Shady business practices of Shein & Temu
By Parker Haws
A new wave of fast fashion has filled everyone’s closets and phone screens, with websites like Shein and Temu offering deals that sound too good to be true. From graphic Tees for two dollars to makeup for under fifty cents, fast fashion businesses advertise full outfits for the price of a happy meal. Looking at Shein, how is this company able to profit off products at such a “discounted price,” and how are they so popular?
Before anything, let's talk about the website itself. The second you type in the address, you’re immediately and forcefully greeted with a multitude of colorful advertisements offering coupons for twenty to thirty percent off almost five different times. Once you click past all the popups, the big banner in the middle advertises their latest collection “90% off” showcasing pants, shirts and full pajama sets all for under ten dollars. All the sales are just about to end according to the website, somehow making you feel rushed to get that deal before it goes away. Although, there always happens to be a brand new one-day deal the next day.
Shein has a unique advertising method, encouraging you to get others to sign up for the app in order to redeem free points and products. The way the website is set up is not much different from a slot machine, with bright colorful text showing off 20 different items for ridiculously low prices that feel impossible to say no to. Sending a little trigger of dopamine to your brain every time you make a purchase, the website rewards you for how much money you saved. Although, in reality, you most likely just spent $20 on random trinkets you didn't need. Who wouldn't? It feels good to get a box full of stuff for such a small amount compared to anywhere else, although you may find the product subpar at best. The ease of purchasing products so cheap can be too alluring to refuse. These tactics draw consumers into what seem to be unbeatable deals, ensuring that consumers ignore their company’s unethical practices.
Shein, Temu and other similar websites have to jump through a lot of hoops and follow a lot of shady, questionable legal practices to make these prices so low. It was found that many of the products used to make this insanely cheap clothing could be harmful to your health. An investigation on Shein was done by CBC Marketplace, a Canadian TV news source responsible for reporting on consumer and product issues, it found that out of the 38 clothing products that were sampled almost 20% of them were found to have dangerous levels of chemicals that would normally be illegal in the US. The study found that one jacket meant for toddlers retailed by Shein contained over 20 times the Canadian legal threshold for lead.
Factory photos from a Shein supplier in Guangzhou, China (Jde Gao - Getty Images ).
The materials are not the only thing that's keeping these prices so low; the hazardous working conditions the suppliers and factory workers go through to produce these products almost make you feel like that four-dollar sweater is costing a piece of your morality. An undercover reporter for the British Channel 4 news network performed an investigation on two different Shein suppliers. Working under a fake name, she found that many of their workers were paid as little as four cents per item of clothing made, working 18-hour long shifts seven days a week. The company was found to require that their employees work over 12 hours a day without any days off, violating many Chinese labor laws about required breaks and overtime in the process.
Although it may seem like the best deal in the world at first, that ten-dollar jacket might just be costing you something more than your money.