Fashion Revolution’s “What Fuels Fashion” report highlights the urgent need for decarbonization in the fashion industry, revealing significant shortcomings in climate goals and transparency.
Fashion Revolution, known for its annual Fashion Transparency Index, has shifted its focus after seven years of monitoring the fashion industry’s transparency and sustainability efforts. The non-profit organization recently unveiled its inaugural “What Fuels Fashion” report, emphasizing the critical need for decarbonization and energy-related data in the fashion sector. This shift comes as a direct response to the industry’s slow progress in addressing climate goals.
According to the report, only Gucci and Italy’s OVS label earned a score of at least 80 percent. On average brands scored 26 percent in transparency indicators performance in 2023, increasing six percent over seven years. Fashion Revolution’s findings reveal a troubling landscape. The report, which assesses 250 brands with annual turnovers of $400 million or more, delves deeply into decarbonization efforts and potential solutions. It examines whether brands have set targets and how feasible these targets are within the context of a just transition.
Only 117 brands have set what the organization considers “credible” decarbonization goals that cover Scopes 1 through 3 emissions. Out of these, only four brands — Asics, H&M, Marks & Spencer, and Patagonia — have ambitious enough targets. Furthermore, a mere 105 brands disclosed their progress, while 42 reported an increase in their Scope 3 emissions against their baseline year.
Urgent call to action
The latest report serves as a stark reminder to fashion brands that their efforts to reduce fossil fuel usage and carbon emissions along supply chains have been grossly insufficient. Liv Simpliciano, Fashion Revolution’s policy and research manager, told Vogue Business that this is the “defining crisis” of our time and it has been a preventable disaster. “The science is crystal clear: globally, we need to halve emissions by 2030 to mitigate the worst impacts of the climate crisis and keep global warming below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. The fashion industry is projected to blow past this threshold by half. Fashion brands are prioritizing their bottom line over our collective lifeline,” Simpliciano says.
The results are disheartening across various segments of the industry, including fast fashion, mid-market, and luxury brands. Thirty-two major brands, such as BCBG Max Azria, DKNY, Fabletics, and Tory Burch, scored zero points. Even the highest-scoring brands fell short, with Puma leading at 75 percent, followed by Gucci at 74 percent, and H&M at 61 percent.
The report also notes that fashion’s reliance on fossil fuels has been a contentious issue for years, mirroring a global debate on how to decarbonize and meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals. Notably, 89 percent of brands failed to disclose the number of clothes they produce annually, and 94 percent did not share their investments in supply chain decarbonization. Only 14 percent have a public coal phase-out target, and a mere three percent disclose efforts to support workers affected by the climate crisis.
The role of policymakers
The report also calls for significant policy changes. Fashion Revolution urges policymakers to expand mandatory disclosures, increase government funding for renewable energy transitions, strengthen enforcement and sanctions for non-compliance, and create incentives for fairer purchasing practices.
Fashion Revolution advocates for brands to invest two percent of their annual revenue into clean, renewable energy, and worker support, aligning with the “polluter pays principle.” The “What Fuels Fashion” report provides a roadmap for a just transition, highlighting the need for living wages, investment in suppliers, and equitable power dynamics in supply chain relationships.
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