Caixin (June 3) reported that the rapid rise of the $15 billion Chinese fast-fashion business, which now challenges industry titans like Zara and H&M, has prompted questions about who controls the company and the sustainability of its business model. It said Shein, a Chinese retail website and app focused almost entirely on the export market, has proved a smash hit among young women and teenage girls in Western countries thanks to its huge selection of cheap, trendy clothing. But observers say its strategy, which uses China’s world-leading garment manufacturing networks to outmuscle rivals on speed and price, reprises global fast-fashion schemes linked to a litany of environmental and labor abuses.
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