Internationally, criticism of the Chinese fast-fashion retailer is increasing. Not only have products and production methods already been declared as harmful to the environment and health, but the pricing practices at international tariffs have also caused discontent in the West. The USA, under the administration of Joe Biden, is already planning to take action against the duty-free limit that the retailer has exploited extensively.
Despite these allegations, Shein has now announced that it wants to promote European creative talent. With a sum of 10 million euros, the company wants to discover up-and-coming designers and support them in their careers. The creatives will concentrate on creating the designs, while Shein will take over production, marketing and distribution. This will provide access to Shein’s international customer base, while at the same time sharing the profits. However, according to the company, the designers will retain the copyright to their creations.
“Europe is home to many talented young designers, we are proud to not only support this new generation of creative minds, but also to realize and advance our goals in the areas of sustainability and circular economy,” says Leonard Lin, President of Shein EMEA. “Just as the designers have integrated the circular economy into their collections, we too want to promote the use of more sustainable materials and circular design ideas. Our goal is to attract more designers to SHEIN X with collaborations like this and our commitment. We hope that SHEIN can be a catalyst for new fashion creators and the promotion of more circularity in fashion.”