Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein has admitted two of its sites breached local labor violations and that it will be investing $15 million to improve the working standards at its factories.
Shein launched an investigation after U.K. Channel Four documentary Untold: Inside The Shein Machine alleged that workers were subject to 16-hour-long days, got one day off a month, and earned wages of around 4,000 yuan ($572) per month to produce hundreds of garments for the online retailer each day.
In an independent audit, commissioned by Shein and carried out by Intertek and TUVR, the company found that the workers at two of its factories were working 12.5- to 13.5-hour-long days, which it notes is “significantly less than claimed in the documentary,” but still more than what is legally permitted by local law.
Shein said it would be cutting orders from the two problematic factories and is giving them until the end of the year to correct the problem and comply with local labor laws.
In China, workers are allowed to work up to eight hours a day, with three additional hours of overtime, and are promised at least one day off a week.
Shein also said in a statement that workers at the factories were either given two to three days off a month or had no fixed structure for days off at all.
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