Fast Retailing

Fashion has some bad news for the planet. Most brands are actively “greenwashing” their emissions with none of the companies assessed reporting transparently on the terms, value invested or availability to suppliers, says a new Stand.earth report.

The Paris Agreement goal of limiting climate change to 1.5°C could well remain a mirage, says the 2024 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor (CCRM) which evaluated 51 of the world’s largest companies, including 5 in the fashion sector.

The escalating reliance on biomass in the fashion sector not only threatens climate, ecosystems and human health, but also poses significant risks to the broader push toward genuine renewable energy, especially in Asia, says a report by environmental advocacy group Stand.earth.

Jargon-laden and flowery sustainability reports by a majority of top brands and retailers would come across as a heap of gobbledygook if their actual performance is taken into account. Well, certainly for the cotton sector. As many as 89% are still non-transparent, unsustainable and show little progress towards improving labour conditions, says the 2023 Cotton Ranking just published by Solidaridad Europe and the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK).

The second edition of the 2023 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor has rapped fashion and retail giants for "hiding climate inaction behind a fig leaf of net zero plans."

In spite of all the tall promises made last year, the global fashion industry instead increased its emissions in 2022. Only one—Levi’s—of the top ten brands assessed showed any promise, a Stand.earth report released Tuesday has revealed.