Chinese Shein platform products might cost more, yet they're claimed to be more environmentally friendly.
Fast Fashion Meets Green: Is Shein Greenwashing or Making a Change?
Mobile phones blazing and computers whirring, the digital fashion revolution is here, and Shein's stepping up its game. The Chinese platform, under fire for supposedly harming the fashion industry with cheap, low-quality clothes, is going green, aiming to prove that fast fashion can harmonize with sustainable innovation. But is it all talk or a genuine conversion? Let's dive in.
Eurocrats got their eyes on fast fashion, with the anti-fast fashion law rearing its head in parliamentary discussions in a few days, and plans for "handling fees" on European packages, starting in 2026. Europe's also cooking up a customs reform, expected by 2028, to ditch the tax exemption on packages below 150 euros from countries outside the EU.
Shein, like its competitor Temu, is on the defensive. Lenard Lin, Shein's president for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, had a chat with some journalists, keen on showcasing Shein's eco-friendly bonafides. "We produce our items according to demand. We are therefore totally different from other actors in the fashion industry," Lin asserts, implying that they avoid unnecessary overstock – a common critique of fast fashion giants.
Water-Wise and Recycled Materials
To lend more credibility to its eco-friendly image, Shein's highlighting conservation efforts and a shift away from polluting materials. Collaborating with universities, they're creating new, less harmful materials to manufacture clothes, such as recycled polyester, aiming for 30% of their clothes to feature this material by 2030.
Digital printing is another area Shein excels, colors marking clothing via a printer, not dyes – reducing water usage. Today, 51% of their production is digital print-enabled, a move that significantly limits water consumption.
Embracing Returns Sustainably
Returns, the bane of e-commerce's carbon emissions, pose an issue for Shein. Answering questions about returns, Lin states that fees are free, and returned goods don't go back to China, but instead are stored in warehouses in Poland, with 90% being resold to other European clients.
French Eyes on Shein
With the sustainability message out there, will French consumers be drawn to the inexpensive yet sustainable fast fashion offerings? Shein appears to be investing heavily in advertisements, with a 40% increase in media budgets in France over the past year, aiming to educate customers on their business model. The love for Shein seems to be growing; 20% of French folk shop on the platform, generating 3 billion euros in sales in 2024 – a 58% increase from 2023 to 2024 in sales in France.
So, is Shein's greening operation a genuine attempt to change the face of fast fashion, or just savvy branding to distract from its eco-unfriendly past? While there's progress, concerns about greenwashing persist without more comprehensive data on the environmental benefits of their initiatives. Time will unveil whether Shein's talking the talk or walking the walk.
Shein's greening initiatives include using digital printing to reduce water consumption and producing items according to demand to avoid unnecessary overstock, as asserted by Lenard Lin, Shein's president for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. The company also aims to use 30% recycled polyester in their clothes by 2030 and partners with universities for research into less harmful materials.
Regarding returns, Shein charges no fees and stores returned goods in European warehouses for resale, with 90% being resold to other customers. They have increased their media budgets in France by 40% to educate customers about their business model and sustainability efforts.
With the anti-fast fashion law looming in European parliamentary discussions, Shein's aggressive investment in advertising and sustainability might attract French consumers seeking inexpensive yet sustainable fast fashion options. However, concerns about greenwashing persist without more comprehensive data on the environmental benefits of their initiatives.
In the business world, Shein's strategy of adopting environmental science, embracing finance-conscious practices, and innovating in fashion-and-beauty sectors could either prove to be a genuine change in the fashion industry or just strategic branding to enhance its lifestyle appeal. Time will reveal whether Shein's actions align with its claims and contribute positively to the environment.
