China's popular affordable price tag 'SHEIN' invites influencers to its Chinese factory to try to improve its image, but it backfires

' SHEIN ', which is popular as a cheap price brand from China, is a brand that is particularly popular on Twitter and Instagram because you can buy cheap and stylish clothes and daily goods, but there are also problems such as design theft . is known. Such SHEIN invited overseas influencers to a factory in China to restore its image, but TechCrunch, an overseas media, reports that ``this backfired.''

How Shein's influencer trip to a Chinese factory backfired | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2023/06/27/how-sheins-influencer-trip-to-a-chinese-factory-backfired/

SHEIN has reached 100 billion dollars (about 14 trillion yen) in sales in 2022, and in May 2023 it was valued at a market capitalization of 66 billion dollars (about 9.5 trillion yen). It is a cheap plastic brand and fast fashion brand that is popular overseas. In the app store / App store operated by Apple, SHEIN ranked second in the shopping category, surpassing Amazon, and ranked 14th in all free apps. In other words, it is also a shopping app that is widely used worldwide.

However, TechCrunch points out that the company's image needs to change significantly for SHEIN to go public. The reason is that SHEIN has plagiarized the designs of indie designers and violated local labor laws . In addition, the CBC reports that 'some of SHEIN's products contain a large amount of lead.' A CBC study found that one infant clothing contained 20 times more lead than the 'safe amount for children' set by Canadian health authorities.

In order to change this bad image, SHEIN invites influencers to a factory tour in Guangzhou, China. SHEIN has created videos of factory tours by influencers and uploaded them to its official YouTube channel.

SHEIN 101 On the Road-DAY 2-YouTube


One of the influencers who participated in this factory tour was @itsdestene_ from TikToker, who has over 4 million followers. He made a video of the factory tour, saying, 'I expected the factory to be full of enslaved people, but it was a pleasant surprise that most of the people working in the factory were robots. 'To be honest, at the SHEIN factory, everyone was sitting comfortably and working normally, not even sweating.'

Fashion influencer @itsdanidmc also participated in the SHEIN factory tour, saying, 'In the United States, there is a story (about SHEIN) that has been given,' and 'It is important to have independent thoughts, know the facts, and see with your own eyes.' I posted a video that says it is. This video has been deleted at the time of writing the article, but it is possible to check the content in another TikToker claiming that ``@itsdanidmc's factory tour video is SHEIN's propaganda.''

In response to these influencers' posts, many users immediately began to point out that 'the factory shown in the video does not reflect the true appearance of the actual SHEIN factory.' rice field.

Also included in the video are ``I'm worried that he seems to be using you for damage control,'' and ``If SHEIN really wants to show that nothing is involved, he should be a rewarded influencer. Instead, we will invite journalists from the news media to visit the factory.”

TikToker's @myweeklyarn mimics an influencer who toured SHEIN's factory with a photo of the Triangle Shirtwaist factory , where one of the worst industrial fires in American history took place, to ridicule SHEIN's propaganda. I post videos like this.

In response to criticism of these videos, SHEIN said, 'SHEIN values transparency, and the factory tour that we invited influencers to shows that we are listening to feedback, and how SHEIN 'Their videos and comments on social media are authentic and we respect and support each influencer's perspective and experience,' he told TechCrunch. However, he once again denied that the factory tour and related videos were SHEIN's propaganda. However, not only SHEIN but also the influencers who participated in the factory tour have been criticized.

Plus-size model @itsdanidmc posted a video on Instagram that refuted the criticism , stating, 'When SHEIN guided us on a factory tour to China, they said, 'Various rumors We are aware that there is a lot going on.' 'We posted the video because we wanted to prove, not just with words, but with actions, that SHEIN is worthy of working with us in the future. ' commented. However, this post also received many critical comments, such as 'I was brainwashed by going on a branded trip,' 'It's embarrassing,' and 'I can't help but sigh deeply like I did when I saw an apology video on YouTube.' increase.