Collective Fashion Justice’s landmark report finds fashion emits 8.3 million tonnes of methane annually, with leather, wool, and cashmere responsible for 75 percent of that impact. Urgent change is needed to meet the Global Methane Pledge by 2030.
Collective Fashion Justice (CFJ), in collaboration with scientists from Cornell University and New York University, has published the first-ever methane footprint of the fashion industry. The findings are stark: fashion emits an estimated 8.3 million tonnes of methane annually, nearly four times France’s total footprint. While animal-derived leather, wool, and cashmere represent less than four percent of the materials used in fashion, they account for 75 percent of its methane emissions.
“Animal-derived materials have an immense impact on methane. Seventy-five percent of the fashion industry’s total methane footprint (from cradle to grave) is tied to less than four percent of materials used (animal-derived leather, wool, and cashmere),” CFJ founder Emma Håkansson said in a recent interview. “The amount of animal-derived materials used compared to their impact on total methane emissions is wildly disproportionate, showing these materials to be inefficient and irresponsible choices to continue to rely on. They collectively cause 6.2 million tonnes of methane each year, making fashion’s total annual methane footprint almost fourfold France’s methane footprint.”
Why methane matters and how the industry can change
Methane’s potency makes it particularly dangerous. It traps 86 times more heat than carbon dioxide in the short term but lasts for only about twelve years, compared with centuries for CO₂. This means cutting methane now offers a rapid cooling effect, while waiting risks worsening global heating. According to NASA, 30 percent of global warming since the Industrial Revolution stems from methane alone.
Animal agriculture is the largest source of methane, and in fashion, leather, wool, and cashmere are central contributors. Ruminant animals like cattle and sheep produce methane through enteric fermentation, a digestive process that releases the gas into the atmosphere. “If brands are intent on sticking with virgin animal-derived products, they need to focus on the enteric fermentation process, rather than elements like manure management, because that is where the vast majority of methane comes from,” Håkansson said.
The scale of the challenge is daunting. The Global Methane Pledge, signed by over 150 countries and the United Nations, calls for a 30 percent cut in methane by 2030 using 2020 levels as the baseline. Yet as fashion has grown, its footprint has likely grown as well, meaning reductions may need to exceed a third to align with the Paris Agreement. “This is an opportunity for our industry,” says Håkansson.
According to a recent study by the Climate Observatory, Brazil saw its methane emissions rise six percent between 2020 and 2023, reaching 21.1 million tons — the second-highest level on record. More than 75 percent of the country’s emissions are tied to cattle production. In 2023 alone, cattle accounted for 14.5 million tons of methane, equal to 406 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, a figure surpassing Italy’s total greenhouse gas output that year.
From research to solutions
To arrive at its estimate, CFJ conducted a systematic review of over 21,000 peer-reviewed articles, fully analyzing 274 and supplementing gaps with data from the Textile Exchange 2024 Materials Market report and lifecycle assessments through Simapro software. Even so, gaps remain — particularly around transport emissions — highlighting how overdue this research is. “The fact that a small charity has commissioned scientists to produce the first methane footprint of the fashion industry in 2025 is a huge problem,” Håkansson says. “We needed this data a long time ago.”
The pathway forward is clear. Reducing reliance on virgin animal-derived materials is paramount, but renewable energy use in processing is also essential, as about 20 percent of fashion’s methane footprint comes from energy-intensive fabrication powered by fossil fuels. Recycled leather and wool are already available, and bio-based innovations to replace animal-derived leather need investment to scale.
Other proposed fixes, like feeding cattle seaweed to reduce methane, have largely underperformed and introduce new challenges, such as animal welfare concerns and ecological trade-offs. Regenerative agriculture can restore landscapes, but it does not eliminate methane emissions from ruminants. CFJ stresses that fashion’s future depends on holistic solutions: investment in bio-based materials, adoption of renewable energy, and transparency in reporting.
The group’s forthcoming Methane Reduction Programme aims to help brands measure and address methane directly, rather than hiding it within carbon-equivalent accounting. “[E]very brand has an obligation to put every effort into aligning with the Global Methane Pledge,” says Håkansson.
“Methane mitigation is an emergency brake against the climate crisis that we must pull now.”
Related on Ethos:
