Editor’s Note
This article discusses a recent OECD statement alleging that fashion retailer Shein has failed to meet several guidelines concerning human rights, labor, and environmental practices. The complaint, initially filed by French lawmakers, highlights ongoing scrutiny of global supply chains and regulatory frameworks like France’s AGEC law.
The Asian fashion brand Shein “does not comply with several recommendations of the OECD Guidelines” concerning human rights, wages, or the environment, according to a statement from the organization published on Monday. In 2023, socialist MPs had seized the “OECD National Contact Point (NCP)”, a body attached to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, to question several aspects of the online sales company’s production chain.
Founded in 2012 in China and based in Singapore, Shein is regularly accused of environmental pollution and poor working conditions. The NCP has just issued its conclusions, which are non-binding. It criticizes Shein for not complying with the AGEC law, which requires brands to indicate for each of their products the percentage of recycled materials and the countries where weaving, dyeing-printing, and assembly operations are carried out.
Furthermore, it suspects Shein of absolving itself of its duties in terms of labor law by hiding behind Chinese legislation, from where the majority of its supplies originate. However, “it is the company’s responsibility to implement proactive measures to ensure (…) compliance with applicable international standards”, otherwise risks remain of hindering workers’ freedom of association, precarious working conditions, or even forced labor.
The OECD also regrets that Shein does not publish “its factory audit grid” nor “any mapping of its activities or its supply chain”, nor its social and environmental impacts apart from calculating greenhouse gas emissions. The body also recommends that its financial results, capital structure, or governance be published. It acknowledges that “since the receipt of the referral, efforts have been made by Shein to formalize a sustainability policy and communicate on its initial results”.
It said it regretted “that the procedure did not always reflect the spirit of neutral mediation provided for by the OECD framework, notably due to consultations limited to certain known critics of Shein.”
