On the Eve of COP28, Fashion Must Overcome the ‘Era of Polycrises’
In the introduction to Global Fashion Agenda’s (GFA) latest industry report, CEO Federica Marchionni described an “era of unfolding polycrises,” which she defined as the simultaneous and overlapping catastrophes swamping the world today.
With escalating tensions in Europe and the Middle East, economic volatility from the lingering effects of Covid-19 and the current inflationary squeeze, and a rapidly shrinking window for averting the worst of climate change, the prognosis for the planet, to put it mildly, is grim.
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“I wholeheartedly recognize the severity of the relentless global crises we face: from rising geopolitical conflict and natural disasters to the disruptive effects of climate change,” she wrote in the 2023 edition of the GFA Monitor, the sustainability think tank and industry convener’s second to date.
All this has put a crimp on the fashion industry’s social and environmental ambitions, Marchionni acknowledged, adding that financial pressures are leaving corporations “grappling with the dual mandate of maximizing profits while actively pursuing sustainability.”
The GFA Monitor has two overarching purposes, the report noted: to “take stock” of industry progress through insights gathered from the 900-member-strong multi-stakeholder group known as the Fashion Industry Target Consultation, and to offer a “synthesized overview” of best practices and solutions that can be applied today.
But with the clock counting down to 2030—and nowhere will this be louder than at the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, a.k.a. COP28 in Dubai on Thursday—there remain “significant gaps” between the sector’s ambition and “concrete” action in addressing social and environmental sticking points, from the downward pricing pressure that is resulting in a widening chasm between minimum and living wages for workers to the decarbonization targets that will almost certainly be missed in the absence of major changes.
Take commercial practices, for instance. While 88 percent of brand respondents claimed to have adopted responsible purchasing practices, only 63 percent claimed to be measuring progress against these targets. The same with fair compensation. Though 86 percent of brands and producers/manufacturers said they set targets to implement fair compensation and living wages across the textile value chain, just 33 percent of brands and 67 percent of producers/manufacturers reported doing the same for freedom of association or collective bargaining, a key enabler for achieving them.
GFA also described target setting around circularity as “very fragmented,” noting that many goals are self-defined, lack comparability with peers and have inconsistent ambition levels, even though a “surprisingly” high percentage of brands and producers have engaged in this space, even on complex topics such as absolute virgin resource use reduction (74 percent of brands and 89 percent of producers/manufacturers) and overproduction (78 percent of brands and 77 percent of producers/manufacturers).
The lowest-targeting results, however, related to eliminating messages encouraging unnecessary consumption (46 percent of brands and 53 percent of producers/manufacturers) and measuring how the availability of closed-loop business models and the jobs they promote can support a just transition to a circular economy (29 percent of brands and 73 percent of producers/manufacturers).
Resource stewardship appeared to have blind spots, as well. While 88 percent of brands and 89 percent of producers/manufacturers made targets related to decarbonization and 86 percent of brands and 100 percent of producers/manufacturers did the same for the elimination of hazardous chemicals, only 33 percent of brands and 63 percent producers manufacturers claimed to be measuring and reporting their progress.
Only smart material choices hit consistently high numbers: 96 percent of brands and 100 percent of producers/manufacturers cited targets to produce and source priority materials from preferred and low-climate-impact sources, with the biggest focus falling on polyester (79 percent of brands and 90 percent of producers/manufacturers), cotton (92 percent of brands and 80 percent of producers/manufacturers) and man-made cellulosic fibers (70 percent of brands and 75 percent of producers/manufacturers).
Many of the keys to unlocking the much-needed systemic change already exist, the GFA Monitor said. Developing effective grievance mechanisms, supported by collective bargaining agreements, can uphold human rights. Adopting responsible purchasing practices that reflect direct and indirect labor costs in supplier payments and supporting long-term partnerships between brands and manufacturers can drive pay equity. Displacing coal with renewable sources can curtail air emissions and limit additional warming. Prioritizing responsible textile-to-textile recycling at scale can deliver reduced impact on the environment. And designing products so they last longer and are “made to be remade” using safe and recycled or renewable materials can help decouple economic development from the consumption of finite resources.
“The GFA Monitor shows that we have the solutions to achieve our goals for a more sustainable, resilient and just world,” Marchionni said. “With fast-approaching deadlines to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and global climate targets, there is an urgent need for all sector actors, including brands, retailers, manufacturers, as well as other key stakeholders—among them consumers citizens, NGOs, innovators, policymakers and investors—to take holistic and measurable action toward an inclusive and equitable sector transformation.”
Marchionni said that she recognized that each company will take its “own unique approach” when attacking its priority areas, but that every actor also has a responsibility for “shaping the future,” no matter where they are on their sustainability journey.
“I urge you all to maximize this opportunity and move forward with grace, determination and persistence,” she added.