عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Fashion

Chinese Fast-Fashion Giant Shein Aims to Be More Sustainable

Executive Vice Chairman of Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein, Donald Tang, talks to public during the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, Spain April 25, 2023. (Reuters)
Executive Vice Chairman of Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein, Donald Tang, talks to public during the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, Spain April 25, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
20
TT

Chinese Fast-Fashion Giant Shein Aims to Be More Sustainable

Executive Vice Chairman of Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein, Donald Tang, talks to public during the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, Spain April 25, 2023. (Reuters)
Executive Vice Chairman of Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein, Donald Tang, talks to public during the World Retail Congress in Barcelona, Spain April 25, 2023. (Reuters)

Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein plans to become more focused on sustainability, Executive Vice Chairman Donald Tang said on Tuesday, adding that consumers are no longer just concerned about affordability.

Shein sells $10 dresses and $5 tops and has taken market share from other affordable fashion retailers. The company produces clothing in China to sell online in the United States, Europe and Asia and has been criticized for promoting throwaway fashion.

"Consumers these days are no longer looking just at price: in the next phase to continue to grow you need to have ESG in mind," Tang said at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona.

ESG, an acronym for environmental, social, and governance, is a term used to describe corporations' efforts to be more responsible.

Tang said that Shein is offering customers an option to pick higher-quality materials and pay a premium for them for certain items.

He also mentioned Shein Exchange, the company's platform where shoppers can resell used clothes, which launched in the US in October and aims to start in other markets this year.

Shein continues to grow "very robustly", Tang said, and regularly has less than 2% of unsold inventory.

Most Viewed

 
Fashion

Swatch Workers in Türkiye Set to Strike in Pay Row

People walk past a store of Swiss watchmaker Swatch, in Beijing, China August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
People walk past a store of Swiss watchmaker Swatch, in Beijing, China August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
TT
20
TT

Swatch Workers in Türkiye Set to Strike in Pay Row

People walk past a store of Swiss watchmaker Swatch, in Beijing, China August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo
People walk past a store of Swiss watchmaker Swatch, in Beijing, China August 18, 2025. REUTERS/Tingshu Wang/File Photo

Workers at 16 of Swatch Group's directly operated stores in Türkiye are set to strike on Monday in a dispute over pay and workers' rights.

About 150 workers from the company's Swatch brand stores in Istanbul, Ankara and Antalya, as well as two Omega stores in Istanbul, will take part in the first industrial action against the Swiss watchmaker in Türkiye, their union said, Reuters reported.

The strike, which will also affect the country office in Istanbul, has been called after talks between local union Koop-Is and Swatch management broke down.

The Turkish workers had sought a better pay deal in light of high inflation in Türkiye, where prices rose by 33% in the year to October.

SWATCH SAYS DEMANDS ARE 'UNREALISTICALLY HIGH'

Workers were disappointed with pay rises of 25% offered to shop workers, and 5-15% for office staff, the union said, and had sought more.

Swatch Group said: "The union's demands are unfortunately unrealistically high and totally exaggerated."

Swatch does not break down its sales by country, but Türkiye was the 18th biggest export market for Swiss watches overall this year, larger than Canada and India, according to industry figures.

UNI Global Union, a federation of global service sector unions based in the Swiss town of Nyon and which has Koop-Is as a member, has written to Swatch CEO Nick Hayek and Chair Nayla Hayek to resolve the dispute.

The union also wants the establishment of disciplinary boards to prevent the summary dismissal of staff, as well as equal access to bonuses and social benefits.

"Our union has made every effort to achieve a fair agreement that protects the rights and welfare of all Swatch Group Türkiye employees," said Eyup Alemdar, president of Koop-Is.

"But the company's proposals were unfair, discriminatory and far below workers’ expectations. We are left with no choice but to strike."

Fashion

Ralph Lauren Raises Annual Revenue Forecast on Resilient Demand

Models present creations from the Ralph Lauren Spring 2026 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, US, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis
Models present creations from the Ralph Lauren Spring 2026 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, US, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis
TT
20
TT

Ralph Lauren Raises Annual Revenue Forecast on Resilient Demand

Models present creations from the Ralph Lauren Spring 2026 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, US, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis
Models present creations from the Ralph Lauren Spring 2026 collection during New York Fashion Week in New York City, US, September 10, 2025. REUTERS/Angelina Katsanis

Ralph Lauren raised its annual revenue forecast after beating quarterly estimates on Thursday due to resilient demand for its high-priced Polo shirts and cotton cable knit sweaters amid rising economic uncertainty.

The owner of several high-end apparel and accessory brands is seeing strong sales across its portfolio despite raising prices of select products, as it benefits from loyalty of its affluent customer base.

Ralph Lauren's investments, innovation and marketing efforts have also helped it win over younger shoppers, who are often hunting for fresh and trendy styles, Reuters reported.

The company now expects full-year revenue to increase 5% to 7% on a constant currency basis, compared with its prior forecast of a low- to mid-single-digit percentage growth.

The company posted quarterly revenue of $2.01 billion, compared with analysts' estimates of $1.89 billion, as per data compiled by LSEG.

Shares of the company were up about 1% in premarket trading.

Fashion

French Foreign Minister: EU Commission Must Sanction Shein

Costumers shops on the opening day of Asian e-commerce giant Shein's first physical store at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
Costumers shops on the opening day of Asian e-commerce giant Shein's first physical store at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
TT
20
TT

French Foreign Minister: EU Commission Must Sanction Shein

Costumers shops on the opening day of Asian e-commerce giant Shein's first physical store at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)
Costumers shops on the opening day of Asian e-commerce giant Shein's first physical store at the Bazar de l'Hotel de Ville (BHV) department store in Paris on November 5, 2025. (Photo by Dimitar DILKOFF / AFP)

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Thursday urged the European Commission to sanction online fast-fashion retailer Shein, which he said was in breach of the bloc's rules.

"I believe that the platform is clearly in breach of the European rules that we adopted in 2022 at France's instigation. I believe that the European Commission must take action. It cannot wait any longer," Barrot said in an interview with Franceinfo radio station.

China's Shein on Wednesday opened its first-ever permanent shop in the BHV department store in central Paris, but French Finance Minister Roland Lescure threatened a countrywide ban of the brand after a consumer watchdog spotted child-like sex dolls sold on its marketplace, Reuters reported.

Shein said it sanctioned the sellers of the dolls, implemented a worldwide ban on sex dolls on its site, and independently decided to temporarily suspend its marketplace in France to "review and strengthen" how third-party sellers operate on the site.