Trade unions welcome the French National Contact Point’s (NCP) critical assessment of Shein’s business practices, demonstrating how the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises can serve as a powerful tool for initiating dialogue and supporting holding corporations to account. The NCP’s investigation, triggered by French MPs Dominique Potier and Boris Vallaud, points to an overwhelming lack of due diligence and workplace processes at Shein which make labour rights violations highly likely.
For many years, trade unions have highlighted that Shein, a Chinese e-commerce platform whose items are primarily produced in China, promotes a model of overconsumption that places extreme pressure on workers. Fast-turn production cycles drive excessive-overtime risks and downward pressure on wages and safety. Evidence from the NGO Public Eye’s investigative work documented working weeks of up to 75 hours, unsupervised pay-per-piece arrangements, missing or inadequate contracts, underpaid social security contributions and serious concerns about respect for freedom of association. In its Final Statement, the NCP found Shein non-compliant with the OECD Guidelines and identified systemic gaps – inadequate due diligence and disclosure, failures to prevent child-labour risks and to address forced-labour concerns, ambiguous rules on working time and wages, and an over-reliance on domestic law rather than international standards.
TUAC also emphasises the broader significance of this case. The OECD Guidelines’ comprehensive scope enabled the NCP to identify Shein’s non-compliance across multiple areas. Beyond labour violations, the assessment revealed the company fails to meet OECD standards on disclosure of information, due diligence, environmental responsibility, and consumer protection, and made practical recommendations requiring Shein to strengthen its policies on human rights and working conditions throughout its supply chain.
"While the OECD Guidelines and NCP system still need strengthening, this case shows their potential to expose exploitative business practices in global supply chains. The real test will be whether these findings translate into concrete improvements to the working conditions of the people making Shein’s clothes."
During the NCP process, Shein signalled a willingness to engage with the complainants, but no agreement on concrete remedies was reached. Trade unions support the NCP’s call for Shein to engage in structured dialogue with workers’ representative organisations, including relevant global union federations. This recommendation underscores the Guidelines’ role in promoting meaningful social dialogue as essential for responsible business conduct.
TUAC will monitor the six-month review when the NCP assesses Shein’s progress. As the referring MPs highlighted in their complaint, the company’s carbon, social, and environmental footprint is fundamentally unsustainable and must be addressed. This case demonstrates why robust implementation of the OECD Guidelines remains vital for holding multinational enterprises accountable for their labour and environmental practices across global supply chains.
Photo credit: ILO/Aaron Santos
