Sustainable fashion, no more: Big brands like Hermès, LVMH fail to meet green targets
The fashion industry is responsible for at least 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
By Reuters | Updated:
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The report found the companies were more likely to disclose information on targets than concrete actions towards fulfilling them.
The 15 largest listed fashion companies are lagging behind when it comes to meeting the social and environmental targets of the Paris climate agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals, a new report by the Business of Fashion said on Monday.
The Business of Fashion, an online publication about the fashion industry, analysed in its report publicly disclosed information from the five biggest companies by revenue in three categories - luxury, sportswear, and high street fashion, including Kering, Adidas, H&M and others.
The fashion industry is under increasing pressure from consumers and governments to clean up its act. Statistics cited by the World Economic Forum show that the industry is responsible for at least 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
The Business of Fashion's report scored companies out of 100 in their progress towards meeting sixteen targets which would align their performance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and Paris Agreement on emissions, waste, workers' rights, water, and materials.
It also ranked the companies on transparency, or how much information about a company's practices was currently available.
Kering ranked top with 49 points and Under Armour ranked lowest at 9 points. The average score for the companies was 36 points.
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On average overall, the companies performed worst on waste and workers' rights. The report found the companies were more likely to disclose information on targets than concrete actions towards fulfilling them.
"Opaque working practices and fuzzy definitions of what constitutes 'good' progress complicate matters further, creating a woolly picture of where the industry is at and what steps are required for it to clean up its act," the report said.
Kering and Nike performed best on transparency, while PVH Corp, Levi Strauss, and VF Corp ranked highest on their efforts to reduce emissions.
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Under Armour scored lowest on all rankings except workers' rights, where LVMH ranked one point lower.
Scores for Hermes, LVMH and Richemont averaged lower than high street fashion companies H&M, Inditex, Gap and Levi Strauss across the six categories - emissions, waste, workers' rights, materials and transparency.
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On average overall, the companies performed worst on waste and workers' rights. Uniqlo owner Fast Retailing, Under Armour and Richemont reported the lowest average score across the six targets.
Kering sustainability chief Marie-Claire Daveu said the company was proud of the recognition given by Business of Fashion. Asked about the fact that the report highlighted all companies were falling short of targets, she recognised that sustainability was a "long, never-ending journey."
Adidas said it was working closely with its partners to achieve climate neutrality in its operations by 2025 and throughout its supply chains by 2050.
Other companies cited did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A panel of twelve sustainability experts advised on the methodology for the Business of Fashion's report.
Tees That Talk: Fashion As A Political Tool Has Always Been About Optics, Subliminal Cues And Nuance
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Anyone who says fashion is not political has not noticed the length of former American president Donald Trump’s red ties or thinks US Vice-President Kamala Harris’ sneakers-with-suits look is happenstance.
From the suffragette white and the keffiyeh as a symbol of Palestinian self-determination to Che’s beret and Time’s Up bracelets, fashion as a political tool has always been about optics, subliminal cues and nuance. But it’s never hidden, in fact it’s all about wearing your ideology on your sleeve. And nowhere is this more evident than in the slogan T-shirt — an incredibly visible vehicle used by people to voice opinions or support movements. Every protest or social movement has produced a talking T-shirt.
Here’s a short history of the tee that talks.
Anyone who says fashion is not political has not noticed the length of former American president Donald Trump’s red ties or thinks US Vice-President Kamala Harris’ sneakers-with-suits look is happens..
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Writer Scott Fitzgerald used the word T-shirt possibly for the first time in his 1920 novel 'This Side of Paradise'. However, it was after World War II that the message potential of a T-shirt was unleashed. In 1948, Republican presidential candidate Thomas Dewey emblazoned T-shirts with “Dew it with Dewey”. He lost to Harry Truman. But the slogan T-shirt won.
In 2018, London’s Fashion and Textile Museum opened an exhibition “T-shirt: CultCulture-Subversion” with 200 iconic T-shirts that changed the status of what was originally an undergarment. In an interview to BBC.com, curator Dennis Nothdruft said, “[The T-shirt] is a really basic way of telling the world who and what you are… it was a matter of the personal as politicised.”
Writer Scott Fitzgerald used the word T-shirt possibly for the first time in his 1920 novel 'This Side of Paradise'. However, it was after World War II that the message potential of a T-shirt was unl..
Read More
In India, various protests have given us slogan tees although a lot of it is not organised and is put up on online shops outside of India.
But “No Farmers, No Food, No Future” is a popular slogan as was “Sab Yaad Rakha Jayega” during the CAA-NRC protests. With the easy availability of digital printing, anyone can start a T-shirt campaign.
For instance, comedian Kunal Kamra launched his line of “Wah Modiji Wah” T-shirts in 2018 while "Hindi Theriyathu Poda" (I Don’t Understand Hindi, Get Lost) tees by MP Kanimozhi went viral in 2020 after a CISF personnel at Chennai airport had asked her if she was Indian after she said she did not know Hindi.
In India, various protests have given us slogan tees although a lot of it is not organised and is put up on online shops outside of India. But “No Farmers, No Food, No Future” is a popular slogan as ..
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In the UK, designers Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren used tee shirt as a blank canvas for punk ideology. The UK’s punk movement was rooted in a general social malaise among British youth. Westwood and McLaren’s T-shirts tackled everything from religion to fascism.
By 1973, The New York Times dubbed the T-shirt as “the medium for the message”.
In the UK, designers Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren used tee shirt as a blank canvas for punk ideology. The UK’s punk movement was rooted in a general social malaise among British youth. Westw..
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Critics call it the fourth-wave feminism slogans. The Fawcett Society, with Elle UK, took out a T-shirt with the slogan “This is what a Feminist looks Like”, designed mainly for men to wear.
In Spring/Summer 2017, Dior sent out “We Should All Be Feminists” T-shirts on to the ramp, designed by the first female head designer Maria Grazia Churi. The slogan is a reference to Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s book of the same name.
In 2018, designer Prabal Gurung made “The Future is Female” line of tees.
Critics call it the fourth-wave feminism slogans. The Fawcett Society, with Elle UK, took out a T-shirt with the slogan “This is what a Feminist looks Like”, designed mainly for men to wear. In Sprin..
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Maison Margiela was one of the first names to make T-shirt activism fashionable when he used tees to spread AIDS awareness in Fall/Winter 1994. In 2001, upscale streetwear label Supreme released T-shirts to generate aid for 9/11 victims.
In 2020, it joined forces with Takashi Murakami to raise money for Covid-19 relief. Nike too has a running “BeTrue” campaign of clothing and sneakers to show support with the LGBTQ+ community. Starting in 2006, Marc Jacobs released a series of T-shirts featuring various celebrities posing naked to raise awareness and funds for skin cancer.
Maison Margiela was one of the first names to make T-shirt activism fashionable when he used tees to spread AIDS awareness in Fall/Winter 1994. In 2001, upscale streetwear label Supreme released T-sh..
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The affordability of the T-shirt and its widespread adoption made it a symbol for political activism throughout the 1960s — from the Civil Rights Movement to the Vietnam War. In 1968, Harvard students wore anti-war T-shirts during sitins. Around the same time, the NAACP and Black Panther Party too used T-shirts to promote its agenda. Since then, T-shirts have been part of the Black protest tradition, latest being Black Lives Matter.
The affordability of the T-shirt and its widespread adoption made it a symbol for political activism throughout the 1960s — from the Civil Rights Movement to the Vietnam War. In 1968, Harvard student..
Read More
In 1984, designer Katharine Hamnett wore a slogan tee that read “58% Don’t Want Pershing” while shaking hands with UK's then prime minister Margaret Thatcher to make an anti-thermonuclear war statement. Hamnett contributed to the rise of protest clothing in her signature style — oversized, bold, black font on white cotton T-shirts with slogans like “Choose Life” to “Save The World” to recently “Cancel Brexit”.
She told The Guardian, “I wanted to put a really large message on T-shirts that could be read from 20 or 30 ft away. Slogans work on so many different levels…They are also a way of people aligning themselves to a cause. They are tribal. Wearing one is like branding yourself.”
In 1984, designer Katharine Hamnett wore a slogan tee that read “58% Don’t Want Pershing” while shaking hands with UK's then prime minister Margaret Thatcher to make an anti-thermonuclear war stateme..
Read More
In the late 1980s, the African National Congress (ANC) used T-shirt with graphics calling to end the Apartheid in South Africa, or with portraits of the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela. It was a way for people to voice support or even make an informal donation to ANC — a major turning point in T-shirt activism as it was now used to raise funds.
In the late 1980s, the African National Congress (ANC) used T-shirt with graphics calling to end the Apartheid in South Africa, or with portraits of the then imprisoned Nelson Mandela. It was a way f..
