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This story was originally Appearance Grist and, Climate Desk collaboration.
In 2023, fast-fashion giant SHEIN was everywhere: Planes crisscrossed the globe, delivering parcels of the brand’s ultra-cheap clothing. Thousands of Suppliers It reached tens of millions of customers’ mailboxes across 150 countries. Influencers’ “#sheinhaul” videos promoted the company’s trending styles on social media. Billions of views.
At every step, data was created, collected, and analyzed. To manage all this information, the fast fashion industry has begun to embrace emerging AI technologies. Shein uses a proprietary machine learning application (essentially a pattern-recognition algorithm) to gauge customer preferences in real time, forecast demand, and deliver it across its lightning-fast supply chain.
As AI accelerates the business of mass-producing affordable, fashionable clothing like never before, Shein Pressure mounts The company is also committed to becoming more sustainable: It has committed to reducing its carbon emissions by 25% by 2030 and reaching net-zero emissions no later than 2050.
But environmental activists and researchers say the company’s lightning-fast manufacturing methods and online-only business model are inherently emissions-intensive, and that its use of AI software to power these operations could increase emissions. These concerns are echoed by Shein’s 3rd Annual Sustainability ReportThe company’s carbon dioxide emissions are expected to nearly double between 2022 and 2023, according to a report released late last month.
“AI is enabling fast fashion to become an ultra-fast fashion industry, and Shein and Temu are pioneers of this,” said Sage Regnier, executive director of climate nonprofit Sustainable and Just Future. “They literally couldn’t exist without AI.” (Temu is a fast-growing e-commerce giant with a marketplace of goods to rival Shein.) Type, price, sales.
In the 12 years since its establishment, Shein has become known for its uniquely prolific manufacturing industry, with production reportedly reaching over one million tonnes per year. $30 billion By 2023, it will account for 10% of the company’s revenue. Estimates vary, but the new Shein design has as early as 10 days Up to 10,000 clothing items are added every day. The company offers the following items: 600,000 items They’re on sale all the time, with the average price being about $10. (Shane would not confirm or deny these reported figures.) One market analysis found that 44% of Gen Z in the U.S. owns at least One item Delivered monthly by Shein.
Its scale means the environmental impact will be enormous: According to the company’s sustainability report, Shain will emit a total of 16.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in 2023, more than the emissions of four coal-fired power plants. Spit it out in a yearThe company also Textile wastehigh level Microplastic pollutionThe report cited a range of issues, including poor manufacturing practices, exploitative labor practices, and the report said polyester, a synthetic fiber known for shedding microplastics into the environment, makes up 76 percent of all fabrics, but only 6 percent of those are recycled.
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