The sun’s a scorcher and workers in the textile-fashion-footwear industry roil in the heat in overheated factories and precarious homes as production hubs grapple with extreme heat, flooding, and climate-linked wage instability, says research from the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre.
- The research— The missing thread: Workers absent from fashion companies’ climate plans— says that far from the runways and boardrooms where sustainability targets are set, the reality is unfolding where those most affected by climate change are excluded from the decisions shaping their futures. Workers are facing rising risks also with no seat at the table as companies miss the vital building block of worker engagement and social dialogue needed to address climate change while centring the decent work agenda.
Findings show that while more than half of the 65 brands covered in this report have made commitments to reduce supply chain emissions by 2030, not a single target is framed around decarbonising while engaging with or mitigating the impact on workers.
- No company has a standalone just transition policy and of the seven companies with the most ambitious climate targets, only one – Inditex – has a public climate transition plan which mentions workers (Capri, Hugo Boss, LPP, Primark, Asics and H&M do not).
- Testimony from apparel workers demonstrates that these policy gaps do indeed matter. Workers in Bangladesh, for example, recognised the benefits of decarbonised factories, but called for them to be “certified green [only] if they are also green for workers.” This reflects concerns about what rapid decarbonisation means for wages, working conditions and health and safety – including heat stress – and where worker needs and interests are considered to be separate from climate mitigation efforts.
- Seven out of 65 companies have supply chain emissions reduction targets of 50% or more by 2030 (compared to baseline years ranging from 2015 to 2021).
- Three companies commit to reducing supply chain emissions by 2025 (compared to baseline years of 2019 to 2022).
- 33 companies commit to net zero or carbon neutrality by 2050 or earlier.
Companies say they will meet decarbonisation targets at factory level by:
- requiring suppliers to reduce energy usage and switch to renewable energy sources; introducing new technologies and automation;
- “diversifying” supplier bases and reshoring and nearshoring production and introducing a “circular” production model through initiatives such as increased utilisation of recycled materials – with 46 companies12 setting out targets on the use of lower impact, including recycled, materials for products.
- Not a single target is framed around minimising impact on workers.
- Only one of the companies with the most ambitious targets – Inditex – has a standalone climate plan or strategy that explicitly mentions workers.
- No companies mention consultation with trade unions in setting these targets.
It is impossible for a fair transition to take place without an understanding that decarbonisation and materials targets will have a direct impact on the workforce. Most companies appear to be in denial about the potential harm of their decarbonisation plans for workers, indicating a belief either that workers will not be impacted by the enormous and rapid industry shifts required to decarbonise supply chains and adapt to the impacts of climate change, or that the impacts of these shifts on production workers are not their responsibility. Either way, workers stand to pay the price.
