Episode 206: The SHEIN-sodes, part 3: Influencers, Forced Labor, and Bad Glassdoor Reviews

This episode is part 3 in a short series about SHEIN: where it’s been, where it’s going, and how it is changing everything. If you haven’t listened to parts one and two yet, go do that before listening to this episode.

In this part of the series, we will be tackling the human impact of SHEIN:

• Unpacking the meaning of "sustainability" using the UN's Sustainable Development Goals as a measuring stick for figuring out just how sustainable fast fashion is
• How the early days of SHEIN might indicate something about the priorities and values of SHEIN's founder
• What it’s like to work for SHEIN in the garment factories and here in the U.S.
• That embarrassing SHEIN influencer trip and other bad faith marketing moves
• SHEIN’s connection to forced labor and how that ties into the de minimis loophole
• How SHEIN becoming the standard for making and selling clothing will impact everyone, even people who have never bought anything from the brand
• How WE can change SHEIN's trajectory (yes, we really can)

Additional reading (lots of sources again this week):

UN Sustainable Development Goals
"Fast Fashion Report Cards Show What’s Really in Your Clothes," Phoebe Sedgman and Jennifer Creery, Bloomberg.
"New study links major fashion brands to Amazon deforestation," Laura Pitcher, The Guardian.
"How fashion is distancing itself from deforestation," Rachel Cernansky, Vogue Business.
This is What Minimum Wage Would Be If It Kept Pace with Productivity
Living Wage Calculator
"Shein invited influencers on an all-expenses-paid trip. Here's why people are livid," Vanessa Romo, NPR.
"Shein exploited marginalized women for their influencer trip. It worked," Elizabeth de Luna, Mashable.
Toiling Away for SHEIN, Public Eye.
"Untold: Inside the Shein Machine review," Jack Seale, The Guardian.
"PR Platitudes and New Laws: Where is Shein heading?," Public Eye.
"After a UK Documentary Revealed Abuses, Shein Says it Will Spend $15 Million Improving Labor Conditions," Emma Burleigh, Observer.
"Interviews with factory employees refute Shein’s promises to make improvements," Public Eye.
"Inside North Korea's Forced Labor Program," Ian Urbina, The New Yorker.
"Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control: Inside Shein’s Sudden Rise," Vauhini Vara, Wired.
"The Search for the Next Shein," Chavie Lieber, Business of Fashion.

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