The truth behind your £10 dress: Inside the Chinese factories fuelling Shein's success

In certain areas of Guangzhou, the hum of sewing machines is incessant, a sound that echoes from the open windows of factories from morning till night in this bustling port city at the mouth of the Pearl River. Workers are racing to produce T-shirts, shorts, shirts, trousers, and swimwear that will be shipped to over 150 countries, filling wardrobes worldwide. This is the sound of Panyu, a district known as "Shein Village," a labyrinth of factories powering the world's largest fast-fashion retailer.

"If there are 31 days in a month, I will work 31 days," one worker told the BBC. Most workers say they get only one day off a month. The BBC spent several days here: we visited 10 factories, speaking to four bosses and more than 20 workers. We also spent time at labor markets and textile suppliers to get a sense of the situation. What we found was that at the heart of this empire is a workforce toiling for around 75 hours a week at sewing machines, in violation of Chinese labor laws.

Such working hours are not uncommon in Guangzhou, an industrial hub where rural workers seek higher incomes, or indeed in China, which has long been the world's unrivaled factory. But it raises more questions about Shein, the once-obscure Chinese company that has grown into a global behemoth in just over five years. The company, still privately owned, is estimated to be worth around £36 billion ($60 billion) and is currently considering a listing on the London Stock Exchange.

However, its rapid rise has been dogged by controversy over its treatment of workers and allegations of forced labor. Last year, the company admitted to finding child labor in its Chinese factories. The company declined an interview, but in a statement to the BBC, said, "Shein is committed to ensuring all workers in our supply chain are treated fairly and with dignity," and is investing tens of millions of dollars to strengthen governance and compliance. It also added: "We strive to set the highest standards for wages and require all supply chain partners to adhere to our code of conduct. Additionally, Shein works with auditors to ensure compliance."

Shein's success lies in its vast volume of sales—with hundreds of thousands of items in online stock—and deep discounts: £10 dresses, £6 sweaters, and an average price of under £8. Revenues have soared, surpassing brands like H&M, Zara, and the UK's Primark. This low-price selling is fueled by places like Shein Village, with around 5,000 factories, most of which are Shein suppliers. The buildings have been gutted to make room for sewing machines, rolls of fabric, and bags overflowing with fabric scraps. The basement doors are always open, welcoming a seemingly endless cycle of deliveries and pickups.

Over time, shelves fill up with clear plastic bags bearing the now-distinctive five-letter moniker, ready to be shipped to warehouses. But even past 10 pm, the sewing machines and the people hunched over them do not stop, with more fabric being delivered, trucks so full that rolls of colorful cloth sometimes fall from the trucks onto the factory floors. "We usually work 10, 11, or 12 hours a day," says a 49-year-old woman from Jiangxi, who did not want to give her name. "On Sundays, we work about three hours less."

She stands in a small alley where a dozen or so people are gathered around a row of notice boards. They are reading the job advertisements while inspecting the stitching on a pair of chino trousers hanging from one of the boards. This is Shein's supply chain. The factories are contractors who make clothes to order—some orders small, some large. If the chino trousers are popular, the orders increase, and production must ramp up. Then, the factories hire temporary workers to meet the demand that their regular staff cannot fulfill. The migrant worker from Jiangxi is looking for a short-term contract—and these chino trousers are an option.

"We earn too little. The cost of living is too high now," she says, adding that she hopes to earn enough to send money to her two children who live with their grandparents. "We are paid by the piece," she explains. "It depends on how difficult the item is. For simple things like T-shirts, it's one or two yuan [less than a dollar] per piece, and I can make about a dozen in an hour." Inspecting the stitching on the chino trousers is crucial to making this decision. The workers around her are all calculating how much they are paid per garment and how many they can make in an hour.

The alleys of Panyu act as a labor market, bustling in the mornings as workers and mopeds whiz past breakfast dumpling stalls, steaming cups of soy milk, and hopeful farmers selling chicken and duck eggs. The BBC found that standard working hours appear to be from 8 am until after 10 pm. This is consistent with a report by the Swiss advocacy group Public Eye, which was based on interviews with 13 textile workers at factories producing clothes for Shein. They found many employees were working excessive overtime. The report states that the basic wage without overtime was 2,400 yuan (£265; $327) - less than the 6,512 yuan that the Asia Floor Wage Alliance says is needed for a "living wage". But workers we interviewed were earning between 4,000 and 10,000 yuan a month.

"These working hours are not unusual, but clearly it is illegal and a violation of basic human rights. It's an extreme form of exploitation and people need to see that," says David Hachfeld of the group. Chinese labor law states that average working hours should not exceed 44 hours per week and that employers should ensure workers have at least one day off per week. If employers want to extend these hours, there should be a special reason. While Shein's headquarters are now in Singapore, there is no denying that the vast majority of its products are made in China.

Shein's success has also drawn attention in Washington, which is increasingly wary of Chinese companies. In June, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump's pick for US Secretary of State, said he had "serious moral concerns" about Shein's "deep ties to the People's Republic of China": "Slave labor, sweatshops, and trade trickery are the dirty secret behind Shein's success," he wrote. Not everyone agrees with the language Rubio uses to describe the conditions of Shein's suppliers. But human rights groups say that long working hours have become a way of life for many in Guangzhou, which is unfair and exploitative.

The machines dictate the rhythm of the day. They pause while the workers line up with their metal plates and chopsticks to buy their lunch and dinner from the canteen. If there are no more seats, they stand in the street. "I have been working in these factories for more than 40 years," says one woman who took only 20 minutes to eat her meal. For her, it is just another day. Inside the factories we visited, it was not crowded. The lighting was good, and industrial fans had been installed to keep the workers cool. Huge posters urged employees to report underage workers—likely a response to the two cases of child labor discovered in its supply chain last year.

The BBC understands that the company is closely monitoring its suppliers as it prepares for a listing on the London Stock Exchange. "It is about their reputation," says Sheng Lu, a professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware. "If Shein can successfully achieve an IPO, it means that they are recognized as a decent company. But if they want to maintain the confidence of investors, they have to take some responsibility." One of the biggest challenges facing Shein is the allegation that it sources cotton from the Xinjiang region of China.

Cotton from Xinjiang was once hailed as some of the best fabric in the world, but it has fallen out of favor after allegations that it is produced using forced labor from the Muslim Uyghur minority—an allegation that Beijing denies. Professor Sheng says the only way to address this criticism is to be more transparent. "Unless you fully disclose your factory list, unless you make your supply chain more transparent to the public, I think it's going to be very challenging for Shein." He adds that a major advantage is Shein's supply chain in China: "Very few countries have the full supply chain. China has that—and nobody can compete with that."

Aspiring competitors like Vietnam and Bangladesh import raw materials from China to make clothes. But Chinese factories rely entirely on local sources for everything from fabric to zips and buttons. This makes it easy to make a wide variety of clothes, and they can do it quickly. This is especially true for Shein, whose algorithms dictate the orders. If shoppers repeatedly click on a dress or spend more time looking at a wool sweater, the company knows to ask the factories to make more—and quickly. For the workers in Guangzhou, this can be a challenge.

"There are good things and bad things about Shein," one factory owner tells us. "The good thing is that the orders end up being very big, but the profits are low and fixed." Given Shein's size and influence, it is a hard buyer to bargain with. So, factory owners must cut costs elsewhere, which often leads to lower wages for their staff. "Before Shein, we made and sold our own clothes," says one owner with three factories. "We could estimate the costs, decide on the price and calculate the profit. Now Shein controls the price, and you have to think about how to cut costs."

However, when orders peak, it is a windfall. According to the logistics consulting firm ShipMatrix, the company ships an average of around one million packages a day. "Shein is the backbone of the fashion industry," says Guo Qing'e, a Shein supplier. "I started when Shein was just starting out. I've witnessed its rise. To be honest, Shein is a great company in China. I think it will get stronger, because it pays on time. This is the most trustworthy thing about it. If our payment is due on the 15th, whether it's millions or tens of millions, it will be paid on time."

Shein, with its hard working hours and sometimes low pay, may not be comfortable for all workers. But it is a source of pride for some. "This is something that we Chinese can contribute to the world," says a 33-year-old supervisor from Guangdong, who did not want to give her name. Outside, it is getting late, and the workers are heading back to the factories after their dinner break to start the final push. She admits that the hours are long, but "we get along very well. We are like a family." Hours later, after many workers have gone home for the night, the lights in several buildings are still on.

Some people work until midnight, one factory owner tells us. They want to earn more money, he says. After all, in London, Chicago, Singapore, Dubai, and many other places, someone is looking for their next bargain.