Shein: US politicians call for company investigation – 5/2/2023 – Market

A group of US lawmakers has asked Wall Street regulator to require Chinese fashion company Shein to prove that it does not use forced labor by ethnic Uighurs as a condition of a public offering.

A group of US House Republicans and Democrats is pressing the head of the SEC (the US Securities and Exchange Commission) to take action against Shein, a fast-growing low-cost apparel group that is reportedly using cotton from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region.

“Shein is aggressively raising capital and plans to conduct an initial public offering before the end of this fiscal year,” lawmakers said in a letter written May 1.

“We urge you to establish regulations and direct Shein to certify, through independent verification, that the company does not use Uyghur forced labor as a condition of registering to issue securities in the United States,” they said.

The writing of the letter was organized by Democrat Jennifer Wexton and Republican John Rose and signed by 24 members of the House.

A Shein spokesman said the company has no suppliers in the Xinjiang region and has “zero tolerance” for forced labor.

Founded in China in 2008 and currently headquartered in Singapore, Shein has become one of the symbols of low-cost fashion and Chinese economic growth.

Human rights groups denounce that Muslim Uighurs are subjected to mass arrests in forced labor camps and prohibited from expressing their culture.

Beijing claims that the ethnic minority is not being repressed and that it is carrying out re-education programs to combat Islamic terrorism in Xinjiang.