What: Shein embraces sustainability by moving into circular fashion.

Why it is important:  This move might be very well at the same time misleading for customers (thinking that their consumption could go greener without having to change their habits) and unfair for competition, which is much more scrutinized than Shein when it comes to sustainability efforts.

Fast-fashion brand Shein has partnered with circular economy company Queen of Raw to source and repurpose deadstock fabric materials, aiming to achieve full circularity by 2050. This move is expected to reduce Shein's reliance on new materials and clear out unused stock from other brands.

However, critics argue that this initiative does little to shift the industry towards true circularity and may perpetuate the cycle of wasteful overproduction. They suggest that the environmental footprint of the garment is not reduced through this process as the deadstock material was still produced in the same way as a newly ordered fabric.

Critics also warn that this could incentivize Shein to produce new garments at a faster rate, further fueling their hyper-fast fashion model. They argue that significant sustainability improvements can only be achieved by fundamentally overhauling operating models, producing more durable garments, and avoiding overproduction.

Why Shein’s new sustainability campaign might perpetuate