Ryan defends Shein opening European HQ in Dublin despite fast fashion criticism

A Shein pop up opened on Opera Lane in Cork last weekend. Picture: Dan Linehan

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has said he is not “familiar” with controversial fashion retailer Shein, and defended the company opening its European headquarters in Dublin.

It comes as the climate minister previously told the Irish Examiner that future generations will be horrified by fast-fashion given its wide-ranging environmental impacts.

The IDA announced last week that Shein had launched its Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Dublin where Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney “warmly welcomed” the announcement.

There have also been a number of pop-up shops across the country, the latest one in Cork’s Opera Lane.

The Chinese owned fast-fashion outlet has been plagued with criticism relating to ethical practices and sustainability.

Simon Coveney, opening Shein's Dublin HQ.

When asked on Tuesday if he was concerned about Shein opening in Dublin, Mr Ryan said he was “not fully familiar with the company”.

“I was making the general point, which is true, that in that waste action plan that we are implementing and our whole green procurement, fashion is probably the most difficult.

“It's the hardest area to recycle fabrics. It does need to be tackled at source in terms of European and national regulations,” he said.

Someone having a new European headquarters here doesn't impact our ability or our intention of regulating and introducing the waste management measures.

“I'm not fully aware of all the details of that company, I’m just being honest about that.

“But because someone has a shop… Well, firstly, you can't completely restrict and say, 'one retailer, yes, another no'.” 

He said this will not stop the Government from implementing some regulations and other mechanisms.

“It's very hard when the global fabric industry is based around an unsustainable model. That's very hard to change at national level,” he added.

“I don't think the way for us to do it will be banning certain shops and not others.

“I think we work with our European colleagues and nationally to try and steer us in a more sustainable direction.” 

Mr Ryan said: 'I'm not fully aware of all the details of that company, I’m just being honest about that.'

In an interview to mark the start of the Irish Examiner's sustainability month coverage, Mr Ryan said: "I think fast fashion is one of the issues that people will in future look back on.

"It's like why did we allow smoking on the bus? Well, because, you know, no one thought to maybe say: 'Sorry, you're killing me here too'.

“So it's the same thing, you're not blaming anyone on the bus going back to that time, it's more just that what was societally accepted will change."

Fast fashion, referring to garments produced and sold at cheap prices, has wide-ranging environmental impacts. The fashion industry accounts for about 8%-10% of global carbon emissions, and nearly 20% of wastewater, and 85% of all textiles go to dumps each year.