This story originally appeared on Grist and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
In 2023, fast fashion giant Shein was everywhere. Planes criss-crossed the globe, delivering small packages of ultra-low-priced clothing from thousands of suppliers to the mailboxes of tens of millions of customers in 150 countries. The influencer’s “#sheinhol” videos promoted the company’s trendy style on social media and garnered billions of views.
Data was created, collected, and analyzed at every step. To manage all this information, the fast fashion industry is starting to adopt new AI technologies. Shein uses proprietary machine learning applications (essentially pattern identification algorithms) to measure customer preferences in real-time, predict demand, and deliver services in an ultra-fast supply chain.
Shein is one of the brands facing increasing pressure to become more sustainable, as AI allows businesses to churn out affordable, on-trend clothing faster than ever before. The company has pledged to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest.
But climate change advocates and researchers say the company’s ultra-fast manufacturing practices and online-only business model are inherently emissions-intensive, and that its use of AI software to facilitate these operations is driving emissions higher. It is argued that there is a possibility that These concerns were further amplified by Shein’s third annual sustainability report, released late last month, revealing that the company nearly doubled its carbon emissions from 2022 to 2023. did.
“AI is enabling fast fashion to become a super-fast fashion industry, and Shein and Teem are pioneers in that direction,” said Sage Renier, executive director of climate change nonprofit Sustainable and Just Future. says Mr. “We literally couldn’t exist without AI.” (Temu is a fast-growing e-commerce giant with a market for products that rivals Shein in variety, price, and distribution.)
In the 12 years since its founding, Shein has become known for its unique and prolific manufacturing, which reportedly generated more than $30 billion in revenue for the company in 2023. Estimates vary, but Shein’s new design could take as little as 10 days to complete. Up to 10,000 items, including clothing, are added to the site every day. The company reportedly sells as many as 600,000 items at any given time, with an average price of about $10. (Mr. Shein declined to confirm or deny these reported numbers.) One market analysis found that 44 percent of Gen Zers in the U.S. purchase at least one item from Shein each month.
