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Executive Summary

About this report

In October 2022, the UN Environment Program (UNEP) gave the stark warning that there is currently “no credible pathway to 1.5°C in place” and that existing climate promises are still not enough to avoid catastrophic climate change. The UN agency called for rapid and urgent climate action by government and industry to reform our economies and societies to achieve dramatic emissions cuts. [1] The fashion industry, which causes 2- 8% of global emissions, is yet to take responsibility for its massive climate impact and the harms that it is causing.[2]

An in-depth analysis undertaken by Stand.earth in 2021 found that 47 major fashion companies had failed to show leadership in eliminating fossil fuels from their supply chains. The Fossil-Free Fashion Scorecard published in August 2021 (2021 Scorecard) concluded that the fashion industry must quickly ramp up its efforts to phase out fossil fuels in order to cut its emissions by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement.[3]

Impact Areas

The current Fossil-Free Fashion Scorecard (2023 Scorecard) builds on the 2021 Scorecard by assessing the progress made by 43 global apparel and footwear companies to reduce their carbon footprints in line with a 1.5°C emissions pathway. It provides an updated benchmark for major fast fashion, athletic, outdoor, retailer, luxury, and footwear companies on key aspects of supply chain decarbonisation based on their performance in five categories:

Climate commitments and transparency

Are fashion brands are setting climate and energy targets that are in line with keeping global warming below 1.5°C? And if so are they being transparent about their progress?

Renewable and energy-efficient manufacturing

How are brands engaging with their suppliers to improve energy efficiency, source renewable energy, and improve data transparency at the facility level?

Renewable energy advocacy

How is the fashion sector engaging in targeted advocacy with key decision-makers to phase out fossil fuels and push for renewable energy?

Low-carbon and longer lasting materials

What efforts are companies employing to phase out fossil fuel based fabrics, wood-based materials and leather linked to deforestation, as well as non-organic or non-regenerative cotton?

Greener Shipping

How are brands setting targets and taking action to reduce emissions from upstream shipping and advocating for zero-emissions vessels and infrastructure?

Key Findings

The 2023 Scorecard found an industry with more commitments to act, but still only a few pockets of progress toward supply chain decarbonisation. Overall, progress over the past 18 months has been insufficient and extremely disappointing.

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Sources

  1. Climate Change: No ‘Credible Pathway’ to 1.5C Limit,” October 27, 2022, https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129912.
  2. “Measuring Fashion: Insights from the Environmental Impact of the Global Apparel and Footwear Industries” (Quantis and ClimateWorks Foundation, 2018), https://quantis.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/measuringfashion_globalimpactstudy_full-report_quantis_cwf_2018a.pdf; Kirsi Niinimäki et al., “The Environmental Price of Fast Fashion,” Nature Reviews Earth & Environment 1, no. 4 (April 2020): 189–200, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-0039-9; “Roadmap to Net Zero: Delivering Science-Based Targets in the Apparel Sector” (World Resources Institute and Apparel Impact Institute, November 5, 2021), https://apparelimpact.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/21_WorkingPaper_RoadmapNetZero_.pdf.
  3. Fossil-Free Fashion Scorecard” (Stand.earth, 2021), https://fashion2021.stand.earth/executive-summary.