Fashion Industry Steps Up Climate Ambition with Renewed Charter
Fashion Industry Steps Up Climate Ambition with Renewed Charter
Friday marks the end of the World Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. During the two-week conference, the Fashion Charter presented the renewed Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action . Since February 2021, the specifications of the current Fashion Charter have served the Textiles Partnership and its members as a reference document for the processing of the sector risk Climate and GHG Emissions.
The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action is part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The aim is to gradually reduce CO₂ emissions along the entire textile value chain. In this way, climate neutrality is to be achieved by 2050, in order to limit climate change to a maximum of 1.5°C.
In a press release the responsible UN Secretariat for Climate recognizes the fashion industry as a major global player needing to take an active part in contributing to the realization of these goals. The new version of the document form a decarbonization plan aligned with Paris Agreement ambitions to limit the global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Central to this is the call for companies to set Science Based Targets or halve their emissions by 2030, with a pledge to achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. This is an update on the previous target of 30 per cent aggregate greenhouse gas emission reductions by 2030.
To achieve this goal, the Fashion Charter proposes the following measures, among others:
- By 2030, companies should ensure that 100% of the energy for their own processes comes from renewable sources.
- 100% of priority fibers must be preferred fibers by 2030 (aligned with Textile Exchange definition).
- Companies should set short-term goals for improved product use and product design to extend the life cycle of products.
Fashion Charter signatories collectively represent a significant proportion of the fashion industry. There are currently 130 companies and 41 supporting organisations that have signed the Fashion Charter including some of the well-known brands such as Burberry, H&M Group, VF Corporation, adidas, Kering, Chanel, Nike, and PUMA as well as suppliers such as Crystal Group, TAL Apparel and others.
The Textiles Partnership has also been a Supporting Organization of the Fashion Charter since 2018. Since 2021, the Charter has served as the Textiles Partnership's reference document for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Companies, suppliers and other stakeholders in the textile and fashion industry are to implement measures to achieve this goal. In doing so, they can get orientation in the Climate Action Playbook .
The Textiles Partnership is planning a webinar for members to inform them about the adjustments to the Fashion Charter and what it means for the Textiles Partnership.
The mission of the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action is to bring the fashion industry to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest in order to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Since the launch of the Charter in 2018, 130 companies and 41 supporting organizations have committed to climate action. The Charter provides a framework for stakeholder dialogue and commitment to climate action.
With 197 Parties, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement. The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep a global average temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius and to drive efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate objective of all agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.