Overtaking ZARA and Nike as the worldβs most Googled clothing brand is SHEIN. Founded in 2008 and gaining serious popularity during the pandemic, it looks like the fast-fashion giant is here to stay β regardless of its poor reputation.
Yikes.
According to a report compiled by Money.co.uk, SHEIN has become the worldβs most popular fashion brand in 2022. It is the most Googled retailer in 113 countries – overtaking ZARA, adidas, and Nike.
Why is this problematic, you ask? Well, a recent Channel 4 documentary went undercover inside SHEINβs workshops where garment makers were reportedly working 75-hour weeks. It revealed that the vast majority of these employees only get one or two days off per month.
Not to mention, workers are expected to produce an average of 1,000 new styles for the website every day. With this in mind, it shouldnβt be difficult to guess the company is committing serious human rights violations – especially when the average price of an item on its website is as low as Β£5.
This is possible because the brand pays literal pennies per hour while relying heavily on the use of cheap, unsustainable fabrics. The bitter cherry on top is that SHEIN confirmed the findings from Channel 4βs investigative documentary are correct, only hours after it was crowned the yearβs most popular brand.