Shein: Fashion’s Biggest Polluter in Four Charts

Last year, ultra-fast-fashion giant Shein generated more planet-warming emissions than any of fashion’s largest public companies for the first time.

The company’s carbon footprint of 16.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent is big enough to rival several countries. It’s nearly tripled in the last three years, an increase that has outpaced even Shein’s staggering rate of sales growth.

In 2023, Shein’s carbon footprint nudged past that of Zara-owner Inditex, previously the biggest emitter among fashion’s biggest players. It was roughly double those of Nike, H&M Group and LVMH.

To be sure, such comparisons are imperfect. Companies calculate their emissions in different ways and disclose varying amounts of information. Still, Shein’s hefty environmental impact is one of several sticky controversies that have plagued its ambitions to go public. Tackling emissions is “particularly critical” CEO Sky Xu said in Shein’s latest sustainability report, which was published last week.

The company’s efforts so far include moves to support suppliers in improving manufacturing efficiency and shift some production closer to key consumer markets. In July, it launched a €200 million ($222 million) circularity fund focused on promoting textile-to-textile recycling. It’s also in the process of validating its target to reduce emissions 25 percent by 2030 with the Science Based Targets Initiative, the leading global arbiter of corporate climate goals. However, savings to date have been dwarfed by the company’s breakneck growth.

Dive into the numbers below: