SHEIN's waste recycling system is certified again with a two-pronged approach of "management + use"

Recently, TÜV Rheinland Greater China (hereinafter referred to as "TÜV Rhein"), an international independent third-party testing, inspection and certification organization , issued a certificate for the Zero Waste Landfill Management System Certification (also known as the "Zero Waste Factory" certification) to the SHEIN Apparel Manufacturing Innovation Research Center. This is the first time that the SHEIN Innovation Research Center has obtained zero waste certification after the SHEIN Warehousing and Logistics Park. In addition to zero landfill, SHEIN also continues to explore the practice of waste recycling. It is reported that SHEIN is still continuing to promote zero landfill work in more self-operated sites.

From zero landfill to recycling exploration in full life cycle management

As a leading global testing service provider, TÜV Rheinland provides management system certification based on international standards. In 2019, TÜV Rheinland launched the Zero Landfill Management System Certification Service, which evaluates the waste management level of enterprises from two dimensions: management process and quantitative performance.

This time, the SHEIN Garment Manufacturing Innovation Research Center introduced the waste life cycle management method in accordance with the TÜV Rheinland Waste Zero Landfill Management System Certification Requirements, clearly identified the waste flow, designed a strategic development to reduce waste from the source, and promoted the upgrading of solid waste management to "high efficiency, high value, and large-scale utilization", striving to efficiently reduce the environmental burden and orderly achieve green and low-carbon transformation and sustainable development.

It is worth mentioning that in addition to establishing a full life cycle management method for waste, SHEIN is also actively exploring how to better realize the recycling value of waste, and integrating it with industrial talent training and community public welfare to achieve a two-pronged approach of "management + use". SHEIN will recycle eligible waste materials to make recycled eco-friendly bags. As of October 2024, SHEIN has recycled waste garments and made them into 2,200 recycled eco-friendly bags through sorting, opening, spinning, weaving, printing, sewing and other processes. In addition to making recycled eco-friendly bags, waste is also made into steam pipe insulation materials for use in energy efficiency improvement projects in its cooperating supplier factories.

SHEIN has always provided its cooperative supplier factories with full-link training covering operation management, business, technology, etc., and established a skills training base for garment industry workers to provide more technical talents for the industry. SHEIN will also use eligible waste materials for industrial talent training and cultivate suppliers' relevant practical concepts through practical applications.

In addition, SHEIN will recycle the sample clothes after pattern making and donate them to people in need to meet their clothing needs and promote the development of community public welfare. As of October this year, SHEIN has completed donations of more than 4,000 pieces, mainly to families with financial difficulties or affected by natural disasters, and the number of recipients has exceeded 1,800 .

In fact, according to the "Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of a Waste Recycling System" issued this year, while promoting the fine management and effective recycling of waste, it is also necessary to improve the level of waste resource utilization and reuse, and strengthen the recycling of key wastes. SHEIN's two-pronged approach of "management + use" of waste is undoubtedly a beneficial practice of the waste recycling system.

ESG chain from beginning to end: from model innovation to full-process business practice, from internal promotion to ecological partners

SHEIN has been continuously and actively exploring the development of recycling, sustainable materials and circular economy in the process of business development. For example , in the process of SHEIN's cooperation with the sustainable fashion company Queen of Raw , SHEIN purchased excess inventory fabrics from other clothing brands for reuse , avoiding the inventory fabrics from becoming textile waste and entering landfills , while reducing the consumption of new fabrics , and launched sustainable clothing series such as "SHEIN X Rescued" .

SHEIN 's "evoluSHEIN by Design" sustainable clothing program has established a set of evoluSHEIN clothing material and production standards by testing and applying more sustainable materials, technologies and production processes . In 2023 , SHEIN and global pop star Anitta launched "evoluSHEIN x Anitta", which is the first joint cooperation project under the program. It is expected that by 2030, half of SHEIN brand products will meet the above sustainable clothing conditions.

In addition, SHEIN continues to convey its circular economy philosophy to partners and consumers. For example, by launching the SHEIN Exchange second-hand trading platform, consumers can resell the SHEIN products they purchased with one click, making them active participants in the circular economy. Currently, the SHEIN second-hand trading platform has been launched in the US and European markets.

Since the brand was founded, SHEIN has continued to explore model innovation to reduce waste at the source, and has rooted the ESG concept in the entire operation process to promote the sustainable evolution and development of the fashion industry. SHEIN's innovative on-demand flexible supply chain model predicts and responds to market demand through digital "small orders and fast response", striving to reduce industry waste problems from the source.

In the business process, SHEIN actively uses and develops environmentally friendly technologies such as digital heat transfer and digital cold transfer. Among them, digital heat transfer technology has been verified by Bureau Veritas as a printing process with zero water consumption. From the beginning of application to June 2024, SHEIN's printed products using digital heat transfer technology accounted for more than 65% of its total printed products, saving 1.13 million tons of water resources. SHEIN's digital cold transfer technology for making environmentally friendly denim fabrics also saves up to 70.5% of water compared to traditional denim fabric production methods.

In the warehousing and logistics transportation links, SHEIN is also promoting the application of rooftop photovoltaics to reduce carbon emissions through the use of clean and green electricity; at the same time, the introduction of new energy trucks in the supply chain transportation link not only reduces transportation costs, but also reduces carbon emissions by nearly 30% for one-way transportation compared to diesel trucks.

SHEIN

TÜV Rheinland Zero Waste to Landfill Certification