Silent Voices of the Schein Factory: Uncovering the Truth Behind

Oppression

Fast fashion, Teresa Wu & Geru Zhang

On January 30, 2024, reports surfaced regarding
Lina, a 16-year-old girl hailing from Guangdong,
China, who sought employment with "Shein" in the
city. Facing financial hardships, she made the
difficult decision to abandon her education and join
the workforce at the Schein Factory to cover tuition
and living expenses.

Lina's daily routine is exhausting. Immersed in the

noise of machines, she endures long hours of
repetitive and monotonous labor, often working up
to 18 hours a day with just one day off per month.
Despite her diligence, her earnings remain grueling,
averaging close to 2 cents per clothing produced.
Even though she can make out 500 pieces daily, this
translates to a limited monthly income of $556, HOW CAN WE HELP THEM?
which is the only means of livelihood for her and her
whole family.
How can we support individuals like Lina that
work for Fast Fashion? To begin with,
The factory where Lina works and many other fast
contributing as little as 23 euros to
fashion factories has strict rules that make the
organisations like the Circle's Women and Girls
problems worse. Companies try to save money by
Solidarity Funds, as highlighted in The
using cheap materials and harmful chemicals that
Guardian, can provide crucial assistance to
hurt workers and nature. Lina and others in
women and their families. These funds not
sweatshops face dangers like silica dust and lead
only aid with essential supplies like food, but
exposure, along with over 8,000 harmful chemicals
also provide items such as face masks and
that can cause cancer. From statistic data, about 27
soap, helping to safeguard them against
million people every year get sick from their jobs. In
infections and diseases. Additionally, we play a
the fashion industry's sweatshops alone, there are
significant role in our daily lives. Raising
about 1.4 million injuries each year and many
awareness about the impacts of fast fashion is
workers can not get medical help because they can't
essential. This can be achieved through
afford it.
various means, including education initiatives
and social media campaigns, encouraging
Lina's hardships go far beyond the physical. As she people to opt for sustainable and
spends her days in a stressful job, she has no extra higher-quality brands over fast fashion labels.
time to pursue her interests and dreams. Her life By making mindful purchasing choices, we can
seemed to be stuck in a monotonous cycle of positively impact the lives of fast fashion
repetitive tasks every day, and her dreams seemed workers. Furthermore, establishing free
to be getting farther and farther away from her. psychological support services in community
Lina's life became miserable. She felt like she was centres and hospitals can offer crucial security
part of the work machine and lost the joy of life. In and healthcare assistance to individuals in
such a working environment, she gradually became need.
tired, depressed and mentally numb. She began to
wonder if life was really worth it. The cruel thing is
that there are many such examples, not only her.
Through this report, we aim to draw society's attention to the plight of Fast fashion Factory workers
and call for action to improve their working environment and quality of life. This is a starting point
that resonates with society and promotes reform.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chomsky, R. (2024, 29 enero). Is Shein Sustainable? A Deep Dive into Fast Fashion

and Ethical Practices. Sustainable Review.

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Initiative, E. D. (2023, 9 octubre). Fast Fashion in China - The Environmental

Defense Initiative - Medium. Medium.

https://medium.com/@environmentaldefenseinitiative/fast-fashion-in-china-ca

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User, G. (2021, 14 abril). 7 ways to help garment workers — Kleiderly. Kleiderly.

https://www.kleiderly.com/our-blog/7-ways-to-help-garment-workers