Inside the ‘Shein Village' where factory workers get blistered feet, earn 97p per hour and often quit within a week
RENOWNED as the King of Fast Fashion, China-based firm Shein has found itself in hot water on multiple occasions, concerning everything from human rights violations to using child labour.
And now, a bombshell investigation has alleged that workers at Shein supplier factories are developing blisters from being on their feet for 30,000 worth of steps a day, and also working into the early hours of the morning to meet 'crushing inventory' demands.
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The firm, which sells dresses for as little as £3.49, has rapidly become one of the world's biggest online retailers.
It reported a staggering £1.5billion in sales last year, up 40%, and is now awaiting sign-off to list itself on the London Stock Exchange for an estimated £50 billion.
But over the years, Shein has come under intense scrutiny over welfare standards, modern slavery concerns and how it monitors its Chinese factory partners.
Most of those factories are in the so-called 'Shein Village' in Guangzhou, China, which YouTube documentarian Cinthia Lin took a visit to.
Amid constant denials from Shein, Cinthia's investigation came in the wake of the behemoth pledging £11.3 million to improve ethical practice and the welfare of workers in its supply chain.
She found job boards packed with openings for garment production, with one jobseeker claiming that the wages paid were significantly lower than those advertised.
Their job adverts allegedly 'exaggerate the total earnings for sewing machine operators', with garment makers paid per-piece rather than on a salaried basis.
On average, workers in Shein supplier factories are paid pennies per piece, according to Cinthia's findings.
The average earnings for a garment maker are around £525.02 per month, but they can make double that at £1,050.05 if they work over 12 hours per day, at least six days a week.
In some cases, overtime is even mandatory and doesn't come with premium pay, just the same per-piece pay rate.
Ugly side of fashion giant Shein revealed as retailer slammed by rivals for 'unfair tactics' to keep prices low
One worker that Cinthia interviewed worked mandatory hours of 8am till 10pm and only had two breaks for lunch and dinner.
Videos from inside the factories - both in Cinthia's documentary and on TikTok - show workers hunched over on metal stools with no back support as they sew garments, while others walk around with their hands on their back as if in pain.
'Workers walk 20,000 to 30,000 steps daily, with blistered feet and worn out shoes,' Cinthia observed. 'Many quit within weeks.
'The 'fast' in fast fashion comes from human endurance.
'These workers are not classified as Shein employees because they work for factories that handle Shein's outsourced production.
'While filming, I felt deeply conflicted. On one hand, the workers and factory owners are grateful for the orders, as they rely on this work to support their families in a competitive urban economy.
'Many have no better alternatives but to endure situations mentioned in this video in silence.'
Factory owners claim that the profit margins working for Shein are 'razor thin', with most items yielding a profit of 52p.
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'Shein pushes for the lowest possible prices during negotiation to maintain its competitive edge,' Cinthia claimed.
'Because competition in the Chinese market is harsh, suppliers have little choice but to do what Shein requests to stay in business.'
A documentary uploaded to All4 in October 2022 was the first of many to uncover the dark side of Shein and its suppliers.
It found that some factory staff were paid just £16.50 for a 17 hour day (which works out as a measly 97p per hour) and fined three quarters of their wage for the smallest mistake.
After sending an undercover reporter into two of the factories in China, Untold: Inside the Shein Machine also found workers were given just one day off a month and had pay docked if an item was returned by an unhappy customer.
Shockingly, in August 2024, Shein admitted to using child labour in its supply chain in the previous year, sparking more business model concerns.
London Stock Exchange Listing
Last month, Shein gained approval from UK regulators for its long-awaited £50 million London listing — but it's on a knife-edge due to Trump.
The firm was in a regulatory quagmire for months over concerns about forced labour use in its Chinese supply chain.
The cheap online retailer, promoted by models such as Arabella Chi, has now received approval from the Financial Conduct Authority for its listing.
But it may be meaningless as its bigger hurdle is the escalating trade war between China and the US.
America, Shein's biggest market, has imposed 145% tariffs on China, where the firm has 5,000 factories producing the bulk of its clothes.
China has hit back at US President Donald Trump's trade levies with 125 per cent tariffs and also has to approve Shein's London listing.
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