Shein

Shein traces to 2008, when founder Chris Xu began a China-based dropshipping/SEO wedding-dress business; it relaunched as the SheInside fast-fashion site in 2012 and rebranded to Shein in 2015, building a data-driven, on-demand small-batch manufacturing model that lets it add thousands of new styles daily.

Shein describes its mission as making the beauty of fashion accessible to all, using an on-demand production model it says reduces overproduction and inventory waste compared to traditional retail.

Its core products are extremely low-priced women's, men's, and kids' clothing and accessories, expanded into beauty, home goods, and electronics sold both directly and through third-party sellers on the Shein Marketplace.

Shein's own reporting cites an on-demand manufacturing model that it says limits overproduction and points to a stated 2030 emissions-reduction target, but independent findings tell a different story: Shein's 2023 sustainability report disclosed 16.7 million metric tons of CO2 emitted that year, only about 6% of its dominant polyester fabric is recycled, and 2026 labor-exploitation lawsuits and prior investigative reporting have documented unsafe factory conditions, excessive hours, and inadequate wages in its supply chain.