ReFresh WCTD signatory

SHEIN:

We are excited to join the WCTD community to achieve the vision of a fully circular textile economy by 2050. Since its founding, SHEIN has been a disruptor in the fashion retail space, leveraging innovation, technology, and strong supply chain relationships to minimize production waste.

We embrace a small batch test-and-scale model, trying many new things, learning quickly, then collaborating to scale solutions that work – and are applying this same approach to our sustainability journey. Circularity is the logistical next step in our evolution toward zero-waste, and it has implications for transforming operations across our value chain – from raw material sourcing to waste recycling to end-of-life solutions.

Our current initiatives include: – We are accelerating our uptake of recycled and regenerative materials in our products and packaging. SHEIN is a member of Textile Exchange, and we work toward their fiber standards for guidance on best practices regarding sustainable materials. For example, we follow the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) as we aim at accelerating our procurement of recycled poly and cotton materials. – We have partnered with Canopy and joined their CanopyStyle and Pack4Good initiatives to source only forest-safe man-made cellulosic fibers and paper packaging products by 2025, prioritizing recycled content and exploring next-gen solutions such as materials made from agricultural residues and recycled textile scraps.- We are piloting circular product design projects to repurpose our cutting room scraps and other brands’ deadstock fabrics into new products. We also have some exciting projects launching in fall 2022 to increase the life of garments through peer-to-peer resale and take-back programs, which will also help with the responsible collection and recycling of garment waste at the end of its wearable life.-

We also acknowledge that there will always be textile waste that we will not be able to control. So at the Global Fashion Summit in June, we announced the launch of our Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Fund, dedicating $50 million over the next five years to support waste management efforts in communities deeply impacted by textile waste.

These funds will help to remediate harms already done by the fashion industry, as well as invest in circular solutions that will prevent such harms in the future.With more still to come, our goal is to continue measuring and mitigating our own textile waste and to collaborate with other industry leaders to propel the circular textile economy forward!