|
The
country’s independent competition authority said in a statement
that the greenwashing probe would focus on Infinite Styles
Serves Co. Limited, a Dublin-based company that does business as
Shein and operates the online retailer’s website and app.
Shein was founded in China but is now based in Singapore. It has
had a meteoric rise in the world of retail, fueled by a business
model that allows it to churn out apparel based on real-time
demand and deliver it directly to customers from factories
primarily located in China.
That has helped the company offer products for ultra-low prices
and attract shoppers who can go on its website to buy $11
sweaters, $2 cellphone cases and other products from a quickly
updated assortment of items.
But Shein’s critics have long argued the company’s practices
encourage overconsumption and environmental waste, problems
which the retailer has said it is working to combat.
However, Italian officials are accusing the company of
misleading consumers with claims about the environmental
sustainability of the clothing it sells. Environmental
organizations have alleged such deceptive practices, known as
greenwashing, occurs across the corporate world.
Italy's anti-trust authority, whose abbreviated name in Italian
is AGCM, alleges that some of the environmental references on
Shein’s Italian website are deceptive or omit information.
Images promoting Shein’s clothing as sustainable are also done
“through generic, vague, confused and /or misleading
environmental assertions,” the authority said in its statement.
In particular, the watchdog cited information from Shien’s
“evoluShein” collection, which it said may have misled consumers
into thinking the clothes they bought from the collection could
be recycled.
AGCM also alleged that the stated commitment to decarbonization
featured on Shein's website were in “apparent contradiction”
with the increases in greenhouse gas emissions that Shein
included in its sustainability reports for 2022 and 2023.
The online retailer said it would cooperate with the Italian
investigation.
“We would also like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our
commitment to complying with the laws and regulations in the
markets where we operate and to maintaining transparency with
our customers,” Shein said in a statement.
Shein has been facing challenges elsewhere in Europe. Critics
and advocacy groups such as Amnesty International UK have
opposed the company's possible listing on the London Stock
Exchange due to labor and environmental concerns.
All contents © copyright 2024 Associated Press. All rights reserved
|
|
