IN Brief:
- SHEIN has added DHL’s GoGreen Plus service to a wider air cargo SAF programme that already includes airline and fuel-sector pilots.
- The agreement uses a book-and-claim model that lets shippers buy SAF-related lifecycle emissions reductions through recognised accounting and certification frameworks.
- For air cargo operators and retail shippers, the bigger constraint remains scale, because SAF supply is still tight and more expensive than conventional jet fuel.
SHEIN has signed an agreement with DHL to use the group’s GoGreen Plus service in air cargo, adding another strand to its attempt to build practical experience around sustainable aviation fuel in fast-moving retail logistics.
The arrangement is built around a book-and-claim model, through which SAF is introduced into the wider aviation fuel network and the associated lifecycle emissions reductions are allocated to participating customers using recognised accounting rules. In supply-chain terms, that gives shippers a route into SAF procurement without having to wait for direct physical supply on every individual lane they use.
The DHL deal does not stand alone. SHEIN had already signed a memorandum of understanding with Lufthansa Cargo in 2025, and it also ran a pilot with Atlas Air covering 14 charter flights and 187.3 tonnes of SAF, which the company said delivered an estimated 579.1 tCO₂e reduction. In China, it is participating in a programme organised by China National Aviation Fuel and the Second Research Institute of Civil Aviation of China, with Air China Cargo set to supply an initial batch of SAF backed by traceability and certificate issuance.
Mustan Lalani, head of sustainability at SHEIN, said: “Working with partners such as DHL allows us to better understand how sustainable aviation fuel solutions may be incorporated into air cargo logistics.” These early schemes are not yet large enough to materially reshape a retailer’s total air freight footprint, but they do start to answer procurement, accounting, certification, and network-integration questions that will become more important if SAF volumes rise.
SHEIN has also joined Green Fuel Forward, the World Economic Forum-led initiative intended to strengthen SAF demand in Asia-Pacific. That fits the broader direction of travel, although the market is still short on volume. For shippers and carriers alike, the immediate value is less about declaring victory on air freight emissions than about building workable commercial models before larger volumes, and harder regulatory expectations, arrive.
