A senior lawyer representing Shein repeatedly refused to say whether the company sells products containing cotton from China, prompting one MP to brand her evidence “ridiculous”.
Yinan Zhu, general counsel for the fast-fashion giant, confirmed its suppliers did manufacture products in the country but did not say whether they used Chinese cotton.
Firms that source clothing, cotton, and other products from the Xinjiang region in the north west of China have come under pressure following allegations of forced labour and human rights abuses.
Charlie Maynard, an MP on the Business and Trade Committee, accused Ms Zhu of “obfuscating”.
Shein has grown rapidly since it was founded in 2008, and was one of many online businesses to boom during the pandemic lockdowns.
Its rapid rise has meant the company has gone from a little-known brand to one of the biggest fast fashion retailers globally, shipping to customers in 150 countries, and it is a now exploring plans to list its shares on the London Stock Exchange.
But the company, which was founded in China but is now headquartered in Singapore, has come under fire over working practices, which include allegations of forced labour in supply chains. Shein has denied this.
Fashion retailers across the world have faced pressure following allegations of forced labour and human rights abuses against people from the Muslim Uyghur minority in China. The authorities in Beijing have consistently denied the claims.
Some big brands, including H&M, Nike, Burberry and Adidas have removed products using Xinjiang cotton, which has led to a backlash in China, and boycotts of the companies.
Ms Zhu, Shein’s general counsel for Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) told MPs that the company does not own any factories or manufacturing facilities, but works with a large network of suppliers, mostly in China, but also in Turkey and Brazil.
When pressed repeatedly over whether products contained Chinese cotton, she declined to answer, and asked if she could write to the committee following the hearing.
She added that Shein complied with “laws and regulations in the countries we operate in”.
But Liberal Democrat MP Maynard hit out at Ms Zhu’s comments, and accused her for “obfuscating willfully”.
“I don’t think you’re respecting the committee at all. I am on your website and I can see about 20 products which are all cotton…. and yet you say to our chair that you can’t state whether Shein is selling any products which are made in China, which are made of cotton – I find that completely ridiculous,” he said.
“You mention every other spot of the compass, but you don’t mention west China, you don’t mention Xinjiang at all. It’s wilful ignorance.”
Ms Zhu responded saying she was “doing the best I can”, and was “giving answers to the best of my ability”, which prompted Maynard to reply: “That is simply not true.”
Liam Byrne, chair of the committee, said for a company that sells £1bn worth of goods to consumers, and was looking to list in the UK, the committee had been “pretty horrified by the lack of evidence” Ms Zhu had provided.
“You have given us almost zero confidence in the integrity of your supply chains, you can’t even tell us what your products are made from, you can’t even tell us the much about the conditions which workers have to work in, and the reluctance to answer basic questions has frankly bordered on contempt of the committee,” he said.
