Barry Andrews MEP (Fianna Fáil, Renew Europe) welcomes the investment and creation of jobs in Dublin but is deeply concerned by SHEINs practices and their effects on workers and the environment and calls on the government to inquire into their practices.
As one of the co-negotiators for the EU’s proposed Directive on Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence as well the EU’s Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, MEP Andrews noted that “SHEIN has been consistently criticised for its promotion of ‘ultra-fast fashion’ and for its unwillingness to share details about its manufacturing practices. In years gone-by, there used to be 2 fashion seasons a year: summer and winter. With SHEIN and the advent of ultra fast-fashion, there are now 52 seasons a year. This leads to unsustainable waste, the destruction of our environment and the inability of Irish and European companies to compete.
He further noted “SHEIN is facing allegations of sourcing Uighur-produced cotton, effectively using modern slavery and forced labour to produce their clothes at such a cheap cost. In addition to this, they are facing a number of lawsuits for blatantly copying other fashion retailer’s designs as well as being one of the world’s least transparent fashion companies.”
MEP Andrews remarked “The EU is currently working on a number of pieces of legislation protecting human rights and the environment in companies supply chains. We cannot and should not have products entering our market that were made by forced labour. I think that the Government should pressure SHEIN into shining more light on their business model and ensure that consumers have more transparency about what they are buying. Human rights and environmental abuses should not be allowed in our shopping baskets.”
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