Indigenous Nations Apparel Company accuses Shein of copying its designs

Michelle Cameron, the founder of Indigenous Nations Apparel Company (INAC), claims that the ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein has copied 20 of her company’s designs, including the product imagery, to sell copycat products.

A member of the Peguis First Nation, Cameron founded her brand close to six years ago in Winnipeg, selling Indigenous streetwear at markets and conferences. According to media reports from CBC, WWD and Winnipeg CityNews, Cameron was first made aware of the copycat designs last week, when customers visiting the INAC store in Polo Park shopping center alerted her.

She immediately contacted Shein regarding the design breach, and reportedly received a response from the Chinese company a few days later, a link where she could file a complaint online. The INAC copycat designs have since been removed from Shein’s website, and the Chinese company has started its own investigation according to WWD. A Shein spokesperson said that “the products in question were being sold on Shein Marketplace by third-party sellers,” and added that sellers are required to “comply with company policy and certify that their products do not infringe third-party intellectual property.”

Cameron has yet to hear back from representatives from Shein and is reportedly looking into taking legal action, as she looks to spread awareness regarding Shein’s copying of her designs. As INAC is built around supporting Indigenous creators and community organisations, the most difficult aspect of the Shein situation for Cameron has been the price undercutting, with the fast-fashion platform selling their copycat designs at half of INAC's price.

The founder of INAC also alleged that Shein used their website imagery to sell its copycat designs, including a photograph of her own daughter modelling INAC products. One of the designs Shein is said to have copied was a shirt from INAC's Red Day Dress collection, which was designed to raise awareness of missing and murdered Indigenous women, girls, and Two-Spirit People. Red Dress Day is observed annually on 5 May. Another reportedly copied design features INAC's company name and the date it was founded. 

The dispute with Shein is not the first time that INAC has faced copycats, as the company recently discovered a seller on Amazon selling knockoffs of its designs. The online marketplace immediately removed the item in question for sale after receiving a cease-and-desist letter.

Shein has been frequently in the news these past few months for a myriad of reasons, from concerns about how it handles its EU customer data to accusations regarding the sale of contaminated products in the EU and US, selling childlike sex dolls, and a copyright trial with Temu in the UK over copyright infringement on an “industrial scale.”

FashionUnited had reached out to Shein for further commentary on the accusations.