Temu is on the US radar for using forced labor in its clothing

Chinese fashion giants Temu and Shein now command most of the fashion apparel market in the United States. Both are accused by the US human rights activists of violating rights of the workers. Both companies remain under the radar of US authorities.

The business model of both Chinese firms is designed in such a way that escapes regular scrutiny of the US authorities. There is no system in place to prevent goods made with forced labour being sold on its platform, according to a US house select committee report.

It was revealed that Shein and Temu packages evade inspection under the legislation because of their direct-to-consumer business model (both sell only through online platforms).

Since the goods do not go through regular customs scrutiny because the retail orders are small. This is the reason these two fashion companies were evading UFLPA which restricts imports from the Xinjiang region of China on the presumption they were made with forced labour.



The House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party has released the interim findings of its investigation into whether four companies – Shein, Temu, Adidas and Nike – were complying with the Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA).
Temu, entered the US market much after Shein but has recently recently overtook rival Shein in terms of sales to US consumers.