The opening of a physical Shein store in Paris last year raised numerous worries and led to wild controversies. But that was just the tip of the iceberg of a scandal that has rattled the multi billion dollar company.

By Amelia Restrepo-Mahieux – 8th grade.

On November 5, 2025, the tycoon company Shein commandeered the classic department store known by all of Paris, the BHV Marais . Shein, the fast-fashion brand, characterized by its low quality materials and fast  arrivals, opened its first store on the sixth floor of the department store. 

The clear line between this affordable marketplace and the far away luxuries of Paris seemed clear. These two worlds never seemed to be able to collide. That was until, on October 5 2025, BHV Paris announced that they would be opening the first physical Shein store in their Marais department store. 

Shein was first founded by Chris Xu in October of 2008, in Nanjing, China and has reached an estimated net worth of 38 billion USD in under 20 years. This company has been open for less than two decades, but it has already taken the world and the internet by storm. Characterized by its extremely cheap prices and endless variety of items, Shein is the perfect hub for an ever growing economy and business. When it first opened, it was the perfect place for people to buy clothing everyday without paying large expenses. 

The announcement of the opening of the first Shein store came hand in hand with controversies and critics. Many longtime shoppers of the BHV Marais decided to singlehandedly stop shopping at this department store and many brands pulled their stores from this location. French customers and designers alike argue that the opening of this store marks the beginning of the commercialization of luxury fashion. Numerous news websites have a similar take on this matter, with The Spectator stating that “It is proof that Paris, once the world’s fashion capital, is now renting out its soul to Chinese algorithms ” and NPR saying “The move has provoked fierce criticism in France, a country that prides itself on craftsmanship, sustainability and haute couture.” The monetization of Parisien and French luxury has not been the only reason for concern and protest surrounding the opening of the Shein store. The company has been included in numerous scandals, giving all the more reason to French business owners, customers and citizens to protest this shop opening.

75 hours a week

Shein is characterized by fast fashion , but no one really questions who is behind this enterprise. The answer is clear, but often missed. The underpaid, overworked workers. These employees are crammed into factories, working long hour days, a throwback to the harsh times of the Industrial Revolution. The conditions faced in these factories are extreme, with the work environment often being described as “modern day slavery”. According to a 2024  report made by the human rights watchdog, Public Eye, Shein has been subject to many accusations, with this specific report stating that workers in a Shein factory in Southern China has been forcing  75 hour weeks on their workers under extremely poor conditions. These employees are subject to sitting at a table with little space for long hours, sewing and making clothing items with cheap materials that contribute to the overloading of plastic on the planet. Since the company has a history of mistreatment of workers and contribution to the harming of the environment, it provides one of the main reasons people boycott the enterprise.

Although the underpaying and overworking of Shein employees is an important factor as to why the French have been protesting, it is not the main one. On October 31 2025, the DGCCRF (Direction Générale de la Concurrence, de la Consommation et de la Répression des Fraudes), a French organization under the Ministry of Economy that protects shoppers and regulates stores and markets discovered the selling of child-like sex dolls on online websites such as Shein, Aliexpress, Wish and Temu. The controversy led to Shein suspending their online French marketplace a couple of hours later. The entire ordeal led to added anger from protesters and non protesters alike as it was discovered that these pornographic dolls were being sold to minors and adults alike.

This discovery also led to an investigation being launched by the French government and the European Union into Shein’s online marketplace and products. According to the BBC, all the sellers and products fitting the description of ‘sex dolls’ have now been suspended “regardless of appearance.” The growing list of controversies Shein has been involved in has not helped the brand’s public image as the company  had not yet opened its doors to the public and was always making an infamous name for itself in French culture.