Hundreds of shoppers lined Granville Street in downtown Vancouver on Thursday for a pop-up fashion store for a controversial brand.
It was the opening day for a Shein pop-up store — its first in Vancouver.
The company is a primarily online Chinese fashion store, known for its incredibly cheap prices.
Shein has faced allegations of forced labour and unsafe working conditions in the past, something the company denied in a statement to Global News.
“All suppliers working with SHEIN must agree to abide by our Code of Conduct (CoC), a rigorous set of standards to promote safe and fair conditions across the supply chain,” a Shein spokesperson said in an email.
“Aligned with International Labor Organization core conventions, this Code details SHEIN’s compliance requirements. It outlines clear requirements, including the payment of wages as well as workplace health and safety and environmental standards.”
Despite the allegations, the pop-up store in Vancouver was quite popular with many shoppers waiting to get their chance to go inside.
Some people had to wait more than an hour to get in.
A Kwantlen Polytechnic University psychology instructor told Global News fast fashion has its hold on buyers right now.
“If you think about the fast fashion model, (Shein) releases hundreds of new items every day, which keeps their audience super engaged,” Yunzhijun Yu said.
“I think it’s tapped into the fast-paced, ever-changing trends that appeal massively to the young audience who is looking for affordability and virality.”