Shein.com Employee Reveals Dark Secrets Hidden From The Public
By Nick Hadji
1 year ago
Shein Clothing Makers Do 18-Hour Days
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It might be nothing new to learn that 'fast' fashion really does mean fast, because the workers are spitting out so many items during long, long work days. But employees at Shein who make the clothes work at least an 18 hour day - and that's an intensive day with non-stop physical labor.Original content sourced from Femanin.comFree Time Is Pretty Much Non-Existent
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As you can imagine with such long working days, that leaves free time pretty much... non-existent. They can't go home and relax after a hard day's work and try a few hobbies - by the sounds of it, they don't even have enough time to catch up on sleep. What would that leave, a few hours rest?They Have To Wash Their Hair During Lunch Breaks
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When you have so little free time (if any) and such long work shifts, even basic things like personal hygiene start becoming desperate. Some workers have no time at all to sort themselves out at home, so they've resorted to washing their hair during their work lunch breaks.One Employee Said They Start At 8am, And Finish At 2 Or 3am - The Next Day!
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Just to put those long, long working days in perspective, an employee can start at 8am one day - and while most of us would expect to be done by 5pm or at the latest 6pm (which we'd probably grumble about), this person wouldn't finish until 2am or 3am the next day. And then how much time does that leave before the next 8am start the same day?They Also Work 7 Days A Week
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Maybe they can catch up on sleep and personal hygiene on their days off during the week, right? Nope, unfortunately not. Shein workers work every single day, Monday to Sunday. And that means every single day working those ridiculously long hours - so an entire week must feel like one whole, neverending shift.They Only Get 1 Day Off A Month
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Oh wait, but there's good news: they do get a day off! 1 day off a month, that is. Can you imagine how exhausted you would be during that one day off in a 4 week span? That still wouldn't leave you time to do anything at all, as you'd probably spend the whole day sleeping. Think of the amount of chores and things left undone.They Don't Know What Sunday Is
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Okay, so in today's society, a lot of people work weekends and Sunday isn't always the traditional 'day of rest' it was supposed to be - but most of us know the sentiment of what a Sunday, or at least a weekend, is supposed to be outside of work. Shein employees don't get that.The Workers Are Known To Be Chinese (And Underpaid)
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Fast fashion companies have been notorious for their 'made in China' labels and Chinese workforce, and the reason for this is because things made in China are cheaper while usually exploiting the workforce with a very low salary and more working hours. The Shein employees are no exception.They Earn A Base Salary Of 4,000 Yuan (About 556 Dollars) A Month
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You might have thought with working those whopping great shifts - and 7 days a week at that - that Shein employees would be coming out with a huge salary to make up for all that work so they can spend their hard-earned money - but unfortunately they only get paid around $556 a month, 4,000 Yuan.They Have To Make 500 Clothing Pieces A Day - Minimum
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With an 18-hour-a-day shift on average, you'd expect workers to be spitting out a lot of fashion items in that time. But not only is the shift long, but it's also full of the absolute pressure of making a minimum of 500 clothing pieces a day. This is the very least they have to do.Their First Month's Wage Is Kept From Them
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A Shein employee's very first wage for their first month's work - which isn't a lot at all, as we've established, barely nothing - is actually withheld from them. This means they have to work 18 hour shifts, 7 days a week, with one day off in the month, without a sign of their paycheck just yet.They Can Earn Commission On Each Item - 0.14 Yuan ($0.02)
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A lot of jobs will give you the opportunity to earn extra commission on sales you make, which is an incentive for a lot of hard-working people to get bonuses so they can treat themselves. For Shein workers - who should get high commission just based on how hard they're working! - they only get 0.14 Yuan commission for every item - that's about $0.02.At Some Shein Factories, They Don't Earn A Base Salary At All
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There is more than one Shein factory, after all, and the wage rules can be different for each factory. In another, they actually don't get a base salary - instead, they're paid for every item they produce, which of course puts more pressure on the worker to do more. They can earn around 0.27 Yuan (under 4 cents) for every item.If They Make One Mistake, They Have Some Of Their Wage Taken Away
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Think about how easy it is to make a mistake in your own job when you're working 8 hours a day, 5 days a week, and you're tired. Now think how likely mistakes are when you're working 18+ hour days with little to no sleep, 7 days a week. And then you get fined and have some of your wage taken away if you do make a mistake. That's the life of a Shein worker.The Fine Can Be As Big As Two Thirds Of Their Wage
