Transformers Foundation, a prominent advocate for sustainable practices within the denim industry, has introduced its annual deep dive report, provocatively titled “Towards A Collective Approach: Rethinking Fashion’s Doomed Climate Strategy.” The report delves into the fashion industry’s climate commitments and urgently calls for a more equitable and practical approach to decarbonization.
Authored by a distinguished panel of experts, including Elizabeth L. Cline, a Fashion Policy and Consumerism lecturer at Columbia University, Brooke Roberts-Islam, an industry specialist and independent journalist, and Kim van der Weerd, Intelligence Director of Transformers Foundation, this report shines a critical light on the industry’s efforts to combat climate change.
The report uncovers a concerning gap between the fashion sector’s pursuit of Science-Based Targets (SBTs) and the feasibility and fairness in garment supply chains. It highlights a pivotal issue: who should bear the financial burden of decarbonization? The report argues that carbon mitigation will stagnate if textile and apparel suppliers worldwide are expected not only to lead the decarbonization efforts but also to fund them.
In the face of imminent regulatory changes, such as the forthcoming EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the New York Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, this report emphatically stresses the need for a collective and just approach to decarbonization while cautioning against enshrining SBTs into law.
Transformers Foundation, which champions the collective goals of the Paris Agreement, recognizes the necessity for a new approach that ensures practicality, fairness, and shared responsibility in the journey to decarbonize the fashion industry. The report insists that the responsibility for climate action should be distributed evenly, rather than disproportionately shouldered by suppliers.
Kim van der Weerd, Intelligence Director of the Transformers Foundation, commented on the report, saying, “This report articulates how and why the sector’s current approach to climate action makes it a supplier responsibility, rather than a collective responsibility. It also offers evidence for why this is not only inequitable but also impractical and doomed to fail. At the same time, by putting forward a definition of collective action, I hope this paper gives a framework for how we could accelerate action.”
The deep dive report, featuring extensive interviews with denim suppliers and stakeholders from major garment-producing nations, provides invaluable insights into how the fashion industry can reimagine its climate strategy.
Transformers Foundation is the unified voice representing the denim industry and its ideas for positive change. It was founded to provide a thus-far missing platform to the jeans and denim supply chain, and a central point of contact for consumers, brands, NGOs, and media who want to learn more about ethics and sustainable innovation in the industry. The foundation represents the entire denim supply chain, from farmers and chemical suppliers to denim mills and jeans factories.
