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= SHEIN (company) = SHEIN, previously known as SheInside, is an international B2C fast fashion e-commerce platform. According to its website, the online store currently serves over 220 countries, predominantly targeting European, American, Australian, and Middle Eastern consumer markets. In addition to selling men, women, and kids' clothes, the platform offers a range of home and beauty products. SHEIN is often visited amongst Generation Z, appealing to this group with its cheaply priced, fashionable, and trendy clothes. The site offers over 10,000 retail items on its website and adds approximately 1,000 new items a day. = History Timeline = 2008: SHEIN was founded in Nanjing, China by CEO Chris Xu, who was an American-born graduate of Washington University. Xu studied search engine optimization (SEO) marketing, a specialization that has helped grow SHEIN's online popularity.

2012: Xu originally owned a wedding dress company for women, but later gave up the business to acquire the domain SheInside.com.

2013: The company had over 50 employees at this time.

2014: SHEIN acquired its own supply chain ; the company also purchased Romwe, another Chinese fast fashion, e-commerce retail company.

2015: Xu expanded the site's clothing line from offering just women's clothes to a range of products: men's, women's, kids' clothing, decor, and beauty products.

The CEO's focus shifted to overseas markets and renamed the company SHEIN.

2016: SHEIN grew to 800 employees, all of whom were responsible of designs for fast production.

2017: SHEIN had its debut on daytime television for advertising its products, along other fast fashion retailers like Zaful and Fashion Nova.

2020: Katy Perry, Lil Nas X, Rita Ora and Doja Cat performed at SHEIN's global streaming event to help with COVID-19 relief; guest appearances for the event

included Yara Shahidi, Hailey Bieber, Madelaine Petsch, and others.

= Products = While many of the styles that are offered across all of SHEIN's global markets are similar, it appears that the types of clothing available for purchase varies by region. For example, in SHEIN's USA, European, and Australian sites, the Women's dresses tab offers a plethora of dresses with different patterns and lengths. On the contrary, SHEIN's Middle East site, while offering very similar clothes, appears to have more modest styles and dress lengths.

Clothing (Men's, Women's, Curve + Plus, Kids)
SHEIN's US page offers a diversified pool of clothing; each of the company's target demographics are able to explore clothes of various prints, colors, styles, and lengths for various body types and ages. For instance, the Kids' section offers clothing starting with babies (0-24 months) up to fourteen years; Toddler Girls (ages 1-6) are offered everything from party wear to sweatshirt sets to t-shirts and tanks. The variety offered to each demographic allows consumers to have more options to choose from.

Beauty
SHEIN's beauty section includes personal care products, beauty tools, as well as its own makeup line, SHEGLAM. SHEIN's beauty tools range from makeup brushes to nail art to tattoos, with prices ranging from $1-$32. Its personal care products include everything from deodorants to eye sheets to electric toothbrushes, with prices ranging from $1-$42; it also includes the facial jade stone roller and gua sha. SHEGLAM was originally a part of SHEIN's main website, but due to its growth, the brand created a separate site.

Home
SHEIN's home section is divided into several categories: bedding & bathroom, home decor, kitchen & dining, lighting & party supplies, kids' home store, home improvement, pet supplies, and stationary. It includes everything a person can possibly think of: decorative pillows, LED lights, shower curtains, barbecue electronic thermometers, pet chew toys, ID card holders, and more.

= Shipping = Since SHEIN originated in China, the company initially shipped its products overseas from China; however, after it grew in scale, the company was able to open several warehouses across the world and outsource their products to cheaper countries. SHEIN currently offers free shipping to US customers with a purchase of $49 or more; it also offers free express shipping with purchases of $159 and more.

= Claims of Cultural Insensitivity =

Muslim Prayer Rug
On July 3, 2020 the online clothing store posted descriptions like "frilled Greek carpets" and "Flower Print Tassel Trim Carpet" next to pictures of a mat with the Kaaba on it. Muslims believe the Kaaba to be the holiest shrine, and is considered to be the "house of God". The $9 carpet outraged the Muslim community; in fact, journalism student Khadija Rizvi claimed that she was in "complete anger". Rizvi explained to Teen Vogue that the the mats are meant to be kept in clean areas and are used to kneel on to connect with God; shoes are not allowed on these mats and are not supposed to be used for daily use, like rugs under coffee tables. American Muslim fashion influencer and activist Nabela Noor took matters in her own hands and called out SHEIN on Twitter for culturally appropriating the Islamic prayer mats; Noor not only urged SHEIN to remove the posts on its home decor portion of the website, but was also able to discuss the matter with the Head of Brand. Two days after the initial post (July 5, 2020), SHEIN took down the photos and apologized to its community, acknowledging the mistake and ensuring that the brand will move forward and do better on educating its teams to ensure such matters won't occur again.

Necklace Swastika
In July 2020, SHEIN posted a necklace for sale labeled "metal swastika pendant necklace" for $2.50. Twitter users were outraged by SHEIN's lack of sensitivity toward the westernized connotation behind this necklace; before SHEIN could remove the post, numerous influencers, including fashion influencer Marissa Casey Grossman, took screenshots of the post to share with the public. The swastika is known for symbolizing Nazism; however, before the West adapted its negative connotation, the swastika (both right-facing and left-facing) actually represented good fortune, well-being, and luck in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. SHEIN profusely apologized on Instagram and Twitter about the pendant necklace after taking it down, claiming that it was to represent the Buddhist symbol of spirituality and good fortune and not a representation of anti-semitism; while taking accountability for its actions, SHEIN claimed that the company will take on major internal changes to ensure that such things won't happen again. SHEIN's necklace swastika issue came out just four days after the company's Muslim prayer rug incident.

= Supply Chain and Labor Practices =

SHEIN buys clothing from wholesalers and then sells the products to generate profits; it uses the vertical integration supply chain approach. The company heavily focuses on utilizing social media platforms, such as Instagram and Youtube to target its market, especially those under the age of 25. In August 2021, it was discovered that SHEIN has not been transparent about its supply chain; the fast-fashion company falsely claimed that its factories were properly certified by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and labor standard organization SA8000 and SHEIN quickly removed this statement on its social responsibility page after the news came out. Fashion United claims that there is a lack of supply chain transparency from SHEIN. Britain enforced SHEIN to disclose information on its company website regarding steps to avoid modern slavery in its supply chain. Similar to its supply chain, little is known about SHEIN's labor practices. The company claims that it does not engage in child or forced labor, but its practices do not consistently focus on labor laws.

= References = Category:Lead