Progress on sustainable fashion is being undercut by the rise of ultra-fast fashion a new report has found.
The Apparel Impact Institute’s latest Roadmap to Net Zero report shows that fashion’s carbon emissions rose 7.5% in 2023, the first-time emissions have risen since it started collating the data in 2019. It has linked the rise to increased use of virgin polyester and production of clothing. The report states: “While our methodology limits the attribution we can make to any specific company or category, we assume that the rise of ultra-fast fashion brands is a key contributor to this increase.”
Many sustainable fashion campaigners have warned the environmental impact of fashion is worsening, despite widespread awareness, because of ultra-fast fashion, and the report provides new evidence.
Companies such as Shein and Temu have had a meteoric rise in the past five years, appealing to Western customers with a huge offering at bargain-basement prices. Shein’s market share in the global apparel sector grew to 1.53% in 2024, ahead of fast fashion rivals Zara and H&M, and third overall in the ranking only behind Adidas and Nike according to the GlobalData Apparel Intelligence Center.
“When it comes to these ultra-fast fashion companies, we don’t have any visibility into the work they’re doing. They tend to not be collaborative with the sector around co-investing and pooling resources around supply chain improvement,” says Lewis Perkins, president and CEO of Apparel Impact Institute via video call.
In May, Shein had its net-zero-by-2050 target validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative. However, critics have questioned whether this is achievable under its current business model. Ken Pucker, a professor in sustainable business dynamics at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth and the Fletcher School at Tufts University, posted on LinkedIn: “Will they achieve their plan?… I’m dubious”. Puckers post highlighted how, by its own reporting, Shein’s emissions rose 45% in 2023 to 16.7 million tons, a 175% increase from 2021.
Perkins remains hopeful but sceptical about the move: “As an optimist, I’d like to think that, for a lot of these companies, the light bulb is going off. But they’re promises without real proof of action at this point.” He adds that any large companies signing up for science-based targets now has a lot of catching up to do.
Perkins hopes that some of the ultra-fast fashion brands might join the Apparel Impact Institute in a mutually beneficial way to help them reach their climate goals and fund improvements in the supply chain. “We’d like to see everyone take accountability. If we had more involvement, we could continue to lower cost and have greater reach.” The report lists the comparative cost of recycled polyester to virgin polyester as one of the barriers to wider adoption. In return, the Institute could help these brands meet their carbon goals, access lower-interest funding and talk about their environmental commitments with less risk of greenwashing
Shein, in particular, is facing a lot of scrutiny. Earlier this month, Shein was fined €1 million ($1.169 million) by the Italian government under greenwashing regulation and in the UK, where Shein has filed for an IPO, pushbacks thought to be linked to its ethical credentials have stalled proceedings. Of course, Shein isn’t the only brand engaged in this model, many have been keen to replicate its success, and France is taking further action on all ultra-fast fashion brands. In June, the French senate backed a law which would impose sanctions including taxing items with a low “eco score” and banning advertising and influencer partnerships of fast fashion.
Ultra-fast fashion may have proved a winning business formula until now but with financial and governmental pressure to disclose and improve its ESG performance, it may have reached its peak.
