Chinese cut-price fast-fashion giant Shein defended its business model, saying demand-based production accounted for its low prices and not forced or cheap labor.
Founded in China in 2008, Shein has swiftly claimed a top place in the global fast-fashion marketplace, offering young social-media-savvy customers low-priced collections that turn over at a steady clip.
Peter Pernot-Day, the Singapore-based firm's strategy chief told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that Shein is "an on-demand manufacturer, the global pioneer of this technology" during a visit to Paris to attend the opening of a Shein pop-up store.
Shein has removed "inventory risk" and "the most significant component of garment cost" by testing goods with a small run and ramping up manufacturing if there is a demand, Pernot-Day told.
With 9,000 employees worldwide and counting, Shein has big plans for further expansion. According to a recent Bloomberg report, Shein's sales rose 60% in 2021 to $16 billion worldwide, just behind Swedish high-street name H&M.
Pernot-Day emphasized the significance of having teams in the countries, areas and regions of the business.
Pernot-Day said that the fashion and lifestyle shopping experience would resemble a "digital grand magasin," referring to Paris' swanky department stores.
Online, Shein plans to create a digital marketplace that will allow shoppers to buy other products from other brands through its platform.
But the relentless expansion of sales and production is exactly what nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and some governments hold against Shein, saying its low costs cannot be compatible with fair treatment of labor or the environment.
Pernot-Day insisted that doing away with the risk of being left with unsold inventory and warehousing accounted for its ability to offer extremely low prices, such as T-Shirts for just 4.99 euros ($5.50).
"We are able to accurately measure the demand and only produce enough garments to meet that," he said.
Shein's efforts to green its image include a second-hand clothing business in the United States, materials research and integrating recycled materials in its products.
While acknowledging "fair criticism" that its product pages offer consumers little detail about recycled content and other traceability factors, "we're trying to enhance how we describe and categorize our products," Pernot-Day said.
The company carried out up to 300,000 chemical tests this year alone, he said, adding that it worked with Oritain, a product analysis firm that also works with the U.S. government.
In addition, Shein has "no suppliers in Xinjiang" in northwestern China, where aid groups have accused it of using forced labor by Uyghur people, he added.
U.S. lawmakers recently asked the SEC financial watchdog to require an independent investigation into allegations of forced Uyghur labor at several brands including Shein.
But the company uses a U.S. government-forced labor blacklist "to look at our supply chain and understand whether or not the companies are in there," Pernot-Day said.
And when allegations are made of copied goods being sold on Shein, "if it is (proved), we remove it from sale, if not, we won't," he added, although "this is a difficult legal question."
"We've seen a reduction of the number of complaints against us" for intellectual property violations, he added.
