Shein has been accused of ‘wilful ignorance’ in supply chain showdown with MPs

Speaking at the Business and Trade Committee on Tuesday, Shein’s EMEA general counsel Yinan Zhu said she was not qualified to answer questions and could not respond to many enquiries about Shein’s supply chain, cotton sourced from China and labour concerns.

When asked directly if the company sources cotton from China, Zhu said Shein works with a “wide network of suppliers” including in China, Brazil and Turkey.

After being pressed on the matter, Zhu said she could only answer questions “to the best of her understanding” and asked to send a written response afterwards.

Zhu was also asked about forced labour that is believed to have taken place in Xinjiang. Zhu reminded MPs of the “agenda of the committee” and said: “I’m only able to answer the questions that are related to our business.”

Committee chair, Labour MP Liam Byrne, later asked about Shein eyeing a listing on the London Stock Exchange as well as challenges for the business regarding a listing in New York. Zhu said she could not comment on either.

Liberal Democrat MP Charlie Maynard held up his laptop during the questioning and said an online search demonstrated he had found about 20 products on the website including cotton.

Maynard accused Zhu of “wilful ignorance” and said she was being “very unhelpful”.

He also asked if she was “being disrespectful” by not answering the questions. Zhu insisted she was “doing the best I can”.

With an eye to concerns over child labour, Zhu said Shein works with its suppliers to “prevent” it and added the business has “tightened the policy” and child labour is now considered an “immediate termination violation”.

The spotlight then moved on to Temu and its senior legal counsel Stephen Heary who said while he could not comment on specific claims regarding factories, the business “takes labour practices very seriously”.

When asked if any Temu products are sold from Xinjiang, Heary said Temu “does not allow sellers” from the region.

At the end of the session, Byrne said it had been “extremely helpful”.

He concluded: “The committee has been pretty horrified by the lack of evidence that you have provided today, you’ve given us almost zero confidence in the integrity of your supply chains.”

He added that the retailers’ hesitation to answer basic questions had “bordered on contempt” of the committee.