AI Is Juicing Fast Fashion's Biggest Polluter

Fast fashion and artificial intelligence have bad environmental rap sheets on their own, so what happens when you combine the two? Grist reports that the top dog in fast fashion, Shein, has established goals to reduce carbon emissions, but the company's use of AI to optimize their model may incinerate those green plans to ashes, writes Sachi Kitajima Mulkey. Here's the scoop:

• Double emissions: Shein pledged to reduce carbon emissions by 25% by 2030, but their annual sustainability report showed the company is moving in the opposite direction. Shein doubled its year-over-year CO2 output in 2023 to 16.7 million metric tons—more than what four coal plants would produce—making it the industry's top polluter. Their online model and use of airplanes to ship their products from China are the main culprits for these greenhouse gases.
• AI's role: "We are using machine-learning technologies to accurately predict demand in a way that we think is cutting edge." That's what Peter Pernot-Day, head of the company's global strategy and corporate affairs, said at an industry conference last year. Shein's tech can predict demand on thousands of designs, 10,000 of which it adds to its website each day. On average, they produce 100 to 200 copies of each design, dipping into micro-trends, which reduces waste, but encourages overconsumption—driving in $30 billion in revenue in 2023.
• Solutions: A Shein spokesperson said they don't see "growth as antithetical to sustainability." The company recognizes that shipping product all over the world from China by air is a problem, and has increased their ocean shipping and global warehouses. While AI has the potential to make fashion brands more sustainable, University of Delaware professor Sheng Lu tells Grist that without drastic changes in sustainability, growth driven by AI will only make things worse. "It's the overall effect of being able to offer more market-popular items and encourage consumers to purchase more than in the past. Of course, the overall carbon impact will be higher."

Read the full story. (Elon Musk's Memphis supercomputer has locals worried.)