Seams of Deception: PR Lessons from Shein’s Influencer Trip Controversy
Overview
Influencer brand trips have become a powerful marketing tool for companies because they leverage the reach and impact of social media influencers to enhance brand visibility, shape public perception, and drive sales. However, this strategy has recently been facing criticism for various issues related to the companies that host these trips, as well as the real and perceived privileges of the influencers
Shein, a global online retailer known for its ultra fast fashion model, found itself at the center of controversy following an influencer trip to one of its factories in China in June of 2023. While the trip was intended to showcase Shein’s commitment to transparency and ethical production, it led to significant backlash online as social media users accused the influencers of trying to obscure the company’s well-documented labor abuses and environmental harm.
This case study explores influencer brand trips, focusing on the Shein crisis, its media coverage, social media analytics, and reactions from key stakeholders. By examining Shein’s response and the broader implications of this controversy, this analysis provides insights into the importance of transparency and honesty in maintaining brand trust as well as the complexities of brand trips and marketing with marginalized groups.
Background
Background on Influencer Trips
Influencer brand trips have become a well-established and powerful marketing tool for brands. Since the early 2010s, brands such as Tarte Cosmetics have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into campaigns such as “#TrippingWithTarte”, where it sends a group of influencers on luxurious, exotic vacations to promote new product lines (Follett, 2023; Maguire, 2023).
Brands are motivated to host these trips because they increase brand awareness, improve brand image, and drive sales of new products. These trips have also proven to be highly successful because of their ability to foster more human-centered experiences rather than solely transactional exchanges (Proctor, 2024). The success of brand trips speak to how influencers have incredible power over consumer behavior. Approximately 49.3% of American consumers have made purchases based on influencer recommendations and 57% of advertisers state that it outperforms brand-created content (Nickalls, 2019; Gabris, 2023). For instance, Tarte Cosmetics’ influencer trip to Dubai in January 2023, which cost around $65,000 per influencer, resulted in substantial media value. Tarte’s earned media value increased from $10.9 million on January 1st to $19.4 million by January 25th, just from influencers using the hashtag #TrippinWithTarte on TikTok (Anderson, 2024).
These trips are also intentionally designed to include “Instagram-worthy” moments, encouraging influencers to live-document their experiences and tag them with branded hashtags (Aspire). While there is often a lack of clear expectations when it comes to what and how much content influencers should post, they often feel a sense of responsibility to do so. Jordan Hart writes for Business Insider “There’s also the guilt and loyalty you feel to the brand for providing such a luxurious experience, so you don’t want to complain or miss any events. You don’t want to seem unhappy or ungrateful for the opportunity” (Hart, 2023).
Brand trips can also be a more effective use of marketing budgets compared to traditional methods such as tv advertisements and even typical influencer partnerships. For instance, Tarte’s recent trip generated extensive user-generated content without direct payment for posts, with influencers like Alix Earle creating viral content that would otherwise cost over $100,000 per post (Maguire, 2023).
Influencer trips do not come without criticism, though. As the reach of social media platforms such as TikTok has grown in recent years, it has increased public awareness of these trips and led to heightened criticism towards these practices. The 2023 trip featuring influencers flying to tropical locations via business class plane seats, staying at the luxurious Ritz Carlton Hotel, and being gifted large amounts of beauty products was criticized as being “tone deaf” as people in the United States face widespread economic struggles (Maguire, 2023).
While the Shein influencer trip did not depict a tropical vacation, but rather a tour of one of the company’s facilities in China, it still showcased what the public takes issue with when it comes to influencer trips: the privilege of the influencers. In this case, that they could take a luxurious trip across the world to promote a brand while ignoring the documented harms associated with that company. Influencers are valued by the public because they provide transparency and authentic content, but in this case they failed to do so.
Background on Shein
Shein, founded in 2008, is one of the largest online retailers in the world, operating in over 150 countries worldwide (Rajvanshi et al., 2023). The company follows a low price/fast production business model. The company produces thousands of new designs daily, often costing less than $3 an item to produce. To demonstrate just how intense Shein’s production is, the second-leading producer of clothes, Zara, introduced 35,000 new styles in a year. Shein introduced 1.3 million (Pucker, 2024).
Shein has achieved remarkable success, with its valuation skyrocketing from $5 billion in 2019 to $66 billion by May 2023 (Romo, 2023). This growth is fueled by investments in online advertising campaigns on platforms like Google and Facebook, along with strategic partnerships with celebrities who endorse the brand. However, the cornerstone of Shein’s strategy is working with social media influencers and fashion bloggers with moderate but dedicated followings. These online “micro influencers” play a crucial role in Shein’s marketing strategy, often being compensated with free clothing, and are instrumental in promoting Shein through sponsored events and collaborations (Romo, 2023).
