Big fashion brands must urgently invest at least 2% of their annual revenue into a Just Transition away from fossil fuels – like coal – to renewable energy to power their manufacturing sustainably, according to the latest report from Fashion Revolution, the world’s largest fashion activism movement, Fashion Revolution reported.
The ‘What Fuels Fashion’ report, a special edition of Fashion Revolution’s annual Fashion Transparency Index was released today. It analyses and ranks 250 of the world’s biggest fashion brands and retailers (turnover of USD$400m or more) based on their public disclosure of climate and energy-related actions. The in-depth report covers accountability, decarbonisation, energy procurement, financing decarbonisation, and just transition and advocacy covering over 70 data points.
Fashion remains one of the most polluting industries with fossil fuels burned at every stage of production. However, the report finds that despite the escalating climate crisis, big brands’ reduction targets are not ambitious enough to meet the global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Instead of investing in a fair transition away from fossil fuels like coal to renewable energy sources like wind and solar to power fashion’s supply chain in a clean way, fashion brands are shifting the costs onto the factories they work with; burdening workers and communities with fixing a problem they didn’t create.
While extreme weather could cost nearly 1 million jobs in the sector, Fashion Revolution also reveals that most big fashion brands are not protecting their supply chain workers. Only 3% (just seven brands) disclose efforts to financially support workers affected by the climate crisis. This is critical given the weak social protection in garment-producing countries and the poverty wages and high debt levels of these workers. Frequent climate events like heat waves, monsoons, and droughts are devastating their livelihoods. Fashion Revolution says that big fashion must urgently provide compensation mechanisms for these workers, not as charity but as a matter of justice.
“By investing at least 2% of their revenue into clean, renewable energy and upskilling and supporting workers, fashion could simultaneously curb the impacts of the climate crisis and reduce poverty and inequality within their supply chains. Climate breakdown is avoidable because we have the solution – and big fashion can certainly afford it.” says Maeve Galvin, Global Policy and Campaigns Director at Fashion Revolution.