Fast fashion retailer Shein found two cases of child labor at its suppliers last year, it said in its 2023 sustainability report, as it stepped up audits of manufacturers in China to assuage criticisms of its low-cost business model ahead of a planned flotation. Shein tightened its supplier policy last October after the child labor cases were found, so that any severe breaches — called “Immediate Termination Violations” — would result in ending the relationship with the supplier immediately. Previously, suppliers such as those that employed minors had 30 days to resolve the issue, failing which Shein would cut ties. That violation was found in 1.8% of supplier audits in 2021, 0.3% of audits in 2022, and 0.1% in 2023. “We remain vigilant in guarding against such violations going forward, and in line with current policies, will terminate any noncompliant suppliers,” Shein said in the report.

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Persons: Shein, Annabella Ng, “, ” Shein, Sky Xu, Jiajia Zou, General Atlantic Cornelia Gomez, Josh Raffaelli, Ng, ” Organizations: SGS, Tuv, General Atlantic, Brookfield Growth Locations: China, Shein, Singapore, Openview, Tuv Rheinland, QIMA, London, China’s Guangdong, Turkey, Brazil