America’s Top Fast-Fashion Retailer Tries to Shed Its Chinese Image - WSJ

Shein, the China-founded ultrafast-fashion retailer that has become a favorite of young American consumers, is making an effort to reshape its public image, including addressing American lawmakers’ concerns about the origins of its cotton.

Shein is now the top fast-fashion retailer in the U.S. by market share. As the popularity of its rock-bottom-priced clothes—think $5 tank tops and $6 sandals—has soared, critics have battered it over alleged copyright infringement, textile waste and questionable labor practices.

At the core of Shein’s challenge is a hot-button political issue. Western lawmakers have pressed Shein to address whether it sources cotton from China’s Xinjiang region, where the U.S. has accused Chinese authorities of committing genocide and of using forced labor in its repression of mostly Muslim Uyghurs, allegations Beijing denies.