SHEIN focuses our Scope 3 decarbonisation efforts in areas where we have the largest emissions, in particular Purchased Goods and Services (Category 1) and Upstream Transportation and Distribution (Category 4), which account for approximately 96% of emissions under our near-term targets in 2024.
Purchased Goods and Services (Category 1)
Across the life cycle of our products, the largest proportion of emissions can be attributed to the production phase i.e., during raw material production, fabric and garment production, and packaging production. Key actions to reduce this category of emissions are as follows:
- Minimise the Use of Virgin Materials and Transition to Lower-Impact Alternatives: We are working to decrease emissions from product manufacturing by reducing the amount of virgin materials used in garment and packaging production and switching to alternatives with lower carbon footprints than conventional or status quo materials. We have also set the following near-term targets for our transition towards lower-impact materials, and will continue to review and update these as appropriate:
- Source 100% forest-safe viscose[7] and paper-based packaging[8] for SHEIN-branded products by 2025
- Ensure all packaging sourced for SHEIN-branded products contains 50% preferred materials[9] by 2030
- Transition 31% of the polyester used for SHEIN-branded products to recycled polyester by 2030
- Source 50% of SHEIN-branded products through our evoluSHEIN by Design initiative by 2030
In particular, scaling textile-to-textile recycling will be an important part of our circular transition – to this end, we had launched a multi-year research partnership with Donghua University, a university specialising in engineering and material sciences, to study how to drive commercially scalable production of recycled polyester fibres.
- Promote Lower-Impact Manufacturing Processes: We believe our suppliers are critical to our decarbonisation journey in reducing our Scope 3 emissions. We focus on (1) encouraging our suppliers to transition to renewable energy, and (2) working with our suppliers to drive efficiency and to deploy lower-energy processes such as thermal digital printing to help reduce their carbon footprint.
Upstream Transportation and Distribution (Category 4)
Like many online retailers, a significant portion of our emissions can be attributed to the transportation and distribution of our products to customers. To reduce our transportation and distribution emissions, we will focus on the following actions:
- Reduce Transportation Distances: This includes optimising our global logistics network and route planning to promote the greater use of land, sea, or multimodal routes, thereby reducing the need for air freight. In addition, we are working to produce, package, and ship closer to our customers, with the aim of lowering emissions, delivery times, and shipping costs.
- Improve Transport Efficiency: This includes working with our logistics partners to transition to lower-emission transport alternatives, such as electric or hybrid vehicles and more fuel-efficient vehicles. In addition, we work to improve load and packaging efficiency, which maximises single-load capacity and reduces the number of loads required.
Other Areas of Decarbonisation
Beyond focusing on areas where most of our emissions lie, our decarbonisation roadmap also includes the following actions:
- Waste Generated in Operations (Category 5): While emissions from waste generated in operations represent a smaller share of SHEIN’s overall Scope 3 footprint, reducing waste-related emissions supports both near-term efficiency gains and longer-term circularity objectives. SHEIN’s focus is on waste prevention and improved waste management practices across operations. We have updated our SHEIN Industrial Waste Management Guidelines[10], which apply to all sites under our direct management, including offices, distribution warehouses, and SHEIN’s Centre of Innovation for Garment Manufacturing (CIGM), to require closed-loop recycling of all industrial waste generated within these facilities, as well as the redirection of all non-recyclable waste towards energy recovery or non-hazardous treatment processes.
- End-of-Life Treatment of Sold Products (Category 12): End-of-life emissions are influenced by consumer behaviour, product design and the availability of recycling infrastructure. SHEIN’s approach focuses on enabling longer product use and improving end-of-life outcomes, recognising the indirect nature of influence in this category.
To encourage our customers to engage in circular behaviour, we have launched initiatives such as SHEIN Exchange, a peer-to-peer resale platform, and continue to promote customer engagement content to raise awareness about the importance of the circular transition.
Together, these priority actions form the core of SHEIN’s decarbonisation strategy and underpin progress toward its near-term and long-term science-based emissions reduction targets.
[7] SHEIN currently sources forest-safe viscose from producers awarded a ‘Green Shirt’ rating in Canopy’s Hot Button Report, indicating low risk of sourcing from Ancient and Endangered Forests (for more information on Ancient and Endangered Forests, please refer to Canopy’s Forest Mapper).
[8] SHEIN currently sources FSC-certified paper-based packaging for forest-safe paper-based packaging.
[9] Preferred materials used for packaging are recycled PE and paper packaging not sourced from Ancient and Endangered Forests.
[10] These guidelines require the classification, recycling, weighing, and record-keeping of all industrial waste, as well as the documentation of downstream recycling operations and the redirection of all non-recyclable waste towards energy recovery or non-hazardous treatment processes. In addition, the guidelines set out requirements and procedures for the treatment and management of industrial waste at each stage of the process.