by Riccarda Keis, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Germany.
This blog post builds directly on my previously written e-book chapter on Shein (linked below). All academic sources and citations can be found in that chapter. In this blog post, I solely summarize my own compiled content.
Hey everyone,
I bet most of you are using social media! But were you aware that your interactions are boosting fast fashion companies’ success and therefore making the pressing global challenges worse?
Today, I want to talk to you about this problem and raise awareness about why young people like us should choose our studies responsibly.
We all know digitalization has fundamentally changed how companies are managed. Drifting away from coordinating people to coordinating the coworking of managers and technologies. Digitalization enables high efficiency, but when not used responsibly, it simultaneously intensifies global challenges. So, I’m questioning: Do you think we can get efficient without being unsustainable?
The case of the worldwide known fast fashion company Shein perfectly illustrates the power of digitally optimized management for business success, while revealing its deep unsustainability.
At the core of Shein’s business model lies its data-driven, on-demand production system. Instead of forecasting trends months in advance, Shein analyses massive amounts of real-time consumer data, OUR data, primarily from social media and its own app ecosystem. New products are launched in very small batches, customer reactions are evaluated immediately, and only successful items are scaled up.
Yes, if you’ve ever ordered there, that’s exactly why you receive your order so fast, have a huge variety of product options, and only have to pay a little! You yourself are an active contributor to their managerial decision-making, without even knowing, allowing Shein to react faster than competitors.
However, this is only half of the story… Despite Shein’s claims of reducing overproduction by aligning supply more closely with demand, they remain a fast fashion company, which is structurally incompatible with sustainability!
Fast fashion depends on short product lifecycles, mass consumption, and low product costs. In practise, this leads to excessive resource use, large amounts of textile waste, questionable material quality, and serious ethical concerns regarding labor conditions.
A closer look reveals that Shein’s operations involve those critical practices! You can look this up in more detail in my currently published e-book chapter. This case reveals: Taking advantage of digital efficiency does not automatically lead to sustainable outcomes. On the contrary, it can accelerate unsustainable practices!
Coming back to the question if efficiency can go along with sustainability: I personally think it can! Yet, realizing this requires modules like “Sustainable Management & Entrepreneurship” as part of the study program “International Business Administration & Entrepreneurship” at Leuphana University. Besides extending the students’ knowledge about management in times of digitalization, it empowers future managers to better integrate sustainability principles into those management processes. They critically evaluate business models, questioning short-term efficiency gains and integrating environmental and social responsibility into strategic decision-making.
In a business landscape shaped by digital transformation and global responsibility, educating future managers and entrepreneurs on sustainable management is not optional but essential.
Therefore, wherever your path leads, continue to educate yourself, act responsibly, and look beyond the obvious!
I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments and always remember: We have an impact!
