Shein has signed a new agreement with DHL to use the logistics group’s GoGreen Plus service, a move designed to increase the role of sustainable aviation fuel in the retailer’s air cargo operations. The partnership fits within Shein’s wider effort to reduce the climate impact of air freight while supporting industry mechanisms that help scale SAF supply and adoption.
DHL’s GoGreen Plus programme allows corporate customers to contribute to SAF use by integrating the fuel into DHL’s aviation network. Rather than requiring a dedicated flight for an individual shipper, the model works by “insetting” SAF within the network fuel mix. DHL then allocates the resulting lifecycle emissions reductions—measured against conventional jet fuel—to participating clients using internationally recognised accounting approaches.
Those allocations are documented through established certification standards, enabling companies to reflect SAF-linked savings in their own emissions reporting. DHL says customers can reduce the carbon footprint of eligible shipments by as much as 30% through the service.
Shein’s sustainability head, Mustan Lalani, said the agreement is also a learning exercise as the company evaluates how new aviation solutions can be applied in practice. “Working with partners such as DHL allows us to better understand how sustainable aviation fuel solutions may be incorporated into air cargo logistics. Initiatives like this are part of Shein’s broader efforts to explore how emerging approaches across the aviation sector may contribute to addressing carbon emissions associated with air transport.”
The DHL deal follows a sequence of pilots and collaborations Shein has been running across the air cargo ecosystem. In 2025, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with Lufthansa Cargo and subsequently expanded its engagement with logistics providers, airlines and industry bodies to examine SAF’s potential for emissions reduction, the economics of adoption and how certification should be handled.
Also in 2025, Shein carried out a SAF pilot with Atlas Air, purchasing and using 187.3 tonnes of sustainable aviation fuel across 14 charter flights. The retailer said the trial delivered an estimated reduction of 579.1 tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions.
Beyond European and US-linked partnerships, Shein is involved in a pilot initiative in China organised by China National Aviation Fuel (CNAF) together with the Second Research Institute of Civil Aviation of China (CASRI). The programme brings airlines and corporate participants together with the aim of encouraging SAF uptake in the domestic market.
Under that collaboration, Shein plans an initial SAF procurement through Air China Cargo. The pilot includes traceability mechanisms to track SAF usage and record associated emissions reductions. CASRI and CNAF are expected to jointly issue certificates based on Proof of Sustainability, documenting both the SAF volumes used and the lifecycle emissions reductions achieved.
Shein has also joined Green Fuel Forward, a World Economic Forum-led campaign focused on accelerating SAF deployment across Asia-Pacific by encouraging coordinated action among corporations, airlines and fuel producers—an approach intended to address the supply, demand and investment hurdles that have slowed SAF scaling globally.
