SHEIN partners with Lufthansa Cargo to tackle enormous transportation footprint

Ultra-fast fashion brand SHEIN has signed an agreement with Lufthansa Cargo to scale up the use of sustainable aviation fuel in an effort to reduce the enormous carbon footprint generated by its fast-to-market strategy.

Under a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed last week, the two companies will “explore a range of initiatives to drive the adoption of sustainable solutions for air freight”. They will also use carbon offsets generated through the adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) for SHEIN deliveries within the next six months.

SAF-based carbon offsets

Lufthansa Cargo will provide ‘Proof of Sustainability’ certificates for the used SAF quantities, which SHEIN can use to offset some of its transportation emissions.

“Lufthansa Cargo has extensive experience in driving the adoption of SAF and will provide SHEIN with opportunities to adopt lower-carbon air cargo options,” said Ethan Shen, SHEIN’s General Manager of Global Fulfillment. 

“Through this partnership, we aim to pilot and gradually expand the use of SAF where feasible, while continuing to explore additional ways to reduce the carbon footprint across our delivery network. While the use of SAF is one step towards reducing our transportation and distribution emissions, we recognise it as part of a broader decarbonisation strategy that should also include optimising logistics, fleet efficiency, and exploring other low-carbon solutions.”

SHEIN’s skyrocketing carbon footprint

SHEIN’s business model is founded on extremely fast deliveries, which means the company sends individual packages directly to consumers by air freight, instead of surface or marine transportation like other apparel firms. As a result, its Scope 3, category 4 (upstream transportation and distribution) footprint stands at more than 8.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, having increased by 13.7% between 2023 and 2024.

Overall, SHEIN’s Scope 3 carbon footprint has increased by 170% in just two years, with activists raising the alarm about its unsustainable business model. The company is the largest polluter in the fashion industry, with a total of 26.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2024. In comparison, H&M – one of the best sustainability performers in the sector – posted a footprint of 8.7 million tonnes of CO2e in 2024.

“If SHEIN were a country, it would be the 100th biggest emitter in the world, with almost as much pollution as the entire country of Lebanon,” wrote Stand.earth in its 2025 Fossil-Free Fashion Scorecard.