Supplier led, brand supported: Experts discuss the green transition

In July, we launched our eighth edition of the Fashion Transparency Index, a tool we use to incentivise the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers to disclose more information about their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts, in their operations and supply chain.

The climate crisis is growing in intensity and urgency, yet we are still not seeing sufficient action from the fashion industry to address its role in exacerbating this crisis. This is why, this year we introduced a new indicator to understand major brands’ reliance on coal. Few brands (6%) disclose the proportion of their supply chain that is powered by coal and which geographic regions are still reliant on fossil fuels, painting an unclear picture of the scale of the problem we are facing. How can brands uphold their decarbonisation commitments if they can’t, or won’t, disclose how much coal they are using to begin with?

Another new indicator we introduced this year looks at brands’ investment in decarbonisation, to help us understand what actions brands are taking to actively support their suppliers in their green transition. The green transition refers to the changes that will achieve sustainable production so that the fashion industry no longer endangers the planet, changes such as switching to renewable energy and reducing the reliance on fabrics derived from fossil fuels. Disappointingly, only 9% of major fashion brands disclose their investment in decarbonisation, which raises the question; if brands aren’t investing in their sustainability commitments, who is?

To understand this issue further, we invited a range of industry experts and stakeholders to discuss the green transition, to give insight on how brands can prepare for this shift and how they can support their suppliers throughout the process. Here, you can explore some viewpoints featured in the Fashion Transparency Index 2023.

DECARBONISATION REQUIRES HONESTY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND ACTION

RUTH MACGILP

Fashion Campaign Manager, Action Speaks Louder

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