But who pays the price for us?

One of the problems of fast fashion, which we have written about many times, is that in most cases the low price is the result of a lack of recognition of a fair wage and appropriate working conditions for people involved in the production of the garments. For this reason, consumers are increasingly asking for more transparency on the production chain.

Shein offers tens of thousands of styles, about 1,000 are added every day.

An even faster production pace: “ultra-fast-fashion”, as it is more correct to call it, comparing it with other fast fashion brands such as Missguided and Fashion Nova, which release around 1,000 new styles a week.

Shein is able to reach millions of young shoppers directly through social media without a physical retail space, relying on search traffic and customer data to foreshadow trends. “I don’t even know what it is,” says a TikTok user voice showing a pink rabbit toy bought on Shein. On social media, the fast fashion brand is sometimes the object of ridicule, selling items without a clear thought.

Referred to as China’s most mysterious billionaire company (it refuses to publicise its investors), Shein has not disclosed the information on working conditions along its supply chain required by law in the UK.

Without evidence to the contrary, it is difficult to believe their claim to “make social responsibility a priority”. Considering for example that in Shenzhen, China, where the original factory is located, there are harsh working conditions and virtually no protection for the working class. Or considering how difficult it is to believe that there is a feasible way to produce at such a fast pace without adopting unethical work practices.

The Fashion Transparency Index, compiled by Fashion Revolution activists, gave Shein an overall score of 1 in 100 in a report compiled earlier this year. On traceability, one of the key metrics in the Index, Shein has a score of 0.

Not only lack of transparency:

until recently, the company falsely claimed on its website that the conditions in the factories it uses were certified by international bodies for labor standards (source: Reuters). In a statement on the site (noted by Reuters on July 26), Shein said the factories were “certified” by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and that Shein was “proudly complying with rigorous fair labor standards set by international organizations such as SA8000”.

SA8000 is a management systems standard based on international human rights principles outlined by the International Labor Organization and the United Nations, measuring companies’ performance in eight areas including child labor, forced labor and health and safety.

ISO is a global organization that develops commercial, industrial and technical standards. Companies pay certification bodies to implement and verify these standards at their organizations. The ISO only sets standards and does not carry out the certifications themselves.

“Shein doesn’t work with very large factories but [with] small and medium-sized workshops that collect orders every day,” according to Matthew Brennan, a Chinese writer and technology analyst based in Beijing. “It’s very similar to an Uber system, where new orders arrive on factory owners’ phones. It’s very poor, but efficient.”

In the social responsibility section of their site, Shein states that they never used child or forced labor, but doesn’t provide complete information on the supply chain. British law requires companies of certain sizes to link similar statements on the site to detailed explanations of the measures taken along the supply chain to avoid modern slavery.

What’s worse than lack of transparency? A false statement. While awaiting updates from Shein, we reflect on all the other more or less ethical aspects of a business model far away from a slow and conscious fashion.

Sources: Reuters; Vox; The Mycenaean; SupChina. Photo: Shein’s website.

Anti-slavery si occupa di risolvere le situazioni di schiavitù nel mondo. Tra le sue campagne, quella per fermare lo sfruttamento (anche minorile) nell’industria del cotone, in particolare in Uzbekistan e Turkmenistan.
Questi due paesi sono tra i maggiori produttori ed esportatori di cotone nel mondo, che finisce nelle catene di approvvigionamento globali e sugli scaffali di molti negozi. Per produrre questo cotone entrambi i governi repressivi usano sistemi di lavoro forzato su vasta scala.
Ogni autunno oltre un milione di cittadini uzbeki e turkmeni sono costretti dal governo a lasciare il proprio lavoro regolare e andare nei campi a raccogliere il cotone.
Agli agricoltori viene ordinato di coltivare cotone, altrimenti rischiano sanzioni finanziarie o la rimozione dalla terra che coltivano.
Durante il raccolto cittadini come insegnanti e medici sono costretti a lasciare il lavoro normale per trascorrere settimane nei campi a raccogliere cotone, spesso in condizioni pericolose e senza l’attrezzature di base. Le persone possono essere lasciate esauste e soffrire di problemi di salute e malnutrizione dopo settimane di duro lavoro. Coloro che lavorano in trasferta nelle piantagioni di cotone sono costretti a stare in dormitori improvvisati in condizioni precarie con cibo e acqua potabile insufficienti.
Sotto la pressione degli attivisti, l’Uzbekistan ha promesso riforme del suo sistema di lavoro forzato. Tuttavia, è tutt’altro che eliminato. Anti-slavery sta monitorando la situazione da vicino, in particolare durante la raccolta in autunno.

Oltre 250 aziende hanno già firmato il Cotton Pledge per non utilizzare il cotone uzbeko.
Ma le catene di approvvigionamento sono così complesse che spesso non è facile determinare la provenienza del cotone nei prodotti finali. Anti-slavery invita quindi le aziende a fare di più in modo proattivo per garantire che il cotone uzbeko e turkmeno non entri nelle catene di approvvigionamento.
Il lavoro di Anti-slavery con i governi e le organizzazioni internazionali è stato recentemente reso più difficile dall’approccio delle istituzioni sempre più indulgente nei confronti dell’Uzbekistan, dopo che ha smesso il lavoro minorile sistematico, ma li ha sostituiti con gli adulti.

Il governo dell’Uzbekistan abitualmente molesta, intimidisce e reprime i cittadini che tentano di monitorare il raccolto di cotone.
Le imprese sono costrette a contribuire finanziariamente se vogliono rimanere aperte durante il periodo del raccolto. Anche la fornitura di servizi pubblici come l’assistenza sanitaria e l’istruzione è gravemente compromessa durante il raccolto.
Nonostante la diffusa conoscenza di questi abusi, alcuni commercianti e aziende tessili sono stati complici nell’acquistare e vendere cotone uzbeko. E sebbene molte aziende si siano impegnate a non usare consapevolmente il cotone uzbeko, finisce comunque nelle catene di approvvigionamento globali e in molti prodotti finiti.
Mentre il lavoro minorile è stato quasi debellato nel settore del cotone dell’Uzbekistan, in Turkmenistan non ci sono segnali di progresso e la situazione nell’ultimo raccolto è persino peggiorata: sono stati visti gruppi di bambini mandati di nuovo nei campi durante la raccolta dello scorso anno, faticando in condizioni pericolose nonostante un divieto nazionale.

Come aziende o designer, possiamo impegnarci nella selezione dei fornitori di cotone, individuando produttori attenti alle persone e all’ambiente. Il cotone non è un materiale sostenibile, per via dell’utilizzo di pesticidi e fertilizzanti chimici impiegati e del consumo di acqua richiesto per la sua coltivazione. Meglio scegliere il cotone biologico, se non possiamo fare a meno di questa fibra.
La pressione economica si è rivelata cruciale nel portare l’Uzbekistan alle riforme. È necessario che le aziende firmino il Cotton Pledge e che indaghino sulle catene di approvvigionamento dei propri prodotti con il loro marchio, collegati a casi di lavoro forzato, traffico di esseri umani e altre forme di schiavitù moderna.

Come consumatori cosa possiamo fare? Sostenere le campagne come quella di Anti-slavery per fermare questa pratica dannosa:
https://www.antislavery.org/take-action/campaigns/end-uzbek-cotton-crimes/
Possiamo scrivere alle aziende per chiedere da dove viene il cotone dei capi che desideriamo acquistare. Possiamo scegliere di comprare da chi si impegna eticamente e ambientalmente. Possiamo acquistare di seconda mano.

“Incoraggiamo te, consumatore, a spingere i tuoi marchi e rivenditori preferiti a firmare The Cotton Pledge per garantire che il lavoro forzato non entri nei prodotti”.

Più sotto, il video di Anti-slavery.

English: Over a million forced to pick cotton: slavery in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan behind our clothes

Anti-slavery aims to solve situations of slavery in the world. Among its campaigns, there is the one to stop exploitation (including child slavery) in the cotton industry, particularly in Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.These two countries are among the largest producers and exporters of cotton in the world, which ends up in global supply chains and on the shelves of many shops. To produce this cotton, both repressive governments use large-scale forced labor systems. Every autumn more than a million Uzbek and Turkmen citizens are forced by the government to leave their regular jobs and go to the camps to collect cotton.

Farmers are ordered to grow cotton, otherwise they risk financial sanctions or removal from the land they farm. During the harvest, citizens like teachers and doctors are forced to leave their regular jobs to spend weeks in the fields picking cotton, often in dangerous conditions and without basic equipment. People can be left exhausted and suffer from health problems and malnutrition after weeks of hard work. Those who work in the cotton plantations are forced to stay in makeshift dormitories in precarious conditions with insufficient food and drinking water. Under pressure from activists, Uzbekistan has promised reforms of its forced labor system. However, it is far from eliminated. Anti-slavery is monitoring the situation closely, particularly during the harvest in autumn.

Over 250 companies have already signed the Cotton Pledge for not using Uzbek cotton. But supply chains are so complex that it is often not easy to determine the origin of the cotton in the final products. Anti-slavery therefore urges companies to do more proactively to ensure that Uzbek and Turkmen cotton does not enter supply chains. Anti-slavery’s work with governments and international organisations has recently been made more difficult by institutions increasingly lenient approach to Uzbekistan, after it stopped the systematic child labour, but replaced them with adults.

The government of Uzbekistan habitually harasses, intimidates and represses citizens who try to monitor the cotton crop. Companies are forced to contribute financially if they want to remain open during the harvest period. Even the provision of public services such as health care and education is severely compromised during the harvest. Despite the widespread knowledge of these abuses, some traders and textile companies have been complicit in buying and selling Uzbek cotton. And although many companies have committed themselves to not consciously use Uzbek cotton, it still ends up in global supply chains and in many finished products. While child labor has been almost eradicated in the cotton sector of Uzbekistan, there are no signs of progress in Turkmenistan, and the situation in the last harvest has even worsened: groups of children were seen being sent back to the camps during last year’s harvest, struggling in dangerous conditions despite a national ban.

As companies or designers, we can engage in the selection of cotton suppliers, identifying producers that pay attention to people and the environment. Cotton is not a sustainable material, due to the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers used and the consumption of water required for its cultivation. Better to choose organic cotton, if we can not give up this fibre. Economic pressure has proved crucial in bringing Uzbekistan to reforms. Companies need to sign the Cotton Pledge and investigate the supply chains of their products with their brand, linked to cases of forced labor, trafficking in human beings and other forms of modern slavery.

As consumers what can we do? Supporting campaigns like Anti-slavery’s one to stop this harmful practice:

End Cotton Crimes

We can write companies to ask where cotton comes from of the items we wish to purchase. We can choose to buy from those who engage ethically and environmentally. We can buy second-hand.

“We encourage you, the consumer, to push your favourite brands and retailers to sign The Cotton Pledge to ensure that forced labour does not find its way into products we buy every day”.