Fashion has embarked on a series of initiatives to reduce its impact on the planet in recent years. In 2018, major brands including Chanel, Gucci-owner Kering and H&M committed to net-zero emissions by 2050, as part of the United Nation’s Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. A year later, Gucci announced that it was already carbon neutral, thanks to the help of carbon offsets (a flawed, yet arguably necessary practice that involves investing in environmental projects outside your supply chain). Then, Burberry took the ambition level a step further, by announcing its aim to be carbon positive by 2040.
But is fashion actually doing enough to address its impact on the climate? A new report from UN Climate Change and CDP suggested that only 45 per cent of Fashion Charter signatories have actually set targets that are in line with 1.5 degrees Celsius. However, many targets – including those approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, one of the two target-setting options outlined by the Fashion Charter – are relative to growth, particularly when it comes to indirect emissions in the supply chain (otherwise known as scope 3 emissions).
Considering the vast majority of fashion’s impact is in the supply chain, this means that it’s possible for absolute greenhouse gas emissions to go up, even if emissions have gone down per product sold, or in relation to growth. For example, Chanel has set a target of decreasing emissions by 40 per cent by 2030 across its supply chain per unit sold, but is clear that this represents an absolute reduction of only around 10 per cent. Meanwhile, Gucci-owner Kering’s emissions actually rose by 12 per cent in 2022 compared to 2021.
“While some progress has been made on scope 1 and 2 [emissions that are owned and controlled by a company], we certainly need to see significant action in the supply chain,” Lindita Xhaferi-Salihu, the Fashion Charter lead at UN Climate Change, tells Vogue. It’s not all bad news though. “There are examples of companies doing well for example: 32 signatories reported achieving reductions in their scope 3 emissions with 13 and six achieving at least 30 per cent and 50 per cent respectively. These signatories demonstrate actionable ambition with ample opportunity for increased emissions reduction.”