In recent years, the company’s reputation has been tainted by a variety of issues related to poor labor conditions and its negative impact on the environment. The 2022 British documentary Inside the Shein Machine: Untold revealed the harsh realities faced by Shein’s workers, who were found to be working up to 18 hours a day, often seven days a week, to meet strict quotas. These employees were paid as little as $20 a day and sometimes faced fines of up to two-thirds of their daily wages for mistakes (Romo). Additionally, the company has been criticized for its egregious environmental impact, contributing approximately 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually (Burga). This is only a fraction of the issues associated with the company.
Timeline
Media Coverage
In response to the backlash, major publications such as The New York Times, Forbes, NPR, PR Week, and Ad Age published articles detailing the controversial events surrounding the Shein trip and the brand’s poor reputation. Many of these reports scrutinized the actions of influencers, including a notable comment by influencer Destene Sudduth, who remarked, “I expected this facility to be so filled with people just slaving away…[but] they weren’t even sweating” (Sudduth, 2023).
The coverage generally followed one of two formats. The first type of article recounted both the events of the trip and Shein’s problematic practices. The second type took a critical stance on Shein’s business ethics by going a step further and highlighting both the company’s exploitation of creators and the influencers’ “duty of care.”
Rachel Tashjian from The Washington Post was one of the journalists that criticized Shein, writing that the “itinerary appeared engineered to address the most frequent criticisms leveled at Shein from consumers, activists and even some lawmakers: that its clothing is quickly and cheaply manufactured, with dangerous materials; that it uses enslaved person labor and child workers; and that its factories have abhorrent working conditions” (Tashjian, 2023).
Experts also argued that influencers have a responsibility to carefully examine the companies they promote. Catalina Goanta, an associate professor at Utrecht University and influencer marketing expert, emphasized the broader implications of the situation, pointing out that influencers should exercise caution in their endorsements — that they had a “duty of care” to perform when vetting the partnerships they are offered. She referenced research indicating that such endorsements could constitute a form of consumer manipulation, especially when companies engage in labor rights violations (Mendez II, 2023).
Social Media Analytics
From June 1, 2023, to September 30, 2023, Shein saw a dramatic increase in social media mentions, with 843,000 mentions — up 57% from the previous period — and 513,000 unique authors, a 43% increase (Brandwatch, 2024). This time period covered the Shein influencer trip to China, a lawsuit in the U.S. and a subsequent PR crisis over a Palestinian flag. The data from Brandwatch highlighted three major spikes in attention: Point A, related to Shein’s RICO Racketeering charges; Point B, a mix of crises; and Point C, tied to the influencer trip backlash (Brandwatch, 2024).
During this timeframe, the data revealed six notable spikes in negative sentiment with Point C and Point A representing the most significant increases. On June 26, 2023, Shein experienced an exceptionally high number of negative comments, totaling 6,034, which was 357% above the average (Brandwatch, 2024). The dominant emotion on this day was sadness, which was recorded at a staggering 700% increase compared to typical levels. A tweet by @TheBBWBombshell on X highlights this sentiment, in which they stated, “RT @chaedria yall aren’t going to like this, but Shein chose women that they thought would be desperate enough for the perks. Notice there are no thin White women here; it’s a non-verbal messaging that this sh*t is beneath them, but they called in women that they don’t think are” (Brandwatch, 2024). This tweet was widely shared, receiving 1,365 reposts.
It is important to note that this data is collected from Brandwatch, a platform restricted from accessing data from Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok platform’s non-disclosure policies. While the analytics captured significant mentions from X (591,880), Tumblr (131,083) and Reddit (62,737), it is unable to quantify the attention on TikTok. Despite these difficulties, thousands of TikTok videos under the search term “TikTok influencer trip China” showcased consumer outrage which matched the negative sentiment evident in the data (TikTok, 2024).
One drawback of analyzing a company as large and problematic as Shein is the difficulty in analyzing a single conflict. The company is frequently involved in different scandals. For instance, during the period of time when the Shein influencer trip was going viral on the internet, the company also faced a RICO racketeering lawsuit in the United States for allegedly stealing fashion designers’ work (Chapman, 2023). Despite this, Brandwatch’s topic wheel analysis, which identifies trending words and themes, highlighted that “factory tour” was among the most discussed terms (Brandwatch, 2024).
Reactions from Key Stakeholders
Influencers
While the Shein influencer trip was intended to demonstrate Shein’s commitment to transparency and ethical clothing production, the backlash online shows that the trip only did more harm to its reputation.
At first, the influencers that were invited on this trip noted that they had a positive experience. Dani Carbonati initially defended the brand on Instagram live saying that “I would never in a million years work with a company that has child labor” (Carbonari, 2023). Carbonari felt that as a creator she has a sense of social responsibility, and from her observations the allegations against Shein did not align with reality at the innovation center.
Similarly, Destene Sudduth was surprised by the conditions she observed. She made a TikTok stating that, “I’m not going to lie, I really expected it to look like it does in the movies, like really dark and dingy, but I was really surprised to see each piece handled with care” (Sudduth, 2023). Again stating that her observations did not match the negative stereotypes commonly associated with fast fashion manufacturing. Ajuné, too, was positively surprised by the tour. On her social media she wrote “When asking a few of the workers & employees about these topics everyone we came across was content with their salary and the idea of child labor was something they looked at me crazy for y’all” (Tashjian, 2023).
However, despite the positive experience of these influencers, the backlash on social media led the influencers to reevaluate their initial statements. Carbonari, reflecting on the impact of the trip, stated, “Now, in retrospect, … it’s been overwhelming. This whole experience has caused me to reevaluate myself, my brand, and to fight even harder for sustainability options for plus-size people and just be so much more particular with who I work with, do the research that I should have done from the beginning” (Carbonari, 2023). The other influencers also expressed their condolences and apologized on their social media channels for not taking the time to vet the company before accepting the offer to go on this trip.
Consumers
Consumers played a significant role in the public discourse surrounding the Shein Trip. The swift and intense backlash online not only prompted influencers to retract their initial statements, but amplified common frustrations consumers have with both influencer marketing and Shein. Many expressed their skepticism and criticism when it came to the influencer’s portrayal of factory conditions. Many consumers felt that the content produced during the trip was dishonest and misrepresented the reality of Shein’s labor practices. @itssierrafurtado on X writes: “I’m just glad that I learned how to make money outside of being an “influencer” so I’ll never have to fall for being used as corporate propaganda by Shein just to get a free brand trip” (Brandwatch, 2024).
Additionally, comments such as “They weren’t even sweating” highlighted anger among consumers who had seen previous reports of harsh working conditions. This statement starkly contrasted the well-documented evidence of labor abuses. Prior investigations, such as Channel 4’s “Inside the Shein Machine,” had shown hidden camera footage of workers laboring under grueling conditions. Furthermore, hundreds of articles exist online documenting the poor, and sometimes illegal, conditions. “I wish I had the confidence of a shein influencer promoting child labor” writes @carolinebano on X (Brandwatch, 2024). The influencers’ sanitized depiction of the factories with clean workspaces and smiling employees made consumers feel that they were being deceived by the influencers which only furthered distrust.
Another point of contention for consumers was the perception that Shein had intentionally selected marginalized influencers believing that their endorsements would carry more weight and credibility. This tactic backfired as it appeared to exploit the influencers’ identities for corporate gain, rather than genuinely addressing the issues at hand. This sentiment resonated with many consumers, who saw Shein’s actions as manipulative and insincere. @delunaelizabeth on X writes “something about the shein influencer trip wasn’t sitting right with me. I wrote about why the brand specifically invited women from marginalized groups (plus-size/ non-white) who historically get fewer opportunities and/or lower pay than white creators” (Brandwatch, 2024).
Organization’s Response
Shein’s response evolved as the backlash grew. Initially, they maintained that the influencer trip was a step toward greater transparency. However, the negative reception prompted Donald Tang, the executive vice chairman at Shein, to speak with Time Magazine about the crisis on July 10th. The interview was published July 15th. When questioned about the influencer trip, Tang stated, “It’s something that came about with the best intentions. In hindsight, it didn’t go to the place we intended, which is that we’re committed to more transparency. We want people to see all the different places that we make things from. The influencers got very unfair treatment, which I very much regret” (Tang, 2023).
He continued, “It was a well-intentioned effort that didn’t get to the right place at the end. We have a lot more to do on the journey of total transparency. So we must do more: Invite reporters to see the factories — whatever questions they have, we’ll answer” (Tang, 2023).
Regarding future transparency, Tang stated, “One step at a time. Nothing is perfect. [Shein is] not perfect for sure. [Shein is] committed to being as good a supply chain for our customers as possible. [Shein is] committed to better working conditions. [Shein has] done quite a lot since last year. That’s not enough. [Shein has] to do a lot more to ensure that consumers are taken care of and that workers are taken care of” (Tang, 2023).
