A Roadmap to Net-zero Emissions for the Apparel Sector

Given this momentum, WRI teamed up with the Apparel Impact Institute to publish the Roadmap to Net Zero: Delivering Science-Based Targets in the ... Skiptomaincontent Accessibility QuickLinks Clicktoseemore Mainnavigation Footermenu-secondary MegaMenu Whatcanwehelpyoufind? WaystoGive Joinus ContactanExpert ExploreWRIPerspectives Back AllTopicsRemovefilter ClimatefiltersitebyClimate CitiesfiltersitebyCities EnergyfiltersitebyEnergy FoodfiltersitebyFood ForestsfiltersitebyForests WaterfiltersitebyWater OceanfiltersitebyOcean BusinessfiltersitebyBusiness EconomicsfiltersitebyEconomics FinancefiltersitebyFinance EquityfiltersitebyEquity SearchWRI.org Notsurewheretofindsomething?Searchallofthesite'scontent. Whatcanwehelpyoufind? WaystoGive Joinus ContactanExpert ExploreWRIPerspectives ARoadmaptoNet-zeroEmissionsfortheApparelSector January21,2022 By MichaelSadowskiandCynthiaCummis CoverImageby:ParkerBurchfield/Unsplash TechnicalPerspective Topic Business Social Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Email Print Moreon emissionsnet-zeroemissionsclimatewatch-pinned Moreon emissionsnet-zeroemissionsclimatewatch-pinned Aspolicymakers,businessleaders,civilsocietyandothersgatheredinGlasgowinNovemberforthe26thUNClimateConference(COP26),theworldwas—andstillis—offtracktolimitglobaltemperatureincreaseto1.5degreesC.BytheendofCOP26,151countrieshadsubmittednewclimateplans.Theseplansputtheworldontrackfor2.5degreesCofwarmingbytheendofthecentury.Giventhattheworldisalreadyatroughly1.1degreesCofwarming,suchanincreasewouldhavedisastrouseffects.Thisisparticularlytruefordevelopingcountries,severalofwhicharekeyapparelproductioncountries. Recognizingtheimplicationsofclimatechangefortheirvaluechainsandbusinessmodels,agrowingnumberofapparelcompaniesaremakingcommitmentsandtakingactiontoreducetheirgreenhousegasemissions.Since2019,thenumberofapparelcompaniesthathavejoinedtheScienceBasedTargetsinitiativehasincreasedfromroughlyadozentoover140. Giventhismomentum,WRIteamedupwiththeApparelImpactInstitutetopublishtheRoadmaptoNetZero:DeliveringScience-BasedTargetsintheApparelSector.Theroadmaplaysoutthestepsthatapparelcompaniesandthesectormusttaketodelivertheirambitioustargetsandsignificantlyreduceemissions.Iftheapparelsectorfollowsthesesteps,itcandeliverover60%oftheemissionsreductionsneededfortheindustrytostayona1.5degreesCpathwayinlinewiththeParisAgreement. AFreshEstimateofApparelSectorEmissions UsingdatafromHigg,theSustainableApparelCoalition(SAC)andTextileExchange,theapparelsectoremittedanestimated1.025gigatonnes(Gt)ofcarbondioxideequivalent(CO2e)in2019,orroughly2%ofannualglobalgreenhousegasemissions.Materialproduction—suchasknitting,weaving,dyeingandfinishing—contributestoover50%oftheseemissions.Rawmaterialextraction—suchascottonfarmingandoilandgasextractionforsynthetics—createsroughlyanotherquarterofemissions. 1milliontonnes=1Mt Underbusiness-as-usualgrowthprojections,emissionswillgrowto1.588Gtby2030,welloffpacetodeliverthe45%absolutereductionneededacrossallsectorstolimitwarmingtotheParisAgreement’sgoal. HowtoReduceEmissionsintheApparelSector Whileapparelsectoremissionsaretrendinginthewrongdirection,thereisgreatpotentialformitigationinthesector.Theroadmapidentifiessixinterventionsacrosstheapparelvaluechainthatcandeliverover60%ofthenecessaryreductionstostayonpacefora1.5degreesCscenario: IndustryCalltoAction Toclosethegapandstayonpacewiththe1.5degreesCpathway,theapparelsectormustsignificantlystepupitseffortstoreduceemissions.Tomakethispossible,thesectormusttakethefollowingactions: 1.CollaboratetoimprovesectorGHGimpactdata. ApparelcompaniesshouldcollaboratewithorganizationssuchasTextileExchange,theHiggandSACtoimprovethestateofimpactdata.TextileExchangeannuallypublishesacomprehensivereportonfibersandmaterialsusedintextiles,andalsohelpsdevelop,maintainandpromotestandardsonpreferredmaterialssuchrecycledpolyesterandorganiccotton.TheHiggandSAChavedevelopedandarecontinuouslyexpandingandimprovingontheHiggIndex,whichisgenerallyviewedbysectorexpertsasthebestavailableplatformformeasuringapparelsectorimpactdata.BrandsshouldworkwithmanufacturerstocompilemorerobustprimarymanufacturingdataviatheHiggFacilityEnvironmentalModule(FEM),whilematerialsupplierscanmeasurethegreenhousegasemissionsfromtheirmaterialsandcontributethisdatatotheHiggMaterialsSustainabilityIndex(MSI).  