Emissions from the textile-apparel-footwear-fashion sector are projected to touch an alarming 1.266 Gt in 2030. To stay within a 1.5°C trajectory (45% reduction by 2030), the sector would need to reduce emissions from 0.889 Gt in 2019 to 0.489 Gt by 2030.
The global textiles-apparel industry released an estimated 897 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2021 — which is roughly 1.8% of global GHG emissions.
- The world is already experiencing 1.1°C of warming and along with it catastrophic consequences of rising greenhouse gas emissions, says a report Taking Stock of Progress Against the Roadmap to Net Zero by the Apparel Impact Institute (AII) in collaboration with Textile Exchange (TE) and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC)
- With this report, AII is attempting to provide an estimate of GHG emissions for 2021 using fibre volume data from Textile Exchange for 2021 and GHG impact data from the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI).
- Importantly, after deliberations with Textile Exchange and the SAC, AII revised the assumptions on the percentage of fibre that is used in the apparel sector versus other uses such as home textiles, and re-calculated the 2019 GHG estimate to more accurately compare 2021 with 2019.
The highlights: The industry needs to act quick and collectively to avert the most damaging impacts from climate change by reducing GHG emissions by 43% by 2030, and to net zero by no later than 2050.
- The industry must rapidly transition away from fossil fuels, and invest to help countries adapt to climate change, which will include scaling regenerative and organic approaches to agriculture (including materials used in apparel and footwear).
- Based on data from the SAC, Worldly, and Textile Exchange, the report estimates apparel sector emissions to be 0.897 gigatonnes (Gt) of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2021, or roughly 1.8% of annual global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
- Adjusting for changes in key assumptions on fibre allocation, this represents an increase of 0.87% from the 2019 estimate presented in the Roadmap to Net Zero.
- Assuming business-as-usual growth for the apparel sector, emissions are projected to be 1.266 Gt in 2030. To stay within a 1.5°C trajectory (45% reduction by 2030), the sector would need to reduce emissions from 0.889 Gt in 2019 to 0.489 Gt by 2030.
- The breakdown of emissions across the value chain for 2021 is nearly identical to that in the Roadmap to Net Zero: material processing (tier 2) is highest at 53% of total emissions, followed by raw materials (tier 4) at 23%, raw materials processing (15%), and finished goods assembly (8%).
The changes: The change in emissions from 2019 to 2021—an increase of 0.87%—can be explained by several factors:
- The growth in fibre used in apparel was small—0.9% increase from 2019 to 2021.
- Raw material (tier 4) GHG intensity remained essentially constant—changes in usage of some sustainable fibres were offset by changes in the fibre mix overall.
- Electricity intensity (average grid mix) for other processing stages (tiers 2 and 3) improved by roughly 0.9%
- The GHG intensity of coloration and finishing also improved slightly, by about 1.9% and 1.6% respectively.
Interventions: In the Roadmap, the World Resources Institute (WRI) and AII identified six key interventions for how the apparel sector can reduce GHG emissions:
- Maximising material efficiency;
- Scaling more sustainable materials and practices;
- Accelerating the development of innovative materials;
- Maximising energy efficiency;
- Eliminating coal in manufacturing;
- Shifting to 100% renewable electricity.
- The report also described the potential for circular business models such as rental and resale to reduce emissions.
- It is very challenging to measure the GHG impacts of such business models because actual consumer behaviour data is hard to obtain. Consumers may say via surveys that they do not buy new apparel items when they rent or buy used items, but emissions will only be reduced if consumers actually buy fewer new products.
WHAT THEY SAID:
Delivering the necessary GHG reductions will require significant investment, and thus funding sources such as the Apparel Impact Institute’s (AII) $250M Fashion Climate Fund are critical. To help deploy these funds, AII established a Climate Solutions Portfolio to deploy grants to proven GHG reduction solutions. At the time of this report, AII was in the process of reviewing the first round of applications to this fund, and the interest is encouraging: AII received 148 applications of which the most impactful have moved to the next round and get the opportunity to pitch to the Climate Solutions Portfolio Advisory Council. While the task of driving GHG emissions to net zero is a daunting one, we are emboldened and inspired by the actions of organizations across the apparel value chain, and look forward to working together to build a more resilient, equitable, and prosperous apparel sector.
— Lewis Perkins
President
Apparel Impact Institute
Apparel companies are taking serious steps to reduce their emissions. There are nearly 400 apparel companies that have commitments or approved sciencebased targets (SBTs) through the Science-Based Targets initiative — amongst the highest of any sector. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition recently rolled out a decarbonization program through which it will require members to set SBTs; SAC, AII, and Textile Exchange will provide tools and support to help members deliver on these targets.
— Amina Razvi / Ashley Gill
CEO / Chief Strategy Officer
Sustainable Apparel Coalition / Textile Exchange
