Last week, the Chinese company Shein was accused of plagiarism and cultural appropriation by the Mexican Ministry of Culture after a floral blouse was found on the fast fashion giant’s website that was virtually identical to a traditional “huipil” worn in 2017 by the craft brand YucaChulas. This was the first to denounce the situation on social networks.
The retailer responded to the allegations with a statement that read, “We respect and celebrate all cultures. We reaffirm our respect for artisans in Mexico and around the world.” In it, the company mentions that the item of clothing in question has since been removed from its website, where it was for sale for less than 7 euros.
In the statement, the company went on to say that it has no intention of “violating anyone’s valid copyrights,” and as a further justification, stressed that doing so is not part of Shein’s business model. According to the company, this is the crux of the matter instead, at supplier factories, who “are required to adhere to company policies and certify that their products do not infringe the intellectual property of others. However, according to Shein, there are cases where the suppliers did not comply with this agreement. In such cases, Shein would ” take immediate action”.
So is this an isolated case?
While Shein’s defense is that it accuses suppliers of not being original in their work, this is a more common problem than the multinational seems to realize: Shein’s story is plagued with a number of similar allegations, mostly from small designers :innen who were at some point surprised by the appearance of their designs or the like on the websites of this retail giant without receiving any recognition or – as you can imagine – any benefit.
But big companies don’t seem to intimidate Shein either, as Ralph Lauren, Oakley and Dr. Martens have accused the retailer in the past after seeing their designs plagiarized in a variety of products that are updated daily on the platform, but without using their trademarks.
This is a common practice in the textile sector, where fast fashion is inspired by luxury brands to, shall we say, democratize more people’s access to certain items by creating other, similar items of lesser value at a lower price; the common denominator, which is the same in all cases.
A curious case in this regard is that of Zara. Not only are duplicates found here on the Shein website that are virtually impossible to distinguish from the originals, but there are also various social media accounts with thousands of followers who compare references to these products in their feed every day and share so that users can find them more easily.
Short blouses or “huipiles”, Mayan identity
Coming back to the specific case of the recent allegation against Shein, this blouse, which looks almost identical to the original aside from its quality and a color change in the trimming “of the neckline, the sleeves and the finishing of the final bows,” “is an insult to all artisans who make a living from and are dedicated to embroidery,” YucaChulas explained on Instagram. Because, “the short blouses or ‘huipiles’ like these are made in various Maya communities in the states of Yucatan, Campeche and Quintana Roo, as part of the identity of these Maya people and as an economic alternative for their daily subsistence,” explains the Mexican Ministry of Education.
In the communiqué issued at the time by those responsible for the conservation, dissemination and promotion of the country’s tangible and intangible heritage, the Mexican government asked for explanations on “the reasons why a collective good is being commercialized and privatized using cultural elements , whose origins are fully documented and how their use benefits creative communities”.
“We are very saddened by this type of plagiarism”, “they are a lack of recognition for the work of the artisans who are dedicated to this work and make a living from the craftsmanship, in this case embroidery.” The sad thing is how this craftsmanship is devalued and many people continue to buy on this platform without knowing the true origin of many of the designs they sell. This is a major violation of intellectual property and, more importantly, culture,” YucaChulas said.
As stated in their letter to the Mexican government, “The elaboration of each of these pieces takes hours of work, due to the precision required for each stroke and the combination of colors that gives depth to each floral design. Not only do they represent a part of the environment and nature, but they are also part of their cosmovision as they are associated with the joy of life; they reflect their emotions and feelings and are therefore part of their identity as a Maya people and culture,” the text continues. A piece of cultural property, then, whose counterpart has been completely rid of it through mass production and the use of inferior materials, but above all through the neglect of its tradition.
Other large companies have also used it in Mexico in the past
This isn’t the first time the Mexican government has cracked down on large foreign companies for commercializing elements of Mexican culture in their products. Since January, the new General Law on the Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Indigenous and Afro-American Peoples and Communities has been enshrined in the Official Gazette of the Federation (DOF), which provides for fines of at least 10 million pesos (about 500,000 euros) and imprisonment for those found guilty of unauthorized use make profit intention.
In 2020, Mexico’s cultural agency brought a similar lawsuit against French designer Isabel Marant, who had been accused in this connection in 2015, and ended up apologizing. French fashion house Louis Vuitton, Venezuelan designer Carolina Herrera, Spanish companies Mango and Inditex, and US company Patowl have also been sued in the past by the country, which has a considerable wealth of handicrafts across 56 ethnic groups, including various textile and embroidery techniques.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.es. Translation and editing from English to German by Simone Preuss.