Coalition including Adidas, Burberry, and Gap agree to set net zero emissions goals, cut plastic pollution and source 100 per cent renewable energy
A group of 32 global fashion brands has pledged to set science-based greenhouse gas reduction targets based on limiting global temperature rise to 1.5C, as part of a new corporate pact aimed at slashing the environmental impact of the $1.5tr clothing and textile industry.
Launched ahead of the G7 Summit of world leaders in France this weekend, the Fashion Pact aims to corral brands to take action to curb emissions while also harnessing the industry’s global reach and influence to help tackle climate change, restore biodiversity, and better protect the oceans, according to a statement released on Friday.
A raft of household sports, luxury, lifestyle, and designer names have signed up to the pledge, including H&M Group, Adidas, Burberry, Gap, Prada, Chanel, Stella McCartney, Selfridges, and Ralph Lauren, with the commitment “designed to be embraced by every company involved”.
The global fashion sector “is one of the largest, most dynamic and influential industries on the planet”, the Fashion Pact framework states, adding that the fashion and textile sector “should also have the power to play a pivotal role in leading the shift towards a more sustainable future”.
Science-Based Targets set by companies involved in the Fashion Pact should be quantitative and achieved by both individual firms as well as the industry as a whole, it explains, while being “broad enough to be meaningful to a group of fashion brands that account for a significant share of the fashion industry”.
Other commitments set out in the Fashion Pact include supporting the UNFCCC’s Fashion Industry Charter, committing to take “all measures possible” to reduce and avoid carbon emissions, and offset any unavoidable emissions through verifiable programmes to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.
It also states that companies should look to support climate adaptation and resilience through the sustainable sourcing of key raw materials, and source 100 per cent renewable energy across their own operations and supply chains by 2030.
Elsewhere, the Fashion Pact commits companies to supporting the development of science-based targets on biodiversity and significantly reduce the negative impacts of plastic pollution in the ocean, including through eliminating microfibre pollution from the washing of synthetic materials.
“We need to show that we can build coalitions of committed public and private leaders that can make a difference on these challenges by scaling new solutions and massively redirecting investment flows towards low-carbon, low biodiversity impacts and resilient development,” the Fashion Pact states. “Multi-sectorial initiatives will be key to get results in order to minimise the environmental impacts fashion and textiles have across oceans, climate and biodiversity.”
The initiative eventually aims to secure enough support from companies so as to represent at least 20 per cent of the global fashion industry by volume of products, with a mix of luxury, mid-level and affordable brands covered by the framework.
Burberry CEO Marco Gobbetti, one of the initiative’s signatories, said environmental challenges facing the planet needed to be tackled through collaboration rather than one company acting alone.
“The objectives of the Fashion Pact strongly align with our own work in this area over the past decade, and we are looking forward to working with the other signatories to help transform our industry, support our communities and protect the environment,” he added.
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