The findings of the Apparel Impact Institute’s recent report make for sober reading, noting a rise in the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions of 7.5% in 2023 (approximately 1.78% of global greenhouse gas emissions). 92% of the industry’s emissions come from the raw material extraction and processing, and material production.
The industry already faced a tough target to achieve net zero by 2050, and these latest findings means if it is to stay on trajectory it will need to reduce emissions by 45% in just 5 years.
Despite the report’s claims regarding sustainable material breakthroughs, changes to energy policy in manufacturing countries, the increased number of companies with approved science-based targets, and a focus on reducing Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions, there is still cause for concern.
What is the cause of the rise in greenhouse gas emissions?
"The culprit appears to be the enormous market share of fossil-fuel-derived polyester, combined with the rise in ultra-fast fashion brands such as Shein.
In my opinion, that is just part of a much bigger issue."
It’s an issue we can find echoes of elsewhere – notably in the farming sector. In that case, despite claims to the contrary, efforts to curtail planet-harming practices are all too often frustrated by a lack of available funds through the supply chain.
That, in turn, results from a remuneration structure that vastly undervalues our food as well as an unfair distribution of funds to the grower. As one farmer we interviewed said:
‘It’s hard to be green when you are in the red’.
Is it too much of a stretch to say, despite the reports call for optimism, the same may be true of the apparel industry?
Is there optimism in the apparel industry?
Consumer demand for low cost has driven retailers to respond, creating a price-driven marketplace. Which retailer is going to break that market by introducing more sustainable, more expensive clothing at scale given the business model is based on price and speed?
Sustainable fibres cost more to produce than polyester, so the increase in its use is hardly surprising given the ultra-fast fashion business model.
And, while such a structure remains in place, some funding will pass into the supply chain, but will it ever be enough for the necessary improvements in efficiency, the transfer to sustainable energy sources, and the move towards more sustainable practices and materials that are required.
The scenario doesn’t end well.
Fundamental change is needed
"Trite though it may seem, the change starts with a compelling and thorough education of consumers regarding their role in planet-harm through fashion apparel. Not condemning them for their choices but opening consumers to other possibilities."
Re-use is not in favour, but it needs to be; as does recycling of waste materials and an accelerated general drive towards a circular economy in the apparel sector.
This needs to be accompanied by a fair distribution of funding through the supply chain in order that manufacturers and their suppliers can place even greater focus on the changes necessary to make polyester less attractive, and more sustainable fabrics more affordable.
Of course, polyester has many attractions other than merely price: it is light, easy to wear, easy to care for, and allows for rapid fashion changes. But those reasons can no longer compete with the role it plays in the climate-change induced by global warming.
New business models will flow from greater investment throughout the supply chain, and retailers will find ways to achieve the profitability they require, but change must happen if the industry itself is to be sustainable for the future.
