Blog: Fossil Free Fashion Scorecard 2025: The Highs and Lows of Fossil Free Fashion

Since 2021 we’ve been benchmarking and evaluating over 40 of the biggest brands on the planet, together estimated to represent more than one TRILLION dollars in market value. We just released our 2025 Fossil Free Fashion Scorecard, and despite some signs of progress the results are still shameful. The fashion industry is on fire – and not in a good way.

For every fashion brand aligning its emissions with 1.5 degree climate targets, nearly six others are actively increasing emissions. Some, like Shein, are pumping out so much carbon its pollution now rivals entire countries. 

Fashion is responsible for at least 4% of global climate pollution, with the majority of emissions happening in the supply chain in countries most vulnerable to climate impacts. This isn’t just concerning. It’s catastrophic for our collective climate, and particularly harmful to the workers making the clothes. That’s why our work to hold the fashion industry accountable is more important than ever.

Will you add your name to thousands demanding that the fashion industry clean up its supply chain?

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The topline findings:

We analyzed 42 of the world’s biggest apparel and footwear companies across key climate indicators like renewable energy, supplier support, sustainable materials, and green shipping. The findings are stark:

• Only 3 brands are currently on track to reduce their emissions in line with 1.5°C.
• 17 brands’ annual climate pollution is STILL going up.
• Shein’s emissions surged 170% in just two years – now nearly matching the entire country of Lebanon.
• 16% of brands received an ‘F’ grade, with many failing to even disclose emissions or set climate targets.

But here’s the thing: we can turn this around. Brands can lead, and this scorecard has the proof. In 2023, when we released the last edition of the Scorecard, we found a bunch of new climate commitments, but very few brands really putting the work – and the money – in to make them real. Greenwashing much?

But then, we ran a game-changing campaign to stop greenwashing in fashion, bringing two major legal complaints against Lululemon and making it essential for brands to really show their work.  Now, our Scorecard shows that change is possible: instead of new empty promises we’re seeing leaders that are making it happen. 

Leading initiatives from the top 5 ranked brands:

1. H&M is financing clean energy for its suppliers, taking the important step of actually helping the manufacturers making its products to invest in solar panels, energy efficiency and phasing out coal boilers. This is an essential step forward for climate action by brands, so for such a big player to take the lead is huge.
2. Eileen Fisher is ditching fossil-fuel fabrics in favour of sustainable materials and circular solutions. This small and ultra sustainable brand has a well established take back and resale program, and only uses organic and natural fibres, showing that it really can be done differently.
3. Kering (parent company of Gucci, Saint Laurent, Balenciaga…) became the first company in the Scorecard to publish climate change adaptation policies to support workers and manufacturers in through climate disasters like floods and heatwaves. Essential in a world where factories are regularly hitting 50 degrees C (122 F). 
4. Levi’s published a new Climate Transition Plan with details on how it will fund and enable suppliers to replace coal fired boilers and switch to clean energy. There’s nothing like a clear roadmap to show it’s not just greenwashing!
5. Patagonia has added to its green cred by setting ambitious emissions targets! The leading outdoor company with a uniquely climate-focused ownership model now has emissions targets for its supply chain which align it with a safe climate.

These brands are proving that fashion brands can clean up their supply chain, and lead the sector towards sustainable fashion. 

It doesn’t stop there. Earlier this year, lululemon announced that it was dropping coal from its supply chain, and committing to using 50% renewable electricity, by 2030! This is a testament to the power of this movement.  

Of course, it’s not all good news. These brands represented the absolute worst of the worst, failing to take any meaningful action to kick out fossil fuels:

The worst of the worst brands, AKA the ‘F’ Club:

1. Columbia Clothing. This one comes as a bit of a shock given Columbia’s status as a brand catering to hikers and lovers of nature and the outdoors, but Columbia Clothing, parent company of Columbia, SOREL, Mountain Hardware and prAna has yet to set a single climate target. The group doesn’t report emissions, energy use or other essential climate data for its supply chain at all. Footwear brand prAna uses more sustainable materials, but we couldn’t find much more positive to say.
2. Aritzia. UPDATED: Another surprise from the popular Canadian clothing brand, we were shocked to learn at the time of the 2025 Scorecard release that Aritzia had ZERO emissions targets for either its own operations or its supply chain, putting it deep in the ‘F’ club. The company’s transparency was extremely limited, failing to disclose a list of suppliers or a breakdown of its climate impact in its supply chain. We’re not the only ones concerned – Oxfam Canada have been calling on Aritzia to increase labour transparency and shift toward a living wage for years. The good news is that as of November Aritzia published a brand new target to reduce its manufacturing pollution by 61.1% “per CAD value added” by 2033. This tricky target is definitely better than nothing, but a lot less ambitious than competitors like Zara or H&M. We’ll have to see how they score in the next scorecard …
3. SHEIN. Not a surprise to see SHEIN here, having been fined for greenwashing an anti-competitive behaviour earlier this year. The ultra-fast fashion brand scored Fs pretty much across the board. SHEIN may have set a target to reduce its supply chain emissions, but the numbers tell a very different story: SHEIN’s manufacturing emissions alone increased by 165% in just one year, making it officially fashion’s biggest polluter. SHEIN has invested some money into new polyester recycling technology, although we think it would be more efficient if it just made less.
4. Boohoo Group, now Debenhams Group. The youth-focused fast fashion brand Boohoo, the group’s leading brand, prioritises high turnover synthetics at rock bottom prices. Although the company reported lower emissions due to a drop in sales, it still scored Fs across the board this year for showing extremely limited signs of climate action. The company has a limited, intensity-based emissions target, which still encourages growth, showed no evidence of work to phase out on site coal burning, and operates “a large proportion of air freight” to ship its products. Not great.
5. Next Plc and Under Armour were neck and neck, both setting limited climate targets – there, but not nearly enough – and sharing scant details about their climate plans. Neither company has set a public target to phase out on-site coal from their factories, and we need to see a whole lot more from them in terms of how they will deliver any kind of emissions reductions. Next reported emissions increasing by more than 20% in just one year, while Under Armour failed to report a breakdown of its supply chain pollution, hiding the reality of its climate impact. Must try harder.

These companies need to be held accountable for their climate pollution. Failure to act is not a neutral position, it’s actively causing harm to the people and communities where factories are located, and to the planet.

That’s where our Fossil Free Fashion Scorecard comes in —  an industry-recognized standard that raises the bar for the biggest global brands on transparency and climate action. It’s one of our most powerful tools to move the entire fashion industry in the right direction.

Will you sign our petition demanding that the fashion industry cleans up its act once and for all? 

I’m so proud of the work we do alongside the 1 million strong Stand community. We’ve helped dozens of local governments implement concrete policies to phase out fossil fuels and fast track clean energy in their communities. We’ve moved corporations like Staples, Starbucks, 3M, and now lululemon(!!!) onto significantly more sustainable pathways. Together, we can force the fashion industry to clean up its supply chain and protect workers and the planet we share.

— Rachel Kitchin, Senior Corporate Climate Campaigner at Stand.earth