The website of online retailer Shein has been banned by a decision of the Central District Court of Tula. The authorities interpreted rainbow-colored bracelets offered at the marketplace as LGBTQ+ symbols. The court's decision was reported by the independent publication Verstka.
According to the court ruling, the ban was requested by the Tula branch of state-run consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor. It states that agency officials were “monitoring online resources” that sell LGBT symbols and found such merchandise on the Shein website.
Specifically, officials found rainbow-colored bracelets on the Shein website by searching for “LGBT bracelet.” The court ruling points out that such goods are available for order by customers of all ages, including minors.
Shein is an international online fast fashion retailer founded in 2008 in China by entrepreneur Chris Xu. The company was originally based in Nanjing, but moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2022.
Shein quickly gained popularity in Russia. According to Mediascope, in May 2021, Shein's daily audience in Russia was about 606,800 users, which exceeded domestic marketplace Lamoda's 519,100 visitors.
Despite the high traffic, Shein lagged behind its competitors by sales volumes in Russia in 2020. The Association of Internet Commerce Companies estimated that Shein's 2020 sales in Russia amounted to approximately $45 million, while Lamoda reported a turnover of $558 million.
In early 2024, Shein suspended its operations in Russia and users could no longer place orders through the app. However, in July 2024, the company resumed its Russian operations by providing a workaround through the local shipping service CDEK.Shopping.
The court determined that the Shein website violated Russia’s law regarding “LGBT propaganda.” This decision may become the basis for adding the Shein site to the telecom supervisor Roskomnadzor's register of banned resources. For now, the website is still accessible in Russia without VPN services.