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Shein Flew Influencers to China to Help Its Image. A Backlash Ensued.
The fast-fashion company’s attempt to rebut allegations of forced labor and poor working conditions was met with incredulity online.
Jordyn Holman and
When the ultrafast-fashion retailer Shein invited Kenya Freeman on a free two-week trip to China, she was thrilled. It has become a status symbol for Instagram and TikTok creators to be taken on paid excursions by brands, and Ms. Freeman, who had also been designing clothes for Shein for two and a half years, saw it as a major opportunity.
But while brands often plan such trips to promote new products or generate online buzz, Shein’s pitch was unusual: She was among half a dozen influencers in the United States who would tour its factories and a shipping center, and meet workers. Shein, which has been under growing regulatory scrutiny as it grapples with accusations that its goods are made with forced labor, was hoping that the creators would post a more upbeat narrative about the company during their travels.
That part worked: Ms. Freeman created 11 Instagram posts, including videos, extolling Shein and its labor conditions on Instagram, where she has 31,600 followers. She and other creators enlisted by Shein highlighted tidy stacks of clear Shein packages, robots moving merchandise and rows of happy workers.
“They weren’t even sweating,” one creator, Destene Sudduth, posted to Instagram and TikTok. (Ms. Sudduth did not respond to a request for comment.)
But rather than win hearts and minds, Shein and the creators have been roundly blasted in the past week by social media users who have viewed the videos incredulously. Shein has been forced to issue a statement saying it was “saddened” to see the backlash against its creators and has conducted what Ms. Freeman described as a “wellness check” to gauge how creators were faring after the torrent of online vitriol.
The creators have been deleting negative comments on their social media accounts and posting defensive videos. And the trip has become a cautionary tale for marketers, as Shein’s efforts to help its reputation using influencers managed to alienate consumers and draw even more attention to allegations of unsavory business practices.
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