They describe themselves as a “fashion designer”, a Shein contributor, an actress or a businesswoman. These are six influencers, carefully selected and from all over the world, who were invited by the fast fashion brand Shein during the month of June, to participate in a promotional trip.
Together they participated in conferences organized by the brand, visited tourist sites, took photos and videos. But the key stage of this trip was also and above all the visit to one of Shein’s factories, in the province of Guangzhou, China.
Complementarily, publications have multiplied with the hashtag “SheinOnTheRoad” (“Shein on the road”), widely disseminated by the different accounts of the brand.
In one of them, shared by Shein’s official Instagram account, one of the invited influencers, “itsjustajlove” (one million subscribers), answers questions from netizens.
We hear you say in particular that “employees have rooms to rest”, “fans available”. “They don’t even sweat,” said one of them, mentioning the clothing, “made and sewn by hand.”
Between the lines of these videos, the influencers maintain a common thread: that of “reporting the propaganda that is served to us in the United States” and “being able to see with their own eyes and think independently,” according to danidmc. man of influence By “propaganda” cited here, one must understand the reproaches made to the company.
behind the facade
Because Shein, a fast-growing fashion brand that offers trendy clothes at ridiculous prices, accumulates human and environmental burdens. She is particularly suspected of participating in the exploitation of the Uyghur population, a Muslim minority locked up in camps in China and subjected to forced labor for years.
The working conditions in its factories are also widely criticized. An NGO had estimated, at the end of 2021, that employees could work up to 75 hours a week, being subject to the frenetic pace of the brand.
Every day, Shein offers around 7,000 new pieces of clothing on its site, each of which is available for an average of two months on the platform. Figures at the end of “fast-fashion”, incomparable with classic clothing stores.
“A mass of propaganda”
None of these considerations is reflected in the videos resulting from this “Shein trip”, which give a modern and benevolent image of the brand. And despite the good will of these influencers to recover their image, Internet users have strongly criticized the approach. On social media, many have denounced the videos of young women in the factory.
The Rogue Essentials, an influencer who specializes in low fashion and ethical consumerism, posted a video in reaction to the trip, reiterating Shein’s accusations, before concluding her video by saying: “Stop killing the planet. I see you targeting the most young, waving the carrot. It’s really disgusting.”
Other videos parody the factory tour against a green background, using footage from a Channel 4 documentary that denounces the company’s working conditions. “Lots of bullshit propaganda,” echoes Melissa, a tiktoker with 30,000 subscribers.
“It’s really suspicious. If this company was right, why do you need to insist so much on the fact that people work there in decent conditions? “Everyone has a price, everyone can be bought,” concludes another.
Source: BFM TV
