Building a Circular Ecosystem
In 2022, we pledged to have a fully circular textile supply chain by 2050 in alignment with World Circular Textiles Day, a coalition of brands, suppliers and other organizations who share a mission to drive the fashion and textiles industry toward full circularity. With a business model that prioritizes waste reduction and circularity, SHEIN is helping to lead the charge towards a more sustainable and responsible fashion industry. We will continue measuring and mitigating our own textile waste and collaborate with other industry leaders. We are encouraging our customers to extend the lifecycle of our products while creating products and services that help to deliver a circular future without waste. Our ambition is to continue measuring and mitigating our own textile waste while collaborating with other industry leaders to propel the circular textile economy forward.
circular Products & services
We are increasing our number of products made from recycled and reclaimed materials:
- We plan to transition at least 31% of our polyester-based products to recycled polyester by 2030.
- We aim to engage the majority of SHEIN customers in circularity by 2025.
We think enabling responsible consumption, together with increasing the adoption of next generation textiles, can create a real opportunity for our customers to reduce, reuse, recycle. Specifically we plan to:
- Promote product resale and purchase of pre-loved items on SHEIN Exchange, our new peer-to-peer resale platform with over 3 million registered users.
- Accelerate the use of preferred materials using rescued deadstock fabrics and recycled content through our EvoluSHEIN by Design program.
- Prolong the life of our garments by creating educational content about circularity and prevention of textile waste through our SHEINsights customer newsletter, web and social channels.
- Establish an effective product take-back and recycling program to prevent inevitable textile waste from reaching landfills at end-of-life.
- We have also launched a partnership with Queen of Raw to rescue high-quality surplus fabrics from becoming waste and use them to build new collections.
SHEIN Exchange
We’re encouraging more mindful consumption and extending the lifecycles of our items with the launch of SHEIN Exchange in the U.S., an integrated peer-to-peer site to buy and sell previously owned SHEIN products. It’s a one-stop destination for customers to become active participants in circularity and promote the benefits of purchasing pre-owned clothing over purchasing new items. We developed the SHEIN Exchange platform in partnership with Treet, a leading resale technology platform creating circular fashion experiences for several fashion retailers. We already have 3 million registered users on the platform, and plan to expand SHEIN Exchange to the UK, France and Germany in 2023.
Extended producer responsibility (EPR) Fund
In 2022, we launched the SHEIN Extended Producer Responsibility Fund to address global textile waste, including by supporting waste management efforts in communities deeply impacted by the issue. The Or Foundation was allocated US$5 million in 2022 from the Fund and used the resources to expand their Mabilgu (sisterhood) Apprenticeship Program for young women. This program acts as an incubator for community businesses transforming textile waste into new products, piloting fiber-to-fiber initiatives with Ghanaian textile manufacturers. Guided by a community-based vision, it also improves working conditions of women in the Kantamanto Market, uplifting them and making sure that the world’s largest second-hand clothing market is a safe and dignified place to work. The Or Foundation will also redistribute a portion of the initial grant to allied organizations in Ghana.