World News | Lawmakers ask SEC to review Shein supply chain ahead of IPO

NEW YORK, May 3 (AP) – A bipartisan group of 20 lawmakers asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to suspend the initial public offering of Chinese fast-fashion retailer Shein until it can confirm that it did not use assets from the country’s main market. of the forced labor Muslim Uyghur population.

Shein has not said whether it plans to go public this year, but some news outlets have reported in the past few months that the company is raising funds and expects to list in the U.S. in the second half of this year.

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The letter also comes weeks after an anonymous coalition of “like-minded individuals and businesses” called Shut Down Shein was formed to increase scrutiny of Washington-based companies and eventually drive them out of the U.S. market.

Chapin Fay, managing director of Actum, a consulting firm that works with the group, said he has met with congressional offices to discuss Shein. Fay declined to say who funded Shut Shein, but said its members include U.S. brands and human rights groups.

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In a letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, lawmakers cited a November Bloomberg report that said some of the clothing Shein shipped to the U.S. was made from cotton from China’s Xinjiang region. They asked the SEC to certify through “independent verification” that the company did not use Uyghur forced labor.

“We firmly believe that the ability to issue and trade securities on our domestic exchanges is a privilege and that foreign companies wishing to do so must uphold a clear commitment to human rights globally,” the lawmakers wrote in their letter.

Shein spokesman Peter Pernot-Day said in a prepared statement that the company takes visibility across its supply chain very seriously.

“We are committed to respecting human rights and complying with local laws and regulations in every market in which we operate,” Pernot-Day said. “Our suppliers are required to adhere to a strict code of conduct in line with the core conventions of the International Labor Organization. We have zero tolerance for forced labor. ” (Associated Press)

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