Influencers, as public figures, often have their every action scrutinised.
People will talk about whether they use their public platform for good or bad.
Recently, a fast-fashion joint which brought six American fashion influencers to visit its factory in China has received backlash (together with the influencers involved).
Here is what happened.
Shein Brought Influencers to Its Factory in China
Just recently, Shein brought six American influencers to its factory in China for a site visit.
As expected, the influencers posted glowing reviews of the factory visit on their social media platforms after the tour.
One of the videos was posted on TikTok by the influencer with the handle @itsdestene_, documenting the factory tour experience.
The video included scenes of the influencer happily running into the Shein building and talking to factory workers.
There were also scenes of the factory workers working in what appeared to be satisfactory working conditions.
Interestingly, the influencer’s video included a voiceover that she didn’t see anyone “sweating”. Instead, the influencer who was on the tour was the one with the bodily excretions.
This could be a reference to the controversies that Shein had been involved in, including that it forces its workers to toil away in factories under unfit conditions.
For those who do not know the brand Shein, it is a fast-fashion label which offers “affordable” clothes at very low prices. It was founded in Nanjing, China, in 2008.
Shein is currently headquartered in Singapore, with factories in China.
Soon after the influencers posted their glowing reviews of Shein, netizens took up arms against these positive reviews, slamming the influencers for painting a rosy picture.
Some even went to the extent of calling the factory visits “propaganda”.
Why the unhappiness? It seems that the influencers may not have the credibility to refute the controversies that Shein is mired in.
In particular, the news outlet TODAY spoke to Associate Professor Ang Swee Hoon from the National University of Singapore business school to shed light on this issue.
Associate Professor Ang shared that these factory visits can be orchestrated, and the influencers may have “lost credibility” if readers believe that the factory visits and employee interviews were staged.
This is compounded by the fact that the influencers’ trips were sponsored by the fashion giant, increasing the likelihood of the factory tour being fake.
Dr Dianna Chang, a senior lecturer of marketing at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, who spoke to TODAY, also revealed that readers may expect “the brand would show the positive sides of stories, like what we could do when we invite people to our houses as guests.”
Since the hoo-ha about the factory visit dropped, at least one influencer has terminated her contract with Shein, calling the collaboration a “mistake”.