Shein is an online Chinese retailer of rapid fashion with headquarters in Singapore.

Chris Xu founded
ZZKKO in Nanjing in October 2008, and by 2022, Shein had become the largest fashion shop in the world.
Shein was valued at $100 billion and was shipping to more than 150 nations. Shein's success has been
attributed to the brand's appeal among Generation Z customers. Shein is well-known for providing
relatively inexpensive clothing. Initially, the company was compared to a drop-shipping corporation
because it did not engage in design or manufacturing and instead sourced its products from the
wholesale apparel market in Guangzhou. Shein has been criticized on multiple occasions for nearly every
negative business practice imaginable, including bad working conditions, low-wage, safety deficiencies,
no employee contract and health insurance, copying the work of independent designers, and improperly
handling customer data. The labor in the company of Shein all provide roughly the same working hours:
8 a.m. to noon, 1.30 p.m. to 5.45 p.m., and then 7 p.m. to 10 or 10.30 p.m. They have one day off per
month in addition to the one day per week that they work after supper. In China, workers are expected
to take at least one day off every week, and the maximum number of hours allowed per week is 40. Also,
the total amount of overtime allowed per month cannot exceed 36 hours. According to the findings of a
research that was carried out on Shein, the workers were compelled to continue working despite
receiving only a meager wage in order to provide for themselves and their families. Some were not able
to be free in their job place due to them being immigrants. The researcher says that most of the workers
she talked to were more or less happy with their jobs, but "I don't think they think about it all that
much." A man mentioned that during a prosperous month, he can earn up to 10,000 yuan, which is
equivalent to approximately CHF 1,400; however, during less prosperous months, he may only earn a
third of that amount. Shein routinely exploits the fact that these employees are willing to forgo even a
minimal degree of safety, leisure time, and quality of life because they feel they have no other option.
None of the individuals examined could produce a work contract. According to our data, none of them
pay social security contributions, and a large number of businesses fail to comply with even the most
fundamental safety regulations.