2.Rampupeffortsonmanufacturingenergyefficiency. Thereisasignificantopportunitytomaketextileandapparelproductionmoreenergyefficientandreducecoststhroughstepssuchasimprovedinsulationofheatingsystems,heatcaptureandmoreefficientmotorsformechanicalequipment.Theroadmapmodelsanefficiencyimprovementof15%perunitofproduction.BasedondiscussionswithindustryexpertsandtheApparelImpactInstitute’sexperience,thisshouldbeachievableinmanyfacilities. 3.Investinandincentivizerenewableenergyinthesupplychain. Thecostsofgeneratingelectricityfromsolarandwindcontinuestodeclineandisonparwithotherformsofelectricityinmanycountries.Thebarrierstosolarandwindenergyareoftenlessaboutthecostorthetechnologyitself,andmoreaboutfactorsliketheregulatoryenvironmentorneededcapitalinvestment.Forexample,electricitymarketregulationsinsomeIndianstateslimitcompanies’abilitytopurchaseelectricityfromsourcesotherthantheutility,whileoff-sitepowerpurchaseagreements(PPAs)—essentialforsourcingrenewableelectricityatscale—arenotavailableinkeyapparelmanufacturingcountriessuchasVietnam. Thetransitiontorenewableelectricitywouldaccelerateifbrandssupportedandincentivizedtheirmanufacturers,suchasthroughco-investmentinon-siterenewablesprojectsandpreferentialtreatmentformanufacturersshiftingto100%renewableenergy. 4.Scaleuptheuseofsustainablematerialsandprocesses. Brandsshouldcommittousingahigherpercentageofsustainablematerials,suchasrecycledpolyesterandrecycledororganiccotton.TextileExchange’sannualreportprovidesavarietyinformationonsustainablematerials,includingvolumes,trendsandkeysuppliers.TextileExchangealsoprovidestoolstohelpdesignerschoosemoresustainablealternatives,asdoesHiggwiththeMSI(whichprovidesquantitativematerialimpactdata). Inadditiontomaterialsubstitution,thesectorwillalsoneedtoreduceGHGemissionsinthesupplychainofconventionalmaterialssuchascotton.Aswedescribeintheroadmap,cottonemissionscanbereducedthroughstepssuchasinputefficiency(usinglessfertilizerandwater)anddeployingrenewableelectricityforcottonginningandirrigation. 5.Investinresearchanddevelopmentfornextgenerationmaterialsandsolutionsforthermalenergy. Unlikeinterventionslikeenergyefficiencythatarereadytobedeployed,theindustrywillneedtoinvestindevelopingnextgenerationmaterials(e.g.textiletotextilerecycling)andfindalternativestocoalforthermalenergy(e.g.heatingwaterfordyeingandotherprocessenergy).Whileindividualcompaniesandsmallgroupsofcompaniesareworkingonsolutionsincludingbiomassandelectrificationforthermalenergy,significantlymoreinvestmentisneededtobringthesesolutionstoscale. 6.Addresstheelephantintheroom:consumption. Evenifthesectorisabletotakeontheaboveactions,itwillstillfaceagapinreducingemissionsandcontinuetohaveotherimpactsincludingwaterpollutionfromtextileproductionandpre-andpost-consumerwaste.Itisencouragingtoseetheemergenceofbusinessmodelsthatdecouplerevenuefromsellingmorenewproducts,suchasapparelresaleandrental.SuchmodelscanhelpaddresswhatWRIhascalledtheelephantintheboardroom: uncheckedconsumption.However,developingmoreofthesemodelsatalargerscaleareessentialtoreduceemissions. TimeforAction Transformingtheapparelsectorispossible,butitwillrequireheedingthiscallandtakingthestepsoutlinedintheroadmap.Achievingthesestepswillrequireunprecedentedcollaborationandinvestment,butitwillresultinamoresustainable,resilientandequitablesectorinthefuture. RelevantWork TheInnovativeBusinessModelsThatCanTransformCottonSupplyChains Insights January31,2022 Business HowaPartnershipinKenyaRecycled100,000KilogramsofFashionWaste Insights December2,2021 Climate GuidanceonVoluntaryUseofNature-basedSolutionCarbonCreditsThrough2040 Insights June2,2022 Climate INSIDER:7ThingstoKnowAbouttheEconomicAnalysisoftheNewClimateEconomy2018Report Insights January30,2019 HowYouCanHelpWRIreliesonthegenerosityofdonorslikeyoutoturnresearchintoaction.Youcansupportourworkbymakