Workers at Shein, the Chinese ecommerce giant, have been sharing videos that expose the precarious working conditions in the company’s warehouses. These videos, uploaded to Chinese social media platforms, provide a glimpse into the lives of workers who are struggling to make a living in the fast-fashion industry.
In one video, a Shein warehouse worker claims to have picked 650 clothing items during his last shift without taking a single bathroom break. He says this sacrifice would help him earn a decent income. Another worker says he is grateful to have a friendly team leader, but he is sweating profusely after picking goods all night. A third worker shares her struggles with lifting her left hand after completing an 11-and-a-half hour shift.
These videos, along with dozens of others, have been analyzed to provide a rare glimpse into the lives of Shein workers. They reveal a meticulously optimized logistics supply chain that allows Shein to send millions of cheap clothing items to consumers around the world.
The workers in these videos are not full-time employees, but rather gig workers who are recruited through a controversial system known as “labor dispatch.” This arrangement allows firms to outsource responsibility for temporary workers to staffing agencies, which oversee their wages, benefits, and working conditions.
According to Lu Zhang, an associate professor at Temple University, this system “separates the employment relationship from the actual use of labor.” It allows companies to achieve labor on demand while cutting costs. The use of labor dispatch has been criticized for allowing companies to unfairly dodge import duties and exploit workers.
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