'Think before you shop.' Protesters challenge fast fashion at Shein pop-up in Ohio mall
The line to get into the Shein pop-up store was out the doors of Kenwood Towne Centre in Cincinnati on Friday, but Emma Heines wasn't there to score new styles for fall.
Heines, 22, is the organizer of a group that protested the pop-up store from fast-fashion giant Shein, which among accusations of human rights violations and forced labor was recently hit with RICO charges.
About six to eight protesters held up signs with sayings like "low prices, lower morals" with the goal of sparking a conversation about the harm of fast fashion stores. Shein creates up to 6,000 new products each day at extremely low prices, which many environmental activists are concerned will end up in landfills.
“Our main message was 'think before you shop,'" Heines said.
The pop-up store was announced only a day before its opening, pushing Heines to organize the protest on social media.
"This is the only time I’m gonna get to show my face and stand behind what I believe in," said Heines, a self-proclaimed environmental educator.
An Instagram post on her personal account announcing the protest garnered almost 900 likes, and is what encouraged 22-year-old Alexandra Leurck, of Hyde Park, to join in.
Fewer than 10 protesters showed on the day of, but they "were still mighty," Leurck said.
The pop-up's storefront was completely covered in Shein-branded posters blocking potential shoppers from seeing inside, an eerie nod to the company's lack of transparency, Heines said.
But instead of engaging in conversations like protesters had intended, people started holding up their phones. Even Shein employees were filming the protesters, according to Heines.
From the responses the protesters did get, many were mocking the statistics they shared.
"[We were] trying to peacefully protest and gently meet people where they were by sharing facts," Leurck said.
After less than 20 minutes, mall security escorted the group out, citing the mall's trespassing policy. The protesters moved out onto the sidewalk, where they were eventually confronted by police telling them to leave.
The protesters were asked to leave due to loud volume and disruptive behavior and complied and left peacefully, said Linday Kahn, spokesperson for Brookfield Properties, which owns Kenwood Towne Centre.
Kenwood Towne Centre is private property, and its code of conduct states that any activity that interferes with business, disrupts a pleasant environment or is not part of the general purpose of the building (shopping, dining or business) is subject to removal from the property.
The Shein pop-up is just one of a number of various pop-up storefronts the mall has hosted, Kahn said.
A spokesperson from Shein wrote in an email to The Enquirer that the pop-ups started in 2018 as a means for shoppers to connect with the brand in person.
"We’re thrilled to have welcomed nearly 4,000 amazing fans at our Cincinnati PopUp this past weekend," the spokesperson said. "We respect the right of individuals to peacefully protest in accordance with the law."
The protesters said shopping from companies like Shein takes away from supporting local businesses.
Heines is a small business owner herself. She owns 2nd Life Studio, an online vintage clothing shop that aims to help people develop personal style in an environmentally friendly way.
"Cincinnati is such a strong city for small businesses," Leurck said. "We don’t see as a whole that Shein represents Cincinnati."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Protesters challenge Shein pop-up store at Ohio mall
