Shein, the Chinese fast-fashion company, is facing pressure from campaigners ahead of its rumoured London IPO, with activists for workers' rights having said an admission to the FTSE would be "yet another betrayal to working people everywhere and the planet”.
Labour Behind the Label campaigner Alena Ivanova said the Britsol-based organisation had reacted "with dismay" after hearing reports Shein was close to launching a £50 billion listing in the UK.
Ivanova claimed the lack of transparency about its supply chain and ethical concerns, including allegations of forced labour in the Uyghur region of China and its “cavalier approach to design appropriation”, should be cause for concern.
It compounds on comments made by Mathias Bolton, head of commerce at UNI Global Union, who said: “Shein shouldn’t be rewarded with the credibility of being listed in the City, or anywhere else, given the lack of transparency in their supply chain and shocking reports of severe labour violations.”
Last week, UK fund managers expressed concerns about supporting fashion company Shein's potential flotation.
"It’s a tricky one," one UK fund manager told the Financial Times. "I don’t think anyone with an ESG team will be able to buy it. It smacks of desperation for the London Stock Exchange — they’ll take anything." He added that there is a risk of "collateral brand damage" for the LSE.
Other fund managers said the listing was important for London as investors large and small have shown there remains interest in companies that don't have the best ESG records.