Liam Byrne, who chairs the UK Parliament’s Business and Trade Committee, expressed his shock at Shein's lack of evidence when speaking to Yinan Zhu, the company's general counsel for EMEA. The fast-fashion brand, which was founded in China and is now headquartered in Singapore, is considering a UK listing that could potentially be one of the largest IPOs in London this year.

Shein was called to provide evidence about its working practices, alongside its rival Temu, to members of Parliament. However, Zhu declined to answer several questions, including whether cotton from China's Xinjiang region is used in the products it sells. Byrne accused Zhu of nearly showing contempt for Parliament.

"You’ve given us almost zero confidence in the integrity of your supply chains. You can't even tell us what your products are made from," he stated. "You also can't provide information about the working conditions of your employees."

A Bloomberg study conducted in 2022 indicated that garments shipped to the US by Shein contained cotton sourced from Xinjiang, a region where the US State Department has reported human rights abuses against ethnic minorities, which China denies.

In response to concerns about potential forced labor in Xinjiang, Zhu commented, "I don't think it's our place to engage in a geopolitical debate." She also asserted that the online retailer complies with all relevant UK laws.

Shein confidentially filed papers last year for a proposed IPO, and a listing still needs regulatory nods in the UK and China. An offering could value the company at about £50 billion ($62.4 billion), Bloomberg reported in June.

Shein, as required under the UK’s Modern Slavery Act, has published a statement outlining steps taken to ensure slavery and trafficking don’t happen within its operations or supply chain.

At the same hearing, Tesco Plc’s quality director, Claire Lorains, said Britain risks becoming a “dumping ground” for second class goods if it doesn’t reform its labor standards to bring them into line with Europe and the US.

Earlier on, the chief executive officer of McDonald’s Corp. for the UK & Ireland blamed inappropriate workplace behavior at the restaurant chain on the wrongdoing of individuals. Hundreds of current and former staff are taking legal steps against the company over alleged harassment.

“This isn’t an issue about imbalance of power” in the workplace, Alistair Macrow told MPs at the hearing on employment rights. “This is about very poor behavior from individuals in the organization.”

Some 700 people who were 19 and younger when working at the restaurant chain instructed Leigh Day to take legal action against McDonald’s on their behalf, the law firm said in a statement.