New analysis shows how fashion industry can lighten its carbon footprint
Two new reports from UN Climate Change’s Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action aim to help the fashion industry better understand how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from raw material extraction, production and processing, which for some companies is the most carbon-intensive part of the fashion value chain.
“These reports are a key resource for any company or organization wanting to understand and improve upon the current state of play of impact data in the fashion and apparel industry,” said Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, Sector Engagement Lead with UN Climate Change. “We thank the signatories of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action for their inputs and supporting the creation of these important reports.”
The new reports build on the Charter’s 2021 report Identifying Low Carbon Sources of Cotton and Polyester, expanding to two additional raw material categories important to the global fashion and apparel industry: animal fibers and man-made cellulosics.
The reports serve as neutral, centralized sources of information on the greenhouse gas impact data that currently exists globally in each raw material category, and provide a detailed assessment of the data gaps and challenges.
The reports will help the signatories of the Fashion Charter identify ways to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and work toward their commitment to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
Development of these gap analysis reports was led by Textile Exchange, as leads of the Charter’s Raw Material Working Group, with significant input from Charter signatories such as Lenzing, Canopy, VF Coproration, Reformation, Primark, Schneider Group, Fabrikology, New Enzymes, Sateri and other Charter members.
The Fashion Charter was set up with the support of UN Climate Change in 2018 to provide a pathway for the industry to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, in line with global efforts to limit warming to 1.5C. Other commitments in the Charter include sourcing 100% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030, sourcing of environmentally friendly raw materials, and phasing out coal from the supply chain by 2030.
