Shein, a popular fashion brand, has reported two incidents of child labour in 2024 so far, same as in 2023. This comes after an increase in audits conducted at its third-party manufacturers, most of which are located in China. In a letter to British lawmakers on February 7, after being questioned by a parliamentary committee, it made this public.
Audit Efforts and Findings
Yinan Zhu, counsel of Shein for Europe, the middle east and Africa, answered questions about company’s conduct. Zhu stated in her letter that Shein performed approximately 4,300 audits in 2024 on over 317,000 workers. In the previous year, there were 4,000 audits, which included 285,000 workers. Even though there were more checks, Shein found 2 child labour cases.
The first case involved a child aged 11 years and 8 months. An audit, carried out in April, unearthed the physical presence of a child at one of Shein’s factories. The child’s father was the general manager of the factory and the mother of the child also worked there. The child helped with tasks in the factory. Shein acted quickly, classifying the incident as child labour and cutting ties with the supplier in question.
The second case involved one 15 years old child worker in Shein’s supplier factory. We have caught children aged 15 years and 11 months and 15 years and 9 months, Zhu said, referring to child labour earlier in 2023 at suppliers. Shein stated it has a zero-tolerance for child labour and is removing child labour from the supply chain.
Commitment to Ethical Practices
Shein has been conducting audits due to child labour within its supply chain. Even though the cases are isolated, the firm has a strong stand against child labour in its network of third-party suppliers. This covers suppliers from China, Brazil, Turkey, and others. Zhu stated once again that Shein is committed to strongly imposing its policies and working to ensure that these incidents do not happen.
Shein’s representatives said in the letter to British lawmakers that the company would keep on trying to enhance the monitoring of its suppliers and maintaining ethics. Shein’s rising audits show a strong effort to make sure that suppliers respect the workers’ rights, including children’s rights.
