SHEIN, a global online fashion and lifestyle retailer, and Transfar Chemicals, a leader in functional chemistry and new materials technology, have entered into a partnership focused on pursuing advances in textile dyeing and finishing technologies.
Through this collaboration, both SHEIN and Transfar Chemicals aim to accelerate the commercialization and application of scientific advancements of textile production and dyeing processes.
This partnership will leverage on both SHEIN and Transfar Chemicals’ complementary strengths in textile fabric technology and product resources. SHEIN will be able to leverage its digitalized supply chain platform to monitor demand for premium fabrics and new production technologies. Meanwhile, Transfar Chemicals can draw on its expertise in functional chemistry to support the promotion and development of innovative processes, materials, and textile production and dyeing methods that are aimed at reducing water, energy and waste.
As part of its goal of modernizing the textile dyeing and finishing industry, SHEIN will also support and encourage industrial collaborations between Transfar Chemicals and regional textile and dyeing enterprises, in order to support the commercialization of Transfar Chemical’s research.
This will not only enable SHEIN to meet the industry’s demand for premium high-quality textiles but also ensure that it has the capabilities to stay at the forefront of industry trends.
SHEIN has been leveraging on its digitalized, on-demand supply chain that addresses the mismatch between demand from consumers and merchandise supply and aims to reduce excess inventory by reducing textile waste from the start. At the same time, SHEIN is working to integrate innovative solutions – such as polyester recycling and waterless printing – into its operational processes.
Earlier this year, SHEIN announced the development of an innovative polyester recycling process in partnership with Donoghue University. This polyester recycling process accepts a wider range of materials, such as textile waste and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles, and as a result, improved cost efficiency compared to the recycled polyester options currently used in SHEIN’s products. Initial tests by the project team also indicated that the recycled polyester fabrics produced through this process can be recycled repeatedly without significant impact on the material properties of the resulting fabric. SHEIN is currently working on scaling up the technology from a laboratory-scale setting to a facility capable of producing recycled polyester fibers at a larger commercial scale.