“It’s literally so cheap, you can’t even complain”: Inside the Shein Machine
Amy Clements
Untold: Inside the Shein Machine is the first documentary to include hard video evidence of what goes on in the underworld of fast fashion, specifically inside Shein’s supply factories. Journalist Iman Amrani puts the brand’s corrupt suppliers and illegal practices in the spotlight.
Shein has taken the fast fashion industry by storm. Estimated to have a company value of £84 billion, the brand is becoming increasingly popular by the day, thanks to its manipulative marketing techniques and extensive advertising.
The Channel 4 documentary details the findings of an investigative journalist using the pseudonym ‘Mei’ who went undercover as a garment worker for two of Shein’s supply factories in Guangzhou, China. Through her secret video recordings, viewers learn that employees often make as little as three pence per garment and are expected to produce hundreds of items of clothing per shift. As she speaks to other factory workers, she discovers that it is the norm to work seventeen hours a day, with one day off a month - a direct violation of Chinese labour laws which state that employees must not work more than eight hours a day. Throughout the video we see footage of exhausted employees working into the early hours of the morning, just to make sure they meet their daily quota of garments produced. Any errors mean that the workers are subject to penalties, which could cost them three-quarters of their daily wage, putting their jobs (and livelihoods) in jeopardy.
After learning of the “dark patterns” behind the brand’s advertising, Amrani is amazed at how the brand has gained popularity. Shein relies on ‘micro-influencers’ (online personalities with a few thousand followers) to promote the brand and boost sales. In exchange for free clothes, these micro-influencers post hauls on Tiktok and Instagram with links to discount codes for Shein, allowing Shein to gain exposure whilst spending next to nothing on advertising. This has proven to be effective for fast fashion companies as consumers are conditioned to buy into the single-use ideology that is at the core of fast-fashion brands: clothes are cheap, disposable and largely the product of overconsumption.
The brand has committed design theft and fashion plagiarism on multiple occasions. Fern Davey, owner of Veronica Velveteen, a small brand which makes sustainable lingerie and promotes inclusivity, had some of her designs stolen, replicated and sold for a fraction of the original price by Shein. In the documentary she describes how as a victim of design theft, she feels implicated in the wider Shein scandal. This has been echoed by other independent designers within the fashion community who have noticed that Shein’s business model is based on not only exploitation, but plagiarism as well.
Recently, Jervis Shopping Centre in Dublin hosted a Shein pop-up shop from November 4 until November 8, attracting fans of the fast fashion brand from all over the country. However, there was a lot of controversy surrounding this, especially due to the current cost of living crisis that is affecting many people worldwide. Fionnuala Moran, a sustainable fashion expert, is sceptical of the excitement surrounding the brand and its cheap prices.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, she said: “If people are in a financial bind where they need to buy cheap clothes, please help the workers secure a living wage in Europe by signing the Good Clothes, Fair Pay petition.” It is clear that consumers of today have a long way to go in achieving a circular economy within the fashion industry.
There are many ways in which we can reduce the amount of clothes we buy from fast fashion brands. Charity shops, as well as apps like Vinted and Depop, are goldmines for preloved, good quality designer garments which can be bought for a fraction of their original prices. Why not use fashion rental companies such as By Rotation or HURR to rent outfits for special events? Or better still, have a look in your wardrobe and see what ‘new’ outfits you can make from your ‘old’ clothes!
Contrary to what the fast fashion industry wants people to believe, clothes are not disposable. Start considering what the impact of our consumerist actions will have on garment makers, bank accounts, but most of all: the planet.
Amy Clements is a Culture Deputy Editor for The Scoop and a Liberal Arts and Spanish student at Queen’s University Belfast.