Episode 205: The SHEIN-sodes, part 2: Bots, Stolen Art, and Phthala-what?!

Clotheshorse with Amanda Lee McCarty

This episode is part 2 in a short series about SHEIN: where it’s been, where it’s going, and how it is changing everything. If you haven’t listened to part one yet, go do that before listening to this episode.

In this part of the series, we will be tackling:

• An update on SHEIN's IPO plans.
• Why and how SHEIN's low prices are unnaturally and unethically low.
• How SHEIN’s byzantine corporate structure virtually shields it from any legal accountability.
• SHEIN is infamous for stealing designs from artists and smaller brands. And also big brands! How is it doing that?
• How the way SHEIN runs its business could be endangering its customers (along with the people making its products).

Additional reading (lots of sources again this week):

"Experts say Shein’s U.S. IPO is all but dead," Ece Yildirim, CNBC.
"Shein sought to reassure US over China supply chain ahead of IPO," Financial Times.
"Shein’s London IPO plan in regulatory limbo as investors grow jittery, sources say," Coco Feng and Wency Chen, South China Morning Post.
"Shein UK breaches company law by failing to disclose human owner," Julia Kollewe, The Guardian.
"Shopping platform Shein poised to take major U.S. market share. UBS thinks these companies will be hurt most," Alex Harring, CNBC.
"Shein stole my design so I’m spilling all the tea and it’s PIPING HOT."
"40+ Businesses Shein Stole Designs From: The Complete List," Ethically Dressed.
"‘Details I made, they made’ – designers hit back at Shein’s imitation game," Ellie Violet Bramley, The Guardian.
"Shein’s fast fashion comes with fast-finance risks," John Foley, Reuters.

"Artists Accuse Fashion Brand Shein of Using AI to Steal Their Designs," Maya Pontone, Hyperallergic.
"China’s Fast-Fashion Giant Shein Faces Dozens of Lawsuits Alleging Design Theft," Dan Strumpf, Wall Street Journal.
"New Lawsuit Lifts the Lid on Shein's AI-Powered Ultra-Fast Fashion Model,"The Fashion Law.
"How bots are stealing artwork from artists on Twitter," Tim Gerken, BBC.
"Experts warn of high levels of chemicals in clothes by some fast-fashion retailers," CBC News.
"Taking the shine off SHEIN: Hazardous chemicals in SHEIN products break EU regulations, new report finds," Greenpeace Germany.
"Seoul finds high levels of toxic chemicals in Shein products," AFP.
"What “Millennial Gray” Is, and Why It Has TikTok in a Tizzy," Apartment Therapy.

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