Research calls out British fashion as “failing to act on climate crisis”

London Fashion Week is looming and to mark that fact, charity Collective Fashion Justice (CFJ) has released new research claiming British Fashion isn’t acting on the climate crisis.

The charity “dedicated to a total ethics fashion system that protects people, animals, and the planet” said that “less than 4% of British Fashion Council member brands have emissions reduction targets” with the industry as a whole “behind the curve when it comes to tackling the climate crisis”.

Those that do have such targets are Burberry, Mulberry, Kyle Ho, Rixo and Margaret Howell.

The group said: “While British brands are among the most influential leaders in the fashion industry just 3.4% of British Fashion Council (the organiser of London Fashion Week) member brands have published any public targets to reduce their emissions and a shocking 2.4% of brands have published science-based targets aligned with the Paris Agreement – which would make them effective targets, worth working towards.”

That compares badly with the wider UK business community with  data from the most recent Climate Ready Index showing that “44% of UK companies overall have a structured plan in place to reduce their carbon footprint and climate impact”.

The BFC hasn’t commented on the report but it has for some years been working towards encouraging the fashion industry to adopt more sustainable practices.

And of course, the fact that most companies don’t have publicly available targets doesn’t necessarily mean they’re big polluters. But without specific targets and data, it’s impossible to know, which is why such targets matter so much.

Emma Hakansson, founding director of CFJ, said: “This finding is an embarrassment for an industry that considers itself one of the most creative and innovative in the world. The British fashion industry has failed to meaningfully invest in climate action and government policy has failed to necessitate that investment. Without science-based targets to reduce emissions, the fashion industry will continue to damage our planet and put lives at risk. 

“Setting science-based emissions reduction targets is one critical step all brands should be taking and we look forward to engaging further and working with the BFC and its members to ensure everyone plays their part.”

Globally, fashion and textiles are responsible for around 12% of total emissions and McKinsey data said the fashion industry was responsible for 2.1 billion metric tons of greenhouse-gas emissions with the figure set to rise to 2.7 billion metric tons by 2030.

CFJ’s research also said that 38% of fashion industry greenhouse gas emissions are linked to raw material production, particularly those derived from ruminant animals (leather, wool, cashmere) and fossil fuels (polyester, acrylic, nylon).