SHEIN is a group of affiliated companies operating under several brand names throughout the world. Collectively, the SHEIN Group provides consumer access to a global e-commerce platform or, in some jurisdictions, a marketplace, offering consumer products, fashion, home goods, and related products.
Animal welfare is important to us and no animals should be harmed in the making of our products. We are committed to improving animal welfare across our global supply chain and support ongoing animal welfare standards in the industry.
Welfare Principles
Our guiding briefs and general principles with regard to the treatment of animals in our products and supply chains align with the five freedoms set out by the World Organization for Animal Health (founded as OIE) in their Animal Health Codes and the Farm Animal Welfare Committee (FAWC):
- Nutrition: Freedom from hunger or thirst by ready access to fresh water and a diet to maintain full health and vigour
- Physical environment: Freedom from discomfort by providing an appropriate environment including shelter and a comfortable resting area
- Health: Freedom from pain, injury or disease by prevention or rapid diagnosis and treatment
- Behavioural interactions: Freedom to express (most) normal behaviour by providing sufficient space, proper facilities, and company of the animal’s own kind
- Mental state: Freedom from fear and distress by ensuring conditions and treatment which avoid mental suffering
Our Approach
We recognize that many animal welfare issues lie deep in the supply chain where transparency is limited, and solutions will require collaborative action by many parties across the value chain. Upholding this policy therefore requires collaborative action by many parties across the value chain.
Our expectations of the responsible sourcing of products for both suppliers of SHEIN-branded products and third-party sellers selling products through SHEIN’s online marketplaces are that they:
- Work to align with our values of animal welfare and abide by industry best practices regarding the treatment of animals to prevent pain, discomfort and fear, as well as promoting practices that ensure proper feeding, housing, health and handling.
- Cooperate with us in any system(s) we implement or improve for animal traceability from the animal’s origin to the final product.
- Not source materials from threatened or endangered species according to the laws and regulations in the countries where they operate and in any event, consistent with the animal species protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITIES) and listed under any of the threatened categories (i.e., Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable) under the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- In addition to those listed by CITES or IUCN as mentioned above, not use, sell, or source materials from the skin, feather, fur, hide, or any other material derived from any animal (whether in whole or part) that are considered “exotic”. “Exotic” animals include wild, rare, or not commonly domesticated animals and excludes animals raised primarily for food production or for agricultural purposes, and whose material used, sold, or sourced does not necessitate their slaughter (e.g. wool). Examples of such “exotic” animals includes, but is not limited to, alligators, bears, beavers, cats, chinchillas, crocodiles, dogs, eels, fish, foxes, kangaroos, lizards, minks, ostriches, rabbits, racoons, sharks, pythons, stingrays, seals and whales.
- Not sell live and preserved wild animals, including taxidermy.
- Not sell animal traps, baits, and deterrents for purposes of wild animal hunting, including live fish baits, glue traps, steel jaw leg-hold traps, and other similar hunting items.
- Not engage in animal testing of cosmetic products.
Synthetic materials made to look like animal products must be clearly labelled as faux or other similar words (e.g. fake, imitation, artificial etc) on the product description to avoid confusion. Products that use animal-derived materials must not be labelled as “genuine” or “real” or other similar words (e.g. “genuine leather”, “real fur”) unless they are made from such materials.
We encourage our suppliers to source according to recognized third party standards, in line with this policy especially for animal-derived materials, such as:
- Responsible Wool Standard (RWS)
- ZQ™ Certified Wool
- Nativa™ Wool
- Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS)
- Responsible Down Standard (RDS)
- Traceable Down Standard (TDS)
- Downpass
- Sustainable Fibre Alliance Standard (SFA) Cashmere
- Good Cashmere Standard
- Recycled animal fibers (Global Recycled Standard or Recycled Content Standard)
- Leather Working Group
SHEIN is committed to working with partners and other stakeholders to ensure that this policy upholds global animal welfare standards. We are committed to seeking ongoing guidance from industry experts and organizations to understand best practices for animal welfare in the fashion industry to employ within our own supply chain and we are also committed to working with industry expert groups to support the ongoing research, development and implementation of animal welfare standards.
We seek to ensure to the best of our ability that our policy is adhered to by our entities, suppliers, and third-party sellers. We recognize that the ability to uphold these principles throughout our supply chains will vary according to the level of traceability in place and the level of control or influence that we have over our suppliers and third-party sellers. We are however committed to continuous improvement towards realizing these principles.
We will review this policy on an annual basis, and update it as necessary, to keep current with global regulations on animal welfare, as well as any other relevant requirements.
Last updated February 2025