MPs plan to question Shein boss as firm eyes London IPO
A cross-party group of MPs will call in Shein’s boss to comment on the risk of forced labour in fast-fashion supply chains, according to committee chair Liam Byrne.
The House of Commons business select committee is finalising plans for an inquiry into employment rights in the workplace, which will, amongst other things, examine the risk of Chinese products made by forced labour in Xinjang ending up in Western clothes, according to the Financial Times.
Forced labour in Xinjiang has been in the sights of Western policymakers since a damning UN report detailed the abusive practice in 2022, with the UN’s outgoing human rights chief confirming that China had committed “serious human rights violations” against the Uyghur Muslim community.
The move would also see a number of other chiefs from other global e-commerce firms, like Temu and possibly TikTok Shop, called in alongside Shein’s boss Donald Tang, although the list has not yet been finalised.
“We would be seeking to talk to those at the top of those organisations, so in the case of Shein we would want to call Donald Tang, you’d need to have the leaders at the top of these organisations taking labour rights seriously,” Byrne told the FT.
Shein has doubled its profit in the last year to more than £2bn, with its low prices and on-the-spot reaction to fashion trends resonating with customers.
Labour’s employment rights bill
Byrne said that the idea was to hold hearings at the same time as the government’s employment rights bill was about to move to its report stage in parliament.
The bill has 28 individual measures, which include ending exploitative zero-hour contracts and banning fire and rehire tactics, while establishing bereavement and parental leave rights from day one of employment, as well as removing the lower earnings limit and waiting period on statutory sick pay.
The bill has been called “the most extensive reforms to union rights since the Thatcher era.”
“The committee is anxious to ensure that if you fix labour rights in Britain you don’t run the risk of importing from places with very poor labour rights, so the committee would want to look at those issues,” Byrne added.
Shein’s potential IPO
After initially tabling plans to list in New York, Shein came under intense pressure from Washington over its labour practices and fears over its ties to China. The company then ditched the proposals and swapped its intended listing venue to London.
If Shein does list in London, Labour would want it to be “regulated from the UK” business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has said.
Reynolds added: “If a listing was to be considered, I would want that because I would know that is the way we could enforce the highest standards that we would expect.”
Shein, which was valued at $66bn in April, has previously admitted to two cases of child labour in its supply chain, and a BBC report in May found that workers for some suppliers of the company were still working 75 hours a week.
However, it has stated that it has a “zero-tolerance policy” regarding forced labour.
City AM has contacted Shein for comment.