Fast-Fashion Brand Shein Responds to Outrage Over Swastika Necklace

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By Gianluca Russo

Global shopping brand Shein has removed the swastika necklace from its website after coming under fire and being called out on social media, saying that their intentions were to reference the use of the symbol in Buddism.

Earlier today, activist and YouTuber Nabela Noor took to Instagram to share her frustrations and disappointment with Shein after many noticed the website was selling a pendant necklace featuring a swastika. Labeled simply as “Metal Swastika Pendant Necklace,” the backlash comes just days after Shein publicly announced that they would stop selling prayer mats as “decorative rugs” following the lobbying of many Muslim activists against it, Nabela included.

“I am so disgusted by @sheinofficial ‘s sheer ignorance and blatant disrespect towards other cultures and religions,” Nabela wrote on Instagram. “Seeing this today makes me feel sick to my stomach and question the authenticity of Shein’s apology. I am contacting the Head of Brand today and bringing this to his attention directly, but need your help to require change as well. Tag @sheinofficial and also go to their pages and demand that this product is removed.”

Nabela revealed that just last week, she was in talks with brand executives at Shein to discuss the offensive selling of prayer rugs — which they referred to as “tassel trim carpets”. “At that time, I spoke with the Head of Brand, a public apology was issued, the products were removed and we have been having an ongoing dialogue. I was proud of and am still proud of our community for requiring change. But it doesn’t stop there. ” ⁣⁣ She added, “@sheinofficial, this is unacceptable. ⁣Enough is enough.” She’s stated clearly that she will be reaching out to the brand personally to demand an apology and explanation.

Shortly after her post, many on the internet erupted over the swastika necklace.

“this is ACTIVELY THREATENING to the jewish community. i’ve seen you all posting about other issues but being silent on antisemitism – do NOT let shein get away with this,” tweeted one user.

While the symbol was appropriated by Nazis and the image is invokes hatred for many people, in many Eastern religions the swastika is a sacred symbol, for example in Buddhism is symbolizes Buddha’s footprints. The being said, Shein is a China-based fast-fashion company, but it has consumers based all over the world, and awareness of sensitive and offensive matters globally is crucial. Teen Vogue reached out to Shein for a comment, and they clarified that it was a Buddhist swastika they were selling. Saying:

For the record, SHEIN was not selling a Nazi swastika pendant, the necklace is a Buddhist swastika which has symbolized spirituality and good fortune for more than a thousand years. The Nazi swastika has a different design. It is pointed clockwise and tilted at an angle. However, because we understand the two symbols can be confused and is one is highly offensive, we have removed the product from our site.

As a multicultural and global brand, we want to apologize profusely to those who are offended, we are sensitive to these issues and want to be very clear that we in no way support or condone racial, cultural and religious prejudice or hostility. We are actively working through our internal structure and processes to resolve these issues, including a product review committee to ensure that we respect our diverse community. We are a global and all-inclusive brand and we are taking extreme measures to ensure that all items are cleared through a rigorous vetting process before we retail them.

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