Tang also addressed additional criticisms faced by Shein during the backlash. Concerning forced labor, he highlighted that the company enforces a “zero-tolerance” policy and that it has closed 28 factories in the past year. On environmental issues, Tang suggested there is a significant incentive for Shein to address these concerns, noting that failure to do so could result in substantial negative impacts. He elaborated, “We all live on the same planet. If the planet gets hurt, then we all get hurt. Our planet, our consumers — those are two very, very important things for us. Our investors are obviously very important, but we’re a very profitable company” (tang, 2023). This statement was Shein’s only public comment on the controversy.
Impact on Organization
The Shein influencer trip only reinforced the company’s negative brand image as demonstrated by the online controversy that ensued afterward. The backlash has only further amplified the ongoing concerns about the company’s questionable labor and environmental practices, and many consumers who were previously unaware or unconcerned about these issues became more critical and hesitant to purchase from the brand. For a new subset of consumers, ethical concerns are beginning to overshadow the allure of low prices.
The controversy only further eroded consumer trust, especially among younger individuals who are increasingly concerned with ethical consumption. There was a stark contrast between the content the influencers put out and the documented realities of harsh labor conditions and environmental degradation that Shein is responsible for. This of which has led to individuals feeling like the company is dishonest and manipulative.
Furthermore, the controversy will likely lead to strained relationships with influencers in the future, which will prove to be troublesome for a company that relies so heavily on that group for marketing purposes. Instead of accepting responsibility and defending the influencers, the company let the public go after said influencers in order to deflect the backlash. The influencers suffered severe online harassment and backlash, too. For instance Kenya Freeman who has been working with Shein since 2019 revealed the extent of her experience online. She stated that “These people don’t even know me and they’re telling me to kill myself or jump off a bridge, ‘You don’t have morals,’ or, ‘You’re stupid, you’re an idiot,’” she said. “You’re the same people who say you care about humanity?” (Tashjian, 2023). Going forward, other influencers, especially those with strong ethical stances, might be wary of working with the brand. This hesitation could also limit Shein’s ability to continue its influencer marketing strategy; a strategy that has proven to be highly effective for the brand.
Looking Ahead
The Shein influencer trip highlights just how crucial it is to respond to a crisis situation in a timely and honest manner. Swift and transparent responses are pivotal to ensuring that a company has some control over the narrative that is created. In this case, Shein should have addressed concerns as they emerged, acknowledged the influencers and public’s feedback, discussed its missteps, and outlined concrete steps going forward. This approach would both mitigate the immediate backlash as well as demonstrate the company’s commitment to transparency and accountability; not only a good public relations practice but tenants that the company has previously stated they want to demonstrate.
The Shein case also highlights the detrimental effects that remaining silent and trying to deceive consumers can have on a brand’s reputation. In this case, Shein has initially attempted to downplay the influencers’ complaints, which was perceived as the company trying to mislead both the influencers and the public. When a brand attempts to deceive consumers, it undermines trust. With social media platforms that rapidly spread information and foster an environment where public scrutiny is intense, a misstep like this can result in long-lasting damage. Brands must recognize that honesty and openness are far more effective in managing crises. Acknowledging mistakes, clarifying misunderstandings, and taking proactive steps to address concerns can help in regaining consumer trust and restoring a brand’s credibility.
Finally, it is important to recognize the glass cliff phenomenon in relation to the marginalized influencers and how both brands and the public need to be mindful of this when it comes to sponsored content. The glass cliff refers to the tendency of organizations to place individuals from marginalized groups in high-risk positions, often during challenging times (Oelbaum, 2016). In this case, Shein had selected 6 influencers from marginalized backgrounds to attend the trip. 5 of them were women of color and 1 was white and plus-sized. As it is, creators from marginalized groups are often sidelined when it comes to sponsorships or brand deals. This can lead them to have a mindset where they feel overly grateful when they are offered partnerships with brands, even if these brands are not the most palatable brands to work with. Carbonari recognizes this, and even stated in a now deleted TikTok that she “[deserves] this sh*t” (Carbonari, 2023).
Selecting influencers from marginalized backgrounds for high-profile campaigns or crisis situations can sometimes be a double-edged sword. While it can bring diversity and fresh perspectives, it also places additional pressure on these individuals. If the brand does not provide adequate support or manage the situation effectively, it can lead to a public perception that these influencers were chosen as a form of tokenism or, in this case with Shein, as a scapegoat for the brand’s issues.
To avoid perpetuating this phenomenon, brands must ensure that all influencers, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds, are given the necessary support and are not put in positions where they are set up to face undue criticism or failure. This involves providing clear communication, fair treatment, and acknowledging their contributions appropriately.
In conclusion, the Shein influencer trip controversy demonstrated the importance of timely and honest crisis management, the harmful effects of deceit and silence on brand reputation, and the complexities surrounding the selection and treatment of marginalized influencers. By learning from these lessons, brands can better navigate crises.
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