How Shein's Guangzhou factory influencer tour, likely meant to foster goodwill and improve the company's image before a rumored IPO, backfired spectacularly
In recent days, Chinese fast fashion giant Shein took a handful of influencers on a tour of its Guangzhou factory.
Fortune Alexandra Sternlicht
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Discussion
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@thekimbino
Kim
on x
They only invited people with zero critical thinking, eating this propaganda up! [video]
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@dieworkwear
Derek Guy
on x
cant help but feel that these influencers were chosen to make shein look progressive to a Western audience, while the company runs a sweatshop in the back to make clothes out of polyester and lead https://twitter.com/...
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@tyleroakley
@tyleroakley
on x
I was invited earlier this month to tour the SHEIN factory, I said no. Kind of scary that I could have been on it [image]
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@stevenjcbuckley
Dr Steven Buckley
on x
Very simple answer why it backfired: Inauthenticity. One of the main currencies on social media is authenticity. If you don't have it, you wont go far for long. https://twitter.com/...
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@ivadixit
Iva Dixit
on x
You come to me, the day of my daughter's Shein influencer trip
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@notabigjerk
Lauren
on x
the backlash to the shein tour tiktok suggests there is a hungry market at the box office for a more horror-forward willy wonka where all the children are influencers
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@imaniamrani
@imaniamrani
on x
I commented on her video to say we had done the first undercover investigation into factories supplying clothes to Shein which provided video evidence of laws being broken - they aren't just rumours. She has since deleted all of the comments and moved the video to her reels... ht…
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@twinbrett_
Dr Brett Staniland
on x
Posted this everywhere else so here's my thoughts on the Shein influencer trip to the factory folks. [video]
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@qinnitan
@qinnitan
on x
meanwhile actual investigative journalists & shein factory workers risked everything to film the reality of the workplace conditions https://twitter.com/... [video]
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@thomasgermain
Thomas Germain
on x
Not sure what stage of capitalism this is but we're now at the “denying slave labor through TikTok influencer campaign” level https://gizmodo.com/...
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@iamsternlicht
Alexandra Sternlicht
on x
I've spent the last few weeks talking to Shein haul influencers. They've all said the content's popularity has diminished. Why? Audiences don't love the brand's association with conventionally hot models. With this, the Guangzhou trip makes sense https://fortune.com/...