, where they are suffering rape, abuse, forced sterilization, organ harvesting and slave labor, which has infected supply chains of goods around the world, from electronics to clothing.  

In 2021, Congress came together in a bipartisan way to pass into law legislation that advocates for human dignity in the XUAR and works to protect those who are being exploited for free or cheap labor. The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which we were pleased to support, took significant steps to ensure that American entities are not funding forced labor among ethnic minorities in the region.  

But there is more work to be done—especially in confronting companies that have failed to root out forced labor in their supply chains and refuse to be transparent. 

The Chinese fast-fashion company Shein has taken U.S. retail markets by storm, particularly gaining popularity through their intense advertising on TikTok and employment of social media influencers — and in the process raising ethical questions about how their products are sourced. We have serious concerns that Shein is not conducting the due diligence necessary to participate in our U.S. capital markets. What’s most unfortunate is how many unsuspecting Shein customers, especially those who discover the brand through social media, are not aware of the slew of forced labor and workplace abuse allegations against the company.  

Shein adamantly denies the use of any cotton produced in Xinjiang. However, the math simply does not add up. The U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates about 90 percent of China’s cotton is now produced in Xinjiang, and only 20 percent of the cotton used by Chinese textile manufacturers is imported from other countries. Shein works with roughly 6,000 clothing factories throughout China and reportedly produces up to 10,000 new products a day. Based on how extensively the company’s business practices are intertwined with the Chinese clothing production industry, it is clear that greater scrutiny and transparency are necessary to ensure Shein is not complicit with the CCP’s pervasive forced labor scheme. 

Given reports that Shein is pursuing an initial public offering on the U.S. stock exchanges, we led 22 members of Congress from both sides of the aisle in writing to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler demanding greater scrutiny before Shein is allowed to enter U.S. markets. Additionally, we requested that Shein undergo an independent audit — free of Chinese Communist Party influence — to prove its claims that none of the cotton it uses in its products comes from Xinjiang.  Any company that enjoys the privileges that come from listing on U.S. exchanges also has the responsibility to abide by our rule of law.  

We’re working in a bipartisan way in Congress to shine a light on Shein’s alleged reliance on forced labor because we believe there is an urgency to demand accountability, transparency and cooperation from these fast-fashion giants. Shein’s cheap fast fashion cannot come at the price of egregious human rights abuses. 

John Rose represents Tennessee’s 6th District and Jennifer Wexton represents Virginia’s 10th District.