I’m not sure if my girls actually listen to my unrehearsed rants or just tune them out. So when I told them that I no longer want to see a Shein package delivered to my house while I am still alive and breathing (so help me God!), they patted me on the back and didn’t even roll their eyes.
If you haven’t heard of Shein, your daughters have. It is the world’s largest online-only fashion company. It generated 23 billion dollars in revenue last year and anticipates growing 40% this year. Shein is a Chinese company that produces dirt-cheap, super-trendy-but-poorly-made-clothing. Think fast food, but clothes. My girls love the $10 bathing suits and dresses. I taught them to be thrifty. So why wouldn’t they love it?
Last week I read that Shein (and Temu, another “Fast Fashion” company) have been under investigation for non-compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labor Protection Act. Shein denies the accusations, but the company exploits an import loophole that keeps them under the radar of any and all import regulations. Basically, their defense holds zero weight.
Should it matter?
My thoughts shuffle backward; I see an ironic mirror in American history. I wonder: Where did all the cotton from the slave plantations go? What about the sugar, the rice, the tobacco? These were cash crops. They were exported. Who bought them?