Climate and Net Zero Targets
Scope 1 and 2: No. Target of reducing emissions (Scope 1, 2 and 3) by 25% by 2030. Base year 2023 – one of the latest base years, worth flagging.

Scope 3: No – Reduce absolute scope 3 GHG emissions from purchased goods and services, fuel- and energy-related activities, upstream transportation and distribution, waste generated in operations, end-of-life treatment of sold products 25.0% by 2030. Base year 2023.

Mid-term (2035/2040) milestones: No.

Net Zero Roadmap: Brand said they are committed to reaching net-zero emissions by no later than 2050.

Renewable Energy Targets
Own operations RE target: The brand told Stand.earth it plans to increase active annual sourcing of renewable electricity from 72.4% in 2023 to 100.0% by 2030. No specification of high impact.

Supply chain RE target: No

Thermal Coal Phase Out
2030 Coal Phase-out Target: No

Thermal energy transition/ electrification: No

Transparency
Emissions data: Yes – shares historic emissions info and Scope 3 category breakdown, not all of the categories. Does share for transportation, business travel, purchased goods, capital goods and waste generated. No split by tier or country.

Supply chain energy data: No

Supplier lists published: No – highlight UK hearing on SHEIN cotton as example of opacity

Supplier list link

Training, feasibility studies, and non-financial support for climate action
Brand communicated; works with suppliers on projects to identify and implement measures which reduce energy, water and chemical usage, and waste generated in the manufacturing process. In partnership with the Apparel Impact Institute, in 2023, we implemented Clean by Design projects across 28 supplier sites, which collectively introduced 217 improvement actions, saving 14,046 MWh of electricity and nearly 46,000 metric tons of CO2e per year.

Additional, targeted support for transition planning: Said: design customized solarization plans for our suppliers, complemented by cash incentives to encourage adoption. To promote solar adoption in our supply chain, in 2023, we reached out to over 300 suppliers to share about rooftop solar alternatives, although information about this or adoption is not publicly available.

Financial Support for Decarbonization
Loans and financing: No

Collective financing initiatives:

Direct/debt-free financing: Brand said ‘We provide cash incentives to our suppliers to encourage adoption of rooftop solar energy.’ No evidence in public facing documents.

Responsible/equitable buying to enable climate action
Purchasing decisions incentivize climate action: Not specifically. Brand communicated that those who score well on their SHEIN Responsible Sourcing (SRS) audits are provided additional opportunities to produce certain product ranges. For example, suppliers who produce garments under our evoluSHEIN by Design initiative must have achieved an above average rating on their SRS audit, i.e. A or B in our current grading scale. As part of our Supplier Code of Conduct, which all SHEIN-branded suppliers must sign and agree to abide by, suppliers are also required to comply with applicable laws and regulations related to environmental protection, and adopt reasonable measures to reduce or mitigate the negative impact of their operations on the environment.

Equitable/long-term sourcing to enable climate action: No

Prices enable climate action: No

Climate Adaptation
Adaptation/worker just transition training funded or provided: No

Emergency support developed with local groups: No

Decarbonization Progress
Reducing manufacturing emissions: No. From our research absolute emissions grew significantly from 9.17 million metric tons of CO2e in 2022 to 16.68 million metric tons of CO2e.

Increasing supply chain renewable electricity: No

Coal phase out transition progress: No

Commitment to phase out fossil fuel-derived fibers
No – Brand said target is to transition 31% of the polyester used for SHEIN-branded products to recycled polyester by 2030. In 2023, recycled polyester accounted for 7.9% of polyester directly sourced for SHEIN-branded products, increased from <1% in 2022.

Deforestation-free materials
Leather: No

Man-made Cellulosic Fibers: The brand answered no in response but is a member of the Canopy initiative. Viscose is 8% of material mix (5% of the 8% is certified)

Low-carbon materials
Some limited examples for a company of this size. SHEIN invested €200 million in the Circularity Fund. Has also worked Donghua University to develop a polyester recycling process. Industry experts have commented on the limitations, including that it would not be able to do this at scale for the volume of polyester the company produces.

Increasing Circularity
On the surface, SHEIN has made preliminary efforts to engage in circularity efforts, but without fundamentally addressing its business model.
It has invested €200 million in a Circularity Fund and has worked Donghua University to develop a polyester recycling process.
The company has no set recycled cotton targets given how the majority of its fiber usage is derived from synthetics.
The company has SHEIN Exchange, a peer-to-peer resale platform which is available in the US, France, Germany and the UK.

Target & increase recycled cotton
No specific target for recycled cotton. Doesn’t report on progress.

100% recycled/organic/regen cotton + wool, report on progress
SHEIN is a member of Textile Exchange but does not report cotton or wool sustainable materials targets

Support farmers, transition to regen/organic farming
No.

Resale/repair – % total sales/disclosure on #
Brand shared SHEIN Exchange, a peer-to-peer resale platform, first launched in the US in 2022, which encourages our customers to engage in circularity. In 2023, we saw over 4.2 million new users join the SHEIN Exchange platform in the USA, with over 115,000 pre-owned items listed for sale by more than 95,000 unique sellers. In 2024, we expanded SHEIN Exchange to France, Germany and the UK.

Direct link resale/repair to reduce production
No

Materials transparency
Shares material mix: Only % and extremely high % of synthetics. The following is the fiber breakdown by weight for textiles designated by SHEIN for use by contract manufacturers in 2023:
Polyester (75.7%; of which recycled polyester constitutes 6%-points)
Viscose (8%; of which forest-safe viscose constitutes 5%-points)
Cotton (9.9%)
Spandex (3.6%)
Polyamide (2.4%)
Other fibre categories, including linen, acrylics and metallics (0.3%)

Provides data on units sold: No

SHEIN does include shipping emissions in its Scope 3 target. However, SHEIN has drastically increased its Category 4 emissions from 2022-2023, from 3,234,539 CO2e to 6,354,029 – a total of 96%. From its baseline year of 2021, emission increased by over 200%, due to a heavy and systemic reliance on air freight and direct-to-consumer shipping. Addressing this should be a high priority. SHEIN has by far the highest ratio of emissions coming from upstream shipping, at nearly 40% of its total Scope 3 footprint.

The company does not provide any transparency into its transportation modes, or disclose a goal to limit air freight, but does report taking “measures to optimise the efficiency”.

No evidence of commitments or action to reduce the impact of marine shipping.

SHEIN reports working with some logistics partners in last-mile delivery that use electric vehicles, but has no firm commitments.

No strong examples and didn’t provide any in response to Stand.earth. Important to consider the lobbying expenditures of SHEIN vs the rest of the industry via data from OpenSecrets.