Every American high schooler enrolled in a U.S. history course should be able to tell you that when Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin, the value of cotton grew exponentially. What made Whitney’s invention so innovative was how it made cotton processing more efficient, thus increasing the demand for labor. Students should also be able to tell you that the increased demand for labor was met through slavery.
This story of justifying evil due to soaring profits because of an innocuous innovation is one of shame — one hopes we would learn from it. Yet, slavery is on the rise in the modern world. One of the more egregious examples is the China-based e-commerce and fast fashion brand Shein, which employs the practice. Stunningly, Shein has recently acquired the ethical fashion label Everlane to serve as a $100 million moral fig leaf. The deal isn’t just bad for our wardrobes. It’s bad for our souls.
If you’re unfamiliar with Shein, it is likely because you have a healthy relationship with social media and thus are shielded from the apps inundating you with influencer ads for the company’s “can’t be real prices” on clothing dupes. Founded in 2008 in Nanjing, China, by Chris Xu, a search engine optimization specialist, the brand has seen exponential growth in the social media age. Despite tariffs, the online giant was projecting around $2 billion in income at the end of 2025 — more than double the previous year. While the business would have consumers think it’s because of its innovative approach to retail, the real story of its success is its heavy reliance on slave labor — aided in no small part by the genocidal Chinese Communist Party.
A part of Shein’s success can be attributed to its supply chain advantage as a “cross-border e-commerce” company. Companies like Shein process and fulfill orders from overseas directly from their warehouses, cutting down on the overhead necessary for stores in every market. Those at Shein’s helm seem to want to replicate the success of its model by purchasing other brands in distress. In 2023, for example, Shein acquired one-third of the struggling fast-fashion box store Forever 21’s operator, Sparc Group.
At face value, this seems to be an example of a company taking advantage of supply chain innovation to profit from the market. The reality of what undergirds their retail empire is far darker. Shein’s supply chain innovation is being supported by abysmal labor conditions and cotton provided by forced labor. Criticism of Shein’s labor practices has been around for years, though it seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Just last year, the BBC found that factory workers spent around 75 hours a week behind sewing machines, making well below a living wage. The company also utilizes cotton produced in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, which has more likely than not been harvested by Uyghurs and other ethnic minorities working as forced laborers in CCP concentration camps. The only difference between Shein’s supply chain innovation and Whitney’s cotton gin is that Whitney was not willingly aware of the pain his invention would bring.
Everlane stood in stark opposition to Shein: a company built on elevated basics but with sustainability and ethical production as guiding principles. While most media focus on Everlane’s environmental standards, it’s its labor practices that were truly laudable since people are unquestionably more important. As of now, its website proudly declares, “We spend months finding the best factories around the world — the same ones that produce your favorite designer labels. We visit them often and build strong personal relationships with the owners. Each factory is given a compliance audit to evaluate factors like fair wages, reasonable hours, and environment. Our goal? A score of 90 or above for every factory.” This bold statement is not likely to stand after their deal with the devil to rid themselves of around $90 million in debt.
SHEIN AND TEMU MUST BE RESTRICTED OVER SLAVE LABOR
While it’s tempting to shake our heads at Everlane as a turncoat, it was shifting consumer behavior, not greed, that led to the fall in stock. We should be well aware that as Everlane falls to the fast-fashion giant, we, the consumers, bear some of the blame. We are to blame every time we prioritize three new shirts that will fall apart over one staple. We are to blame every time we shamefully click “add to cart” after an influencer tells us they are “obsessed” with a skirt. We are to blame every time we convince ourselves something is a “need” when it is, in fact, very much a want — if we are honest, no one will die if we do not have a butter yellow dress this summer.
We, as consumers, have to demonstrate with our wallets that we do not want to wear clothes made inexpensive by another’s suffering. If the consumer begins to accept some of this responsibility, Everlane’s aspirational goal of sustainable and ethical design might continue to be a reality.
Anne Lord is the director of government affairs and covers defense policy for the Vandenberg Coalition. A former staffer for Sen. Ben Sasse, she holds a master’s in strategic studies from the University of St. Andrews.