France threatened to ban Shein for selling child-like sex dolls.
The Chinese e-commerce giant promised to cooperate with investigators who were alerted by an anonymous tip about the dolls — sold by third-party vendors — on Shein’s marketplace. The controversy further inflamed tensions in Paris over Shein’s plan to open its first-ever brick-and-mortar location in a department store this week. Other brands have boycotted the Parisian shopping center, accusing Shein of undercutting them by employing cheap labor and lax environmental standards: It’s a “shame on Paris,” one French retailer told The Wall Street Journal.
The department store plans to go ahead with Shein’s opening; its president condemned the “doll controversy” but dismissed the backlash, saying, “Business is real life.”