Shein, the fast-growing Chinese online retailer, has not made public disclosures about working conditions along its supply chain that are required by law in the United Kingdom, and the company until recently falsely stated on its website that conditions in the factories it uses were certified by international labor standards bodies, reported Reuters.
In Britain, companies over a certain size must prominently state on their websites the steps they are taking to combat forced labor as part of the country’s Modern Slavery Act 2015.
Shein’s “social responsibility” page states that it “never, ever” engages in child or forced labor, but does not provide the full supply chain disclosures required by British law.
A spokesperson for Shein said it is in the process of finalizing statements required by UK law, and plans to publish them on its website. “We are developing comprehensive policies, which we will post on our website in the next couple of weeks,” the Shein spokesperson said on Aug. 2.