Fast-fashion retailer Shein’s transport emissions jump in 2024

A page from the Shein website is shown in this photo, in New York on June 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

LONDON — Shein’s carbon emissions from transporting products climbed 13.7 per cent in 2024, the online fast-fashion retailer’s sustainability report showed on Friday, and its 2023 transport emissions were 18 per cent higher than previously reported after a recalculation.

Shein uses mainly air freight to send cheap clothes directly from suppliers in China to shoppers in 150 markets worldwide, a more carbon-intensive supply chain model compared with traditional apparel retailers that ship more of their products on container vessels.

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Shein said it planned to produce, package, and ship closer to its customers as a way to lower emissions and cut delivery times and shipping costs. It increased its use of sea freight and trucking in 2024, according to the report.

“We do have localized places like Brazil, like Turkey ... so all these things are in the works. Are we fast enough? Are we perfect? Of course not. There are a lot of things that we have to do,” Shein executive chairman Donald Tang said, speaking at the Viva Technology conference in Paris on Friday after the report was published.

France’s Senate on Tuesday approved a revised version of a fast fashion law that, if implemented, would ban advertising by Shein and its rival Temu, with French lawmakers criticizing Shein’s environmental footprint.

Shein argues its business model allows it to produce according to demand and leaves it with less unsold inventory than traditional clothing retailers, minimizing waste.

Founded in China and headquartered in Singapore, Shein sources most of its products from 7,000 suppliers in China, but also has a growing network of factories in Brazil and Turkey.

Emission targets

Emissions from transporting products to and between Shein facilities, and to customers, including returns, were 8.52 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent in 2024, up from 7.49 million metric tons of CO2e in 2023, according to the report.

Shein’s transport emissions for 2024 are more than three times those of Zara owner Inditex, which reported 2.61 million tons of CO2e for its 2024 financial year, a 10 per cent increase on 2023 as the Spanish firm also used more air freight.

Shein said its 2023 emissions were recalculated after an update to its methodology. Last year it reported a 2023 figure of 6.35 million metric tons.

Steep tariffs imposed by the United States on Chinese goods have made it more urgent for Shein to diversify its supplier base, as the U.S. is its biggest market.

The company aims to go public and has shifted its focus to a Hong Kong initial public offering after failing to win Chinese securities’ regulatory approval to proceed with a planned London listing.

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Shein’s emissions reduction targets, approved last month by the Science-Based Targets Initiative, are for a 25 per cent reduction in Scope 3 (indirect) emissions by 2030, compared with 2023.

In the sustainability report Shein, which has also faced criticism over working conditions in its supply chain, said it ended 12 supplier relationships in 2024 due to violations of its policies, up from five in 2023.

Shein conducted 4,288 on-site audits on its suppliers and subcontractors in China over the year, up from 3,990 in 2023.

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Reporting by Helen Reid; Editing by Louise Heavens and Alison Williams