Shein has long been scrutinized for sketchy standards, be it in form of accusations of using forced labor or reports of dangerous toxins in some of its products.Since these allegations started intensifying in 2021, Shein has consistently denied any and all wrongdoing. The most-mentioned brand on TikTok has emphasized its commitment to ethical labor practices—even taking some influencers behind the curtain. The Singapore-based shopping platform also released a Supplier Code of Conduct in response to the climbing claims in 2021, outlining its expectations on exploitation.Its latest sustainability report gives some more ammunition to its critics.Shein admittedly found two cases of child labor in its supply chain last year, as revealed in juggernaut’s 2023 sustainability and social impact report. The findings were unearthed as the London IPO hopeful attempted to assuage the criticism of its business model by way of amping up the audits of its Chinese manufacturers. The two child labor cases were uncovered during audits at two different suppliers, each involving one underage worker—defined as under the age of 16 by China’s local labor laws—a Shein spokesperson told Sourcing Journal.Per the report, Shein suspended orders from these errant suppliers, but gave them 30 days to make adjustments.“Both cases were resolved swiftly, with remediation steps including terminating contracts with underage employees, ensuring the payment of any outstanding wages, arranging medical checkups and facilitating repatriation to parents/legal guardians as needed,” the report reads. “Following appropriate remediation, the contract manufacturers were permitted to resume business.”The Forever 21 stakeholder tightened its supplier policy last October in light of these findings. Moving forward, the “most severe violations” are now called Immediate Termination Violations (ITVs) and result in immediate termination—instead of the 30-day grace period. But Immediate Remediation Violations (IRVs), defined as “serious violations that warrant urgent rectification” and covering labor violations, workplace health and safety issues, still have a month to rehabilitate. Previously, IRV offenders had 90 days before being axed.“We previously focused on educating our suppliers and giving them an opportunity for remediation before termination,” the Chinese e-tailer said in the report. “As suppliers are generally not exclusively contracted by Shein, this benefits the wider fashion ecosystem by instilling standards and best practices across the supply chain. It also helps to protect workers and their livelihoods.” (ICE NEW YORK)

Fonte notizia: SJ