Shein reveals child labour cases as it steps up supplier audits
Corrects emissions savings figure in paragraph 16 to 314,805 tons, not 49,578 tons, and changes tonnes to metric tons
By Helen Reid
LONDON, Aug 22 (Reuters) -Fast fashion retailer Shein found two cases of child labour at its suppliers last year, it said in its 2023 sustainability report, as it stepped up audits of manufacturers in China to assuage criticisms of its low-cost business model ahead of a planned flotation.
Shein said in the report on Thursday it had suspended orders from the suppliers that had employed children under 16, sourcing from them again only after they had strengthened their processes, including checking workers' identity documents.
The company said both cases had been "resolved swiftly", with remediation steps including ending underage employees' contracts, arranging medical checkups, and facilitating repatriation to parents or guardians as necessary.
Shein tightened its supplier policy last October after the child labour cases were found, so that any severe breaches - called "Immediate Termination Violations" - would result in ending the relationship with the supplier immediately.
Previously, suppliers such as those that employed minors had 30 days to resolve the issue, failing which Shein would cut ties.
Annabella Ng, senior director of global government relations at Shein in Singapore, said the updated supply chain policy took into account feedback from regulators and suppliers.
The company had not previously reported the number of cases of child labour, citing only the percentage of audits that found minors in the workplace. That violation was found in 1.8% of supplier audits in 2021, 0.3% of audits in 2022, and 0.1% in 2023.
"We remain vigilant in guarding against such violations going forward, and in line with current policies, will terminate any noncompliant suppliers," Shein said in the report.
Shein, which has grown rapidly selling $5 tops and $10 dresses online to shoppers around the world, said 3,990 audits were conducted in 2023, up from 2,812 in 2022 and 664 in 2021.
It used Bureau Veritas, Intertek, Openview, SGS, Tuv Rheinland and QIMA for 92% of its audits last year, and said it aims for 100% of audits to be done by such third-party agencies.
Overall the audit results Shein published showed fewer serious violations than last year.
EMISSIONS SURGE
Shein's 2023 sustainability report, published more than a year after the 2022 report, will be pored over by investors weighing whether to buy shares in the retailer if and when it lists. The group filed for an initial public offering in London in early June.
In an introductory note, Shein CEO Sky Xu said improving Shein's supply chain governance and managing its carbon footprint, particularly indirect "scope 3" emissions, were "critical" areas for the company.
Shein sends products directly from suppliers in China to customers by air, and its emissions from transporting products more than doubled in 2023 to 6.35 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, the report showed.
The company has 5,800 contract manufacturers in total, with most located in China's Guangdong province.
Shein has started sourcing some products from suppliers closer to its consumers, in Turkey and Brazil, and said this saved 314,805 tons of CO2 equivalent last year.
Shein said it submitted emissions reduction goals in June this year to the Science-Based Targets Initiative, the leading global arbiter of how companies set climate targets, and is undergoing the validation process.
It also said it had established a board-level sustainability committee in July last year, comprising its CEO, executive chairman and three representatives of investors - HongShan partner Jiajia Zou, Global Head of ESG at General Atlantic Cornelia Gomez, and Brookfield Growth Managing Partner Josh Raffaelli.
Asked whether Shein had created the committee to bolster its governance because of the upcoming flotation, Ng said she could not comment on any IPO-related questions.
"But definitely we have been looking at enhancing our governance structures as part of our overall ESG journey towards more transparency and accountability," she said.
Carbon emissions from Shein parcels jump https://reut.rs/3YYbXvd
Shein supplier audits find fewer serious violations https://reut.rs/3MB0Np3
Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Jan Harvey and David Goodman
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.