If fashion industry leaders actually want to mitigate climate change, they need to overhaul their sector. A new report from McKinsey & Company crunched the numbers and found that the global industry’s current trajectory isn’t sustainable. The report, “Fashion on Climate: How the Fashion Industry Can Urgently Act to Reduce Its Greenhouse Gas Emissions,” authored by McKinsey in partnership with the Global Fashion Agenda, showed that “the global fashion industry produced around 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in 2018, equaling 4% of the global total.”
“The immediate focus of accelerated abatement should be upstream operations, where around 60% of emissions savings are possible, in particular from increased use of renewable energy, through collaborative efforts supported by brands and retailers,” the report authors advised. “Actions relating to brands’ own operations have the potential to deliver around 20% of the reduction, with the remainder coming from changes in consumer behavior.”
Concerted action from industry participants is needed in three key areas, the report says:
- Reducing emissions from upstream operations.
- Reducing emissions from brands’ own operations.
- Encouraging sustainable consumer behavior.
“Given their potential to act as the main drivers of accelerated abatement, brands and retailers face a call to collaborate with others in the value chain to invest for long-term social and environmental benefits,” the authors say. “Not only can they effect change in their own operations, but they can also support decarbonization efforts elsewhere in the industry and help consumers make more sustainable purchasing choices.”
Source: Environmental Leader
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