Let’s stop Shein raising cash in London

In the vast deserts and mountains of China’s Xinjiang region, the Uyghur people are suffering grave persecution. Evidence alleges many of them are being forced into a system of mass detention and modern slavery, producing textiles – including cotton – used in the supply chains of the fast-fashion retailer Shein.

Elsewhere in China, reporters have found sweatshops where people are hunched over sewing machines for 10, 11 or 12 hours a day [1], making the bargain-basement garments that Shein sells around the world. They’ve revealed that Shein’s energy-intensive business model has made it the highest-emitting company in the fashion industry [2]. And they’ve shown how the company is avoiding millions of pounds every year in taxes [3], adding to the enormous pressures on British fashion brands.

So how could the e-commerce giant be permitted to list on the London Stock Exchange?

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulates the London exchange, making sure that companies who might be carrying out financial crimes can’t raise cash. And forced labour is such a clear abuse of human rights that listing Shein could be unlawful, as well as deeply unethical.

Shein already tried – and failed – to list on the New York Stock Exchange last year. But as Labour scrabbles to secure UK growth in a post-Brexit world, we fear the FCA will bow to pressure and lower its standards.

We can’t let them get away with it.

The campaign group Stop Uyghur Genocide has sent a dossier of evidence alleging abuses in Shein’s cotton supply chain to the FCA, urging it to block the London listing. Good Law Project and Leigh Day are supporting Stop Uyghur Genocide to bring a legal challenge against the FCA if the listing goes ahead.

Rahima Mahmut, Executive Director of Stop Uyghur Genocide, says that for the Uyghur people “this sends a powerful message that profits cannot come at the cost of human dignity and freedom.” We share her fundamental belief that “companies must not be allowed to thrive on exploitation and systematic abuse.”

So join us to stop the UK from giving Shein free rein to make more money from alleged forced labour.