It was the event of the weekend for hundreds of people in Lyon. Shein has set up a pop-up store from March 11 to 14 on rue de la Part-Dieu. This Chinese clothing brand at very low prices, very popular among 15-25 year olds, is usually only sold on the Internet. If it appeals to part of the population, it is also very problematic for others who denounce its impact on the environment and the working conditions imposed on its employees.
On Saturday, the first day of the opening of the Lyon pop-up store, the Extinction Rebellion (XR) collective spilled fake blood and sprinkled the merchandise with water, to make it temporarily unsaleable without damaging it. A few hours later, the ethical brand from Lyon Wedressfair also carried out an activism to raise awareness among people waiting to enter the store to denounce “the wrongdoings of Shein”.
Responsible for 22% of the CO2 footprint of young people
In a press release, the civil disobedience collective of Lyon affirms that the brand “pushes to overconsumption by adding approximately 6,000 new articles on its site every day”. Before adding: “His merchandise is of poor quality and goes around the world, only to be used a few times, before deteriorating or worse, going out of fashion”. Thus, a study by Teenage Lab by Pixpay revealed that the brand is responsible for 22% of the CO2 footprint of young people.
Shein was also singled out in November 2022 by a report by Greenpeace Germany. Nearly 20% of the Chinese giant’s clothes tested would contain “hazardous chemicals”, with levels “exceeding up to 100 times the limits set by European chemicals regulations”.
For its part, the brand ensures on its site “to use on-demand manufacturing technology to connect suppliers to [la] agile supply chain, reducing inventory waste and enabling us to deliver a variety of affordable products to customers around the world. »
Other actions to come
In addition to its environmental impact, the XR collective denounces the Chinese brand’s “disrespect for human rights”. According to several international media investigations, Shein exploits “massively Uyghurs to produce cotton useful for the manufacture of its merchandise” and employs “workers and workers more than 18 hours a day for a salary of only eighteen euros a day with only one day off per month.
Faced with this observation, Wedressfair then distributed leaflets “Shein destroys the planet, your health, lives” to people who were queuing in front of the pop-up store. The goal was “to open a dialogue with less aware audiences, to raise awareness about the issues that companies like Shein represent and to propose alternatives”.
Extinction Rebellion has already announced new actions if the store “does not close immediately” in Lyon.
In a tweet, Camille Augey, deputy mayor in charge of employment and the sustainable economy, took a stand. “Shein, with its deadly social and environmental practices, is the opposite of the values promoted by the City of Lyon: a commercial activity that respects people and the planet, favoring local manufacturing and quality and sustainable products” , she wrote without any action being taken.