The UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP29) will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan in just under eight weeks and it will be all eyes on the fashion sector to demonstrate the progress it has made toward tackling climate change since the last conference and how close it is to meeting its overarching goal of zero net emissions by 2050.
Under the UN Fashion Charter, set up with the support of UN Climate Change in 2018 to provide a pathway for the industry to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5C, the global fashion industry has committed to sourcing 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, sourcing environmentally friendly raw materials, and phasing out coal from the supply chain by 2030.
But even ahead of last year’s event, UN Climate Change executive secretary, Simon Steill, cast doubts the industry could meet its ambitious goals.
“It’s good — but it’s not good enough,” said Stiell, at the time. “After five years the fashion industry simply isn’t at the point where we can say that it is truly changing, and implementation is truly happening. Less than half of active signatories are compliant with setting climate targets needed to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius. By and large, their extensive supply chains aren’t aligned with Charter goals either. This is the reality.”
He said fashion sector emissions remain “eye-wateringly high,” emitting the same quantity of greenhouse gases annually as the entire economies of France, Germany, and the United Kingdom combined.
“This sector needs to move further and faster,” said Stiell. “It needs to accelerate the pace of implementation of this Charter and extend its reach. Emissions need to go down as rapidly as possible,” he noted, adding that to get there would require a radical degree of collaboration, underpinned by accountability to make sure companies are following through on the pledges they’ve made.
Fast forward to the present day and his point stands, with new data from nonprofit Cascale indicating 1,500 manufacturing facilities across nine countries account for 80% of the whole industry’s carbon emissions. Within its membership, 33% of brands and 54% of manufacturers haven’t set Science-Based Targets.
Executive vice president Andrew Martin told Just Style exclusively “Despite some positive progress over the past 12 months, the reality is that the consumer goods industry – of which the fashion sector makes up a significant part – is not yet doing enough to combat the climate crisis and it’s time for disruptive change. We need to act more boldly and urgently to address the climate crisis as a collective.”
The organisation has since moved to make membership dependent on the joining of its Decarbonisation Program and the setting of science-based targets or science-aligned targets. It has set a 45% emissions reduction target for the textile, apparel, and footwear industry by 2030, in line with the Paris Agreement.
“The need for change has never been clearer. During the first six months of 2024, half of G20 countries experienced extreme weather events. June was the 13th consecutive month of global temperatures averaging 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. We are hurtling towards irreversible tipping points, and COP29 is a critical forum to generate action and agreement from countries around the world," Martin said.
"Considering the huge influence the fashion industry has – as well as the influence that many individual businesses and brands have – it is up to us to be at the forefront of change.”
Meanwhile, Nicole Rycroft, founder and executive director of not-for-profit Canopy tells Just Style the industry isn’t making “the scale of advances that are needed to hit planetary targets.”
“As a whole, there have not been enough substantive climate advances. Some individual companies have taken encouraging steps this past year – they’ve adopted pioneering circular products that are on the market, leaned in to help scale Next Gen production, invested in innovation, worked with their value chain to transition conventional production and energy systems but there hasn’t been the groundswell of brands that is needed to really shift the value chain.”
Rycroft adds that over 80% of brands' carbon impacts are attributable to their Scope 3 emissions with an even split between raw materials and the energy used in the manufacturing.
“Transitioning to renewables will be critical but by itself will be insufficient. Brands must also accelerate the transition of their materials from ‘take, make, waste’ production reliant on carbon-rich forests and other low-impact sources to low-impact circular alternatives.”
Lewis Perkins, CEO and president of the Apparel Impact Institute further explains a “significant hurdle” remains in Scope 3 emissions which account for 96% of the industry’s carbon footprint.
“While efforts like the Clean by Design have reduced energy use by 17% in over 200 facilities, overall emissions slightly increased in 2023 to 0.897 gigatonnes, indicating that while some brands are reducing emissions, the industry as a whole is still off pace.”
He adds only 6% of major brands disclose supply chain decarbonisation investments, and many lack renewable energy targets, leaving the sector behind COP28 goals.
“Given the urgency of meeting climate targets, holding emissions steady is not enough and modest emission increases cannot continue.”
Identifying the catalyst for change
Perkins says initiatives like the Aii’s Renewable Energy Transition Initiative (RETI) are delivering results with it achieving an 8.7% reduction in GHG emissions in 2023 through renewable energy adoption. The Apparel Impact Institute’s Climate Solutions Portfolio, meanwhile, reduced over 1.68m tonnes of CO2 across facilities. However, without scaling these solutions across the industry and suppliers quickly implementing high-impact measures, the sector risks failing to meet the 1.5°C target and COP29 goals.
“To meet the task of decarbonisation, initiatives like the Fashion Climate Fund are essential, helping mitigate financial risks and making the capital needed for decarbonisation more accessible for suppliers,” he points out.
At Cascale’s recent annual meeting, the organisation said decarbonisation must be targeted toward the “major hotspots of carbon emissions for the industry in Tier 2”.
“We know the key levers we need to pull to drive much-needed change around this: enhancing energy efficiency, accelerating the shift to renewable energy, and phasing out coal,” Martin said, urging a widespread commitment to coal phase-out to meet overall progress toward global climate targets.
Cacale’s Manufacturer Climate Action Program is designed to offer an industry-wide approach for accelerating manufacturers’ progress in measuring greenhouse gas emissions, setting targets, reporting on progress, and assessing and mitigating climate change risk. Based on real-world insights from manufacturers and other key industry stakeholders, MCAP includes criteria, training, and guidance to support manufacturers to set Scope 1 and 2 targets, take action, and report on progress.
“To create lasting change, we must ensure that circularity is integrated as a business decision from every iteration of the design, production, and manufacturing process. It needs to be the norm.”
Rycroft argues that creating lasting change starts at the root cause.
“The science is clear: there is no path to limiting global warming below critical levels or preventing mass extinction that does not include significant forest conservation. Globally, deforestation and degradation generate over a tenth of annual GHG emissions and the logging industry is anticipated to contribute 3.5bn to 4.2bn tonnes of CO2e to the atmosphere annually over the coming decades. Still, every year, more than 300m trees are logged to be transformed into cellulosic fabrics like viscose and rayon and over 3bn trees are felled for paper packaging.”
She says the fashion sector has an exciting opportunity to be a climate leader as well as a pacesetter for other carbon-intensive sectors.
“Shifting from climate risk to low-carbon requires fashion to transform unsustainable, forest-reliant ‘take-make-waste’ supply chains to low-carbon, circular alternatives, like Next Gen solutions. Next Gen alternatives, made from low-impact feedstock materials we typically think of as “waste,” like fabric scraps or even food waste and agricultural residues left over after crop harvests, use 70% less energy and carry 5x less biodiversity impacts.
“Given the vast majority of a brand’s carbon and biodiversity footprint is attributable to the raw materials their products are made from, scaling Next Gen offers a way for brands to dramatically reduce their carbon footprint and biodiversity impact as well as mitigate against increasingly volatile supply chains as extreme weather events intensify. Accelerating the scale-up of these game-changing solutions is key as the sector looks to mitigate its sourcing risks, secure a stable supply of materials for the future, and advance their climate goals."
Will the fashion industry meet its climate targets?
The sector is unlikely to be front and centre at this year’s COP, however there will be an expectation on companies that have signed up to commitments to explain progress and steps being taken to reach those overarching 2030 and 2050 goals.
“While international climate targets are a key part of the fashion industry’s path to addressing their climate impact, we believe that COP30 in particular will lead companies to more ambitious action that addresses their carbon footprints and biodiversity impacts. This is because the 2025 NDCs will present a national plan with a time horizon of 2035 at COP30, and we believe that the fashion industry will have an important role in these national plans,” says Rycroft.
But that doesn’t mean the industry can afford to take its foot off the gas, particularly as several pieces of legislation are being passed globally that will require companies to report on their environmental and social impact such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive to the US SEC ruling in favour of climate change reporting regulations.
“New Zealand, Australia, and Canada all have similar reporting rules, either on the table or approved," says Martin. "To accelerate change, we are supporting this legislative shift by educating stakeholders through webinars, forums, and events to help them navigate new regulations. We work to continuously evolve our tools and programmes to align with current and upcoming laws, facilitate compliance, and drive industry-wide improvements.”
Meanwhile, Rycroft says, beyond COP29, brands, retailers, and suppliers have strong incentives to pursue lower-impact solutions and ways of production.
"For instance, the European Union’s Deforestation Regulation, set to take effect at the end of this year, will prohibit the import of any products affiliated with land degradation or deforestation. In order to be competitive in the global market, companies now need to have a baseline level of responsibility and sustainability. Those that innovate and inoculate their supply chain against the impacts of climate change by leading the charge to circular Next Gen production will be more strategically positioned."
As COP29 nears, the fashion industry faces an “exciting but critical opportunity” to step up and lead the charge in addressing climate change, Perkins notes.
“Each year at COP, signatories to the UNFCCC's Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action share updates, and suppliers appeal for co-investment in Scope 3 decarbonisation. While we’ve seen some bold investments from a few leaders, now is the time for more brands to join them and turn commitments into meaningful action.
“As the last five-year countdown to 2030 is upon us, the next 12 to 18 months are crucial. The opportunity is here for brands to accelerate their decarbonisation efforts and be at the forefront of the solutions our industry urgently needs. Over the past decade, significant progress has been made — supply chain transparency has improved, shared tools for data collection are in place, and programmes like Clean By Design are successfully reducing energy and water use, delivering real savings to suppliers. But this is just the beginning… We need more brands to lead. There is room for more brands to engage — and make a massive difference — by quickly scaling these solutions in facilities and meeting the 2030 targets."
Fashion brands must lead the way
Perkins says that in order to truly move the needle the fashion sector must focus on addressing Scope 3 emissions, setting renewable energy targets, and investing at least 2% of annual revenue into sustainable practices. Brands should adopt both debt and non-debt financing solutions, like loan guarantees, equipment leasing, and virtual power purchase agreements, providing suppliers with the capital needed to invest in emissions-reducing technologies. This collective action will put the industry on the right track to meet its 1.5°C pathway and shift its reputation as a highly polluting sector.
He is pleased to see collaboration across the industry is delivering results.
“We encourage brands to fully embrace the solutions already in place through organisations like the Apparel Impact Institute, Cascale, and Textile Exchange. The tools and programmes exist, but they need to be leveraged to their full potential. By pooling resources, both technical and financial, brands can tackle the larger carbon reduction projects that will truly move the needle.
"I hope to see more brands continue to take the lead in decarbonising their supply chains by being first movers, committing to long-term supply chain financing rather than relying on suppliers — which often operate with limited resources. Brands have an opportunity to lead the way."
"Programs like the Future Supplier Initiative, developed with Guidehouse, Fashion Pact, and a few leading brands in partnership with the Apparel Impact Institute, offer a proven path forward. This is an exciting opportunity for brands to contribute catalytic resources and unlock additional financing through blended capital approaches. The truth is, if your finance team doesn’t have an investment strategy for decarbonisation, you don’t have a viable decarbonisation programme. But the good news is: You can change that. You can step up, invest strategically, and lead by example. This is the moment to make it happen.
"Ultimately, this is a shared-cost, blended-capital solution that brings brands together to create exponential impact. The brands that seize this opportunity will not only be part of the solution — they will lead the way toward a more sustainable, resilient future. The time is now."