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So how much do they have taken off them for one mistake? You might think it's logical to be fined the price they'd get paid for that one item - but it's much worse than that. They can actually get fined a whopping 2/3 of their wage, for a single mistake on a single item.It's Pretty Much Slavery
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If that wasn't obvious up to this point, yes Shein workers' lives and working schedules is pretty much slavery - it's slave labor. They're working the majority of their lives for next to nothing in return - practically working for free - without even having the time to sleep.They Steal The Designs Of Other Artists
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Shein is also one example of fast fashion ripping off the designs of other independent artists. There has been more than one case of Shein stealing the designs of other items in order to sell their own similar style. A lot of the victims have been independent small business owners with their own designs.This Is Not Only Plagiarism, But It Can Make Independent Businesses Lose Money
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And this isn't just about the fact that they've stolen an original design. Because Shein then sells the same design at a much, much lower price, consumers are bound to buy that one instead of the original artist's more expensive version. So the profits of their business are being negatively impacted.They Prey On Impulsive Buyers
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We've all had at least one Shein.com pop up on our browser, because they make sure to have a lot of pop-ups on social media, with low-quality adverts which nonetheless entice those impulsive buyers looking for a quick and cheap purchase. Shein knows that, and acts on it.Their Clothes Are Made Using Plastic, Which Never Break Down
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As you can imagine with clothes which are made and sold so cheaply, the best (or the most eco-friendly) materials are definitely not used. Most of their clothes will be made from plastic materials like polyester, which will never really break down when they get thrown out.Do Shein Clothes Also Contain Lead?
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There's also been some testing into whether Shein clothes actually contain lead. There has been a trend of people buying lead-testing kits in order to test out their Shein clothing, and it turns out that some of them allegedly have been coming back as positive.The Wage They Make Is Illegal In Some Countries
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To put it in perspective of how dire their wage actually is (which is unfortunately already obvious), the amount of money they earn would actually be illegal in some countries of the world. It would be against the law to pay people so little for so many hours of work.Some Employees Might Have Families
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Those working conditions, working hours and amount of income would be devastating for a single person who lived alone - but imagine some of these employees actually having families and children. They'd barely see them - if anything, it would be impossible to spend quality time with them, or even have money to do anything with them.Were Shein Employees Really Asking For Help Through Labels?
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If you didn't already hear about this during the time it went viral on TikTok, there was a time when people were posting videos and photos of labels in which they thought Shein employees had been writing secret messages to ask for help due to their working conditions.Shein Denied The Claims
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Shein came back with a rather flimsy explanation, in which they called the labels and the viral videos all a big misunderstanding. They said that the 'we need your help' type labels were intended, and related to how the items should be cared for and washed. Make of that what you will.Shein Has Never Openly Given Information About Its Practices
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Most of the dark secrets uncovered about this fashion brand have been as part of undercover investigations. You'd think the best way for Shein to defend itself would be to openly release all information about how its clothes are made - but they haven't openly revealed anything in great detail, which has been taken to be suspicious.But It Claims To Have 'Fair' Working Conditions And Pay
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Despite all the rumors and everything uncovered about this particular fashion brand, Shein still boasts the tagline of having "fair pay for all" and works to fight against any rumors or viral videos to the contrary. So if they're telling the truth, why have undercover investigations found the opposite? And if they're lying, that makes it even worse.Does Shein Employ Child Labor?
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Another question that has been - understandably - raised about Shein's working conditions is whether the fashion brand employs child workers. There has been no evidence to show this, and Shein has always denied it, saying it has "never engages in child or forced labor".Their Warehouses Have 'Major Risks' In Them
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Apart from the risks of workers collapsing from exhaustion by the sounds of it, official reports into warehouse conditions actually state that their performance is 'mediocre' and that 1-3 risks are present for their supplier factories and warehouses, where 'corrective action' is needed.Their Clothes Are So Cheaply Made They Don't Last
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