Greener Shipping

Background on Greener Shipping:

The sprawling global supply chain of the fashion sector is already an important driver in the growth of emissions from ocean freight and air cargo shipments, sectors that are heavily dependent on fossil fuels. Container ships also contribute significantly to air pollution due to their reliance on toxic heavy fuel oil, while aviation is around 50 times more carbon intensive.^[7] 

In the 2023 edition of the Fossil Free Fashion Scorecard the fashion industry was just beginning to recover from the major global disruption to logistics and global supply chains of the pandemic, which had led to dangerous spikes in air freight, and its associated emissions increases, as well as unpredictable consumer behaviour^[8]. In 2025, aviation’s share of global freight continues to climb, trends towards direct-to-consumer models prioritising rapid international delivery are growing, and Sustainable Aviation Fuels are becoming a greenwashing concern in carbon markets.

While market reports show meaningful growth in customers of Maersk Eco Delivery, a marine cargo service which blends biofuels to reduce heavy fuel emissions, aviation is predicted to experience rapid growth as a transport mode for the apparel industry to 2030 of over 7% CAGR.^[9]
 

This shift is also part of a deeply concerning movement towards the direct to consumer model popularized by ultra fast fashion companies SHEIN and Temu. In 2024 it was reported that these two companies alone were importing nearly 1 million individual packages per day into the US alone, representing a significant proportion of all US air mail.  While the future of this model in the US is made less certain by ongoing international tariff negotiations and the possible end to the de minimis exemption on small scale imports, it is clear that air freight as a modal shift is a harmful trend that is not going away. 

Brands must actively prioritize slower and cleaner transportation, where their purchasing power and choice of logistics partners can drive the investment needed in both ships and port infrastructure to decarbonize cargo vessels by the end of the decade.

Over one-third of companies still failed to include upstream shipping in their emissions reduction targets. This is a solid improvement from 2021, when only around one third had targets, but still a concerning blind spot when shipping accounts for 5-15% of brands’ emissions.

Positively, 11 brands demonstrated a sustained reduction in upstream transportation emissions both year on year and against their baseline year, based on publicly available data.

However, ultra-fast fashion retailer SHEIN increased its logistics emissions by over 200% in just two years, and by more than 3 million tonnes in the last year. SHEIN’s 2023 shipping emissions made up nearly 40% of its total Scope 3, the largest proportionally by far, as a result of an overwhelming reliance on polluting air freight, which the company has no plan to address. 

Another major contributor to transportation emissions through air freight was Inditex. Since the publication of its 2024 Annual Report, Inditex’s shipping practices have been the subject of criticism for increasing emissions by 10% from 2023 to 2024^[13]. Recent analysis from Public Eye showed how a growing dependence on aviation led to logistics emissions ballooning to over 20% of its total annual emissions, compared with just 5.2% for its competitor H&M which limits the use of aviation.^[14] 

Clear public disclosure of brands’ transportation modes is essential to clearly show which companies are favouring lower-emitting routes, but in 2025, just 9/42 companies publicly disclosed this information, and to varying degrees. More than three-quarters (33/42) failed to provide any transparency on their shipping modes. 

• Best practice came from H&M Group, Kering, Mammut and PUMA, which shared high-quality answers with a historic breakdown of GHG emissions across different transport types. 
• Allbirds communicates that 96% of transport was maritime in 2022, a figure that was maintained in 2023 and Ralph Lauren shares some of the picture, disclosing that air freight represented 7.6% of total transport-related emissions. 

Despite limited transparency, other information can be revealing: five brands, including SHEIN, reported upstream shipping emissions which accounted for more than 10% of their total scope 3, which implies heavy reliance on air freight.

Aviation is a dangerous driver of transportation emissions due to its high level of carbon intensity, which is estimated to be around 50 times more intensive than shipping via sea^[17]. It is an alarming trend for brands to prioritize ever faster delivery, and even direct-to-consumer models that rely on rapid product turnover. 

Just five brands (Adidas, Allbirds, Mammut, PUMA and VF Corp) had strong policies that committed them to minimising aviation to less than 1% of upstream transportation, or already met this benchmark:

• Adidas noted that the use of air freight decreased to 1% in 2023 as part of efforts to counterbalance Covid-related supply chain challenges^[18] and kept this low in 2024 at around 2%.^[19]
  
• Allbirds has the goal of achieving more than 95% ocean shipping.

11/42 brands reported some level of commitment or statement tied to reducing shipping through air.  Burberry communicated that it is looking to reduce the proportion of finished goods transported by air between vendors to hubs year on year—which is important given its high impact on the company’s emissions.^[20]

In addition to policies surrounding air freight, brands were evaluated on any existing short-term plans to ship cargo on cleaner vessels, import through greener ports and if they had clear commitments to transition to zero-emission vessels by 2030 in order to create strong consumer demand signals.  Those that did pursue a range of approaches, while Mammut was the only company to clearly include a time-bound zero emissions vessel target within its overall logistics goals^[33].

Bestseller, Inditex, Primark, PUMA, PVH and VF Corp all partnered with Maersk and its Eco Delivery Program^[34], with a focus on low-emission biofuel for sea freight as part of its ocean program, which is an important short-term solution. 

Companies can send clear demand signals in support of ZEVs by explicitly choosing their logistics partners on the basis of explicit and demonstrable progress toward a zero-emission fleet transition. Although examples are limited, Lululemon, Mammut, and Ralph Lauren share helpful details about their logistics provider selection process, including requiring science-based targets^[35], transparent emissions data^[36]
and goals to achieve zero emissions solutions^[37]. 

External coalitions and partnerships were often cited amongst the brands when discussing longer-term approaches to shipping policies, although their impact and level of ambition varies. Strong examples include membership of the Smart Freight Centre and the US Environmental Protection Agency SmartWay Transport Partnership, and particularly the Sustainable Freight Buyers Alliance and the Zero Emissions Maritime Buyers Alliance (ZEMBA), which unites buyers to provide strong market signals to stimulate commercial deployment of zero emission shipping methods by 2040. Nike also reports being a founding member of the newly launched Electric Freight Consortium, a cross-functional industry group with a shared desire to push the boundaries of electric medium- and heavy-duty road freight in North America^[38].

Online shopping is a major driver of apparel sales, and shows no sign of slowing down: nearly half of new apparel bought globally is bought online, and in the US alone, fashion accounts for around 20% of all ecommerce purchases^[45]. If fashion brands commit to transitioning to zero-emission last-mile delivery by 2030 by working with aligned logistics providers, it will support a critical transition across the industry and deliver substantial emissions savings. 

This is more critical for large retailers such as Walmart and Target, which have large, high-emitting road delivery fleets. While Target is left behind, Walmart and luxury brand Kering both had strong explicit statements committing to use zero-emission last-mile service providers by 2030. Kering Standards for Logistics reported pushing for efficiency and zero-emission vehicles for last-mile deliveries^[46] and Walmart reports working to electrify its fleet and reach net-zero emissions from all vehicles and its transportation network, including long-haul trucks in the U.S. and Canada, by 2040^[47]. 

Despite the inclusion of upstream shipping in the majority of supply chain emission reduction targets across the fashion industry, there is a distinct lack of progress in setting clear shipping policies that could reduce emissions across different transportation modes. Given the lack of progress and rising emissions since 2023, brands must:

• Ensure that Scope 3 Category 4 emissions are included in all Scope 3 GHG emissions reduction targets, or set specific targets for transportation emissions which align with 1.5℃.
• Commit to transition transportation to zero-emission vessels by 2030, including joining collaborative initiatives and advocating for logistics providers to deliver zero emission transportation options.
• Set specific policy commitments to avoid and limit the use of air freight to no more than 1% of total goods.
• Increase disclosure on emissions broken down by different transportation modes including air, rail, land and sea. 
• Collaborate across the sector and with other industries to advocate for supporting infrastructure such as the development of green ports and greener ships, to reduce emissions through shipping methods. 
• Set targets and work with logistics providers to transition last-mile deliveries to zero emission alternatives.