Dive Brief:
- Shein is facing a class action lawsuit that claims the fast fashion giant sent marketing text messages to those on the national Do-Not-Call Registry, according to court documents.
- The complaint alleges Shein sent three text messages to the plaintiff in June, after the claimant registered with the Do-Not-Call Registry in April. The plaintiff didn’t explicitly sign up for the texts.
- Attorneys for the plaintiff are seeking a jury trial and claim that the plaintiff suffered an invasion of privacy, intrusion of life and a private nuisance, and that Shein should have known the plaintiff’s phone number was on the Do-Not-Call Registry.
Dive Insight:
Shein’s fast fashion competitor Temu has faced two similar class action lawsuits over texting people on the Do-Not-Call Registry that were later voluntarily dismissed by the plaintiffs.
Though Shein has previously faced class action lawsuits, the new complaint is unique in its claim of violating the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
The new complaint was filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, the district in which the plaintiff resides.
In addition to seeking a jury trial, attorneys are seeking monetary relief for the plaintiff and members of the class, including attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses.
A Shein spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to Fashion Dive’s request for comment.
Last year, a group of designers and artists filed a class action complaint against Shein that claimed Shein had copyright infringement baked into its business model.
Many of the lawsuits Shein faces are copyright infringement claims, both from independent artists like the class action lawsuit and established brands, including a recent complaint from Brandy Melville.
Recently Shein’s advertising practices have come under additional scrutiny after France’s antitrust authority fined the fast fashion giant for misleading consumers.
