URAP Supports Shut Shein Movement, Opposes New Markham Facility

            In November 2022, Shein Canada announced that it had opened a 170,000 square-foot warehouse and office in Markham, Ontario to serve as its main distribution hub in the country. This news resulted in immediate backlash from groups opposing fast fashion and its environmental impact, as well as human rights concerns around forced labour.

Shein, founded in China in 2008, is valued at $100 billion, more than Zara and H&M combined. Shein relies on thousands of third-party suppliers in China to produce its clothes. Due to this large, decentralised network of suppliers, there is growing concerned that cotton harvested in Xinjiang and made with the use of Uyghur forced labour may have entered Shein’s supply chains. With Shein stating their plans to execute an IPO before the end of the year, politicians and lobby groups are demanding more transparency.

            Last month, a bipartisan group of 22 US House of Representatives members wrote a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), asking them to require Shein certify that its products do not use Uyghur forced labour. The letter cited a Bloomberg analysis

which found scientific evidence that cotton from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) was present in clothing sold by Shein in 2022. It is widely understood that any product coming out of the XUAR is likely made with the use of Uyghur forced labour. Although Shein denies these allegations and claims they perform third party audits, experts have pointed out that these audits are not always trustworthy. Shein’s alleged testing of their cotton products is a band aid solution and a way for Shein to avoid the hard work of investigating their supply chains thoroughly and cutting ties with suppliers with possible complicity in forced labour.

            Coalition groups like Shut Down Shein have further called on SEC to deny Shein’s IPO registration until they can prove their compliance with the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA).

            As a Canadian organization, URAP is deeply concerned with Shein’s growing presence in Canada through the establishment of their new Markham facility. URAP is calling on Canadian policymakers to follow in their U.S. counterparts’ footsteps and request the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) take action to demand further transparency from Shein on their supply chain networks so consumers can make informed choices when shopping online.

Furthermore, URAP is calling on its supporters and community in Canada to protest the opening of this new facility in Markham, to send a message to Shein and Canadian policymakers that Canadian consumers are no longer satisfied with companies’ evasive and limited responses to human rights concerns. Going forward, Canadian companies will need to be held accountable for their actions, and our government will need to require that they do, or establish consequences to limit their freedom to operate in our country.