To improve its environmental footprint, the Chinese fashion retailer has signed a deal with Lufthansa Cargo to drive the adoption of sustainable solutions for air freight transportation. The MoU, inked on 19AUG25, includes a scheme to scale up the use of sustainable aviation fuel on Lufthansa Cargo flights for SHEIN deliveries. It also includes several actions to be concluded within the next six months.
If we are not mistaken, the deal is an industry first inked by a Chinese e-trader with a cargo carrier. In the Memorandum of Understanding both companies declare their intention to finalize the adoption of SAF offsetting solutions for SHEIN deliveries within the next 182 days. Further to this, they will test and promote the transition to renewable and lower-carbon energy sources for air transport operations, is stated in a press release.
Ambitious goals
The initiative is aligned with SHEIN’s commitment to address its carbon footprint from transportation, driven by the aim to reduce it. The step is part of its evoluSHEIN strategy to decarbonize supply chains, source responsible materials and protect nature and biodiversity, among other overarching criteria (see chart).
Conversely, Lufthansa Cargo will provide high-quality “Proof of Sustainability” certificates for the SAF quantities used. These certificates are based on externally verified standards and document emission reductions, compared to conventional jet fuel, in a traceable manner.
In addition to the necessary coordination of processes for compliant verification and greenhouse gas reductions, “we will jointly examine further options for integrating sustainable transport services for SHEIN. Examples of other areas of our cooperation include knowledge transfer and approaches to improving traceability and the collection of operational and environmental data. We plan to engage in ongoing dialogue on other aspects of sustainability to identify and leverage joint learning and potential synergies,” states Lufthansa Cargo’s communications department when asked by CargoForwarder Globaltospecify the areas of collaboration.
Broader decarbonization strategy
“Through this partnership, we aim to pilot and gradually expand the use of SAF where feasible, while continuing to explore additional ways to reduce the carbon footprint across our delivery network. While the use of SAF is one step towards reducing our transportation and distribution emissions, we recognize it as part of a broader decarbonization strategy that should also include optimizing logistics, fleet efficiency, and exploring other low-carbon solutions,” commented Ethan Shen, SHEIN’s General Manager of Global Fulfillment. The manager went on to say: “Lufthansa Cargo has extensive experience in driving the adoption of SAF and will provide SHEIN with opportunities to adopt lower-carbon air cargo options.”
Costly experiences
At the end of 2020, the cargo carrier teamed up with agent Schenker to introduce weekly SAF-based flight rotations between Frankfurt and Shanghai. However, about two years later, these were stopped, despite high CO2 reductions. Although well-known brands such as Siemens, Nokia, Lenovo, Merck, and Mercedes Benz had participated in the financing, medium-sized freight forwarders shied away from the additional fuel costs, which terminated the project since it became too expensive.
“Signing this memorandum with SHEIN represents Lufthansa Cargo’s commitment to implementing high-performance logistics solutions responsibly and with operational excellence. It demonstrates the importance of concrete measures and reliable implementation in the international air freight business. Together with all stakeholders within the supply chain, we are driving the development of more sustainable global supply chains in line with our purpose: Enabling Global Business,” said Ashwin Bhat, CEO of Lufthansa Cargo.
An industry first
SHEIN’s air freight transport is managed by freight forwarders. Are these agents bound by any SAF agreements between SHEIN and Lufthansa Cargo, or could they opt for other carriers, we asked the airline. “Lufthansa Cargo sells SAF that meets the highest certification standards. The Proof of Sustainability (POS certificate) is only issued to Lufthansa Cargo after transport. The partnership between SHEIN and Lufthansa Cargo aims to pilot and gradually expand the use of SAF. Over the next six months, the possibilities for using sustainable aviation fuels and offsetting the corresponding costs will be examined,” the airline replied
Is the agreement an industry first or do similar MoU’s exist between Chinese e-trading platforms and cargo airlines? “We are currently not aware of any comparable agreements. At SHEIN, we are the first and currently the only airline partner to have signed an MoU on sustainability,” notes Lufthansa Cargo.
Are more MoUs on the horizon?
When asked what volume SHEIN contributes to Lufthansa Cargo’s total sales, the airline refused to provide any information on sales figures or percentages for individual customers.
Since Lufthansa Cargo cooperates with many customers, the question arises as to whether there are plans for a similar MoU with Temu, Shaoke or other such e-traders. “Lufthansa Cargo is an experienced partner when it comes to the safe purchase and use of SAF. We are pleased that our very strict approach, which is based exclusively on externally audited POS, is appreciated by the market. We are happy to provide our customers, partners, and new prospects with advice and operational support when it comes to the further implementation of sustainable transport,” the cargo airline stated.
LHC and ITA intensify cargo cooperation
As Lufthansa Cargo further announces, it will market the lower deck capacity of ITA Airways on continental and intercontinental routes under its own AWB number from the end of October – including flights departing from Rome Fiumicino. Thus, the LHC-ITA cooperation launched in JUN25 is almost fully rolled out, offering Lufthansa Cargo customers an additional hub in southern Europe and prospectively almost 20% more capacity. This further strengthens the freight carrier’s offering, making it the broadest network to, from and within Europe, as well as to destinations worldwide. However, due to the lack of U.S. regulatory approvals, ITA routes to and from the United States and Canada are still excluded from the sales deal for the time being.
