Fewer Suppliers Are Responsible for Fashion’s Carbon Impact Than You Might Think
Some 1,500 manufacturing facilities across nine countries are behind 80 percent of the fashion industry’s carbon emissions.
That’s according to Reset Carbon, a Hong Kong-based environmental consulting firm that crunched the numbers using Cascale’s Higg Index suite of sustainability measurement tools.
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Colin Browne, Cascale’s new CEO, made the revelation on Tuesday during his inaugural address at the multi-stakeholder group’s annual meeting in Munich, which it themed a “New Era of United Impact.”
Browne, who joined the former Sustainable Apparel Coalition in May, used the analysis to call for a tighter focus on what he described as critical “strategic supplier” hotspots as the organization attempts to make good on its goal to slash industry emissions by 45 percent across its membership by 2030.
“The reality is that the consumer goods industry is not doing enough to combat climate change,” he said. “With new data demonstrating a stark concentration of climate impact, we must direct action to where it matters most.…There is no path to achieving our 45 percent reduction target that doesn’t involve these 1,500 facilities.”
Browne admitted that Cascale, whose remit has expanded beyond clothing and footwear to include home furnishings, sporting and outdoor goods, and bag and luggage purveyors, has its work cut out if it wants to propel the degree of change it wishes to see among its 300-strong roster, which includes some of the world’s biggest brands and retailers including Amazon, H&M Group, Primark, Zara owner Inditex and Walmart.
While Cascale now requires new corporate members to join its decarbonization program and set science-based or science-aligned targets to rein in their greenhouse gas emissions in line with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures, the organization’s surveys of existing members show that 33 percent of brands and 54 percent of manufacturers have yet to do so. This needs to change, Browne said.
“More importantly, brands and suppliers need to work in tandem to transform their Tier 2, which is the single most important source of carbon emissions,” he added. “Setting an SBT without close consultation with one’s supply chain is unacceptable and irresponsible given the near-term deadline of 2030. But with the right actionable data and mutual support, there is hope.”
Cascale is collaborating with both Reset Carbon and San Francisco’s Apparel Impact Institute to establish a so-called “industry decarbonization roadmap” and support suppliers in reducing their emissions in a streamlined manner.
Browne said that despite the challenges, he remains hopeful because the industry has the knowledge, capability and tools to succeed.
“But do we have the courage, the capacity and the commitment to follow through?” he asked. “I’m confident we do, and I urge every leader across the industry to step up. If not now then when? While we support our members with practical tools and techniques to help them decarbonize, we also constantly challenge them to do better.”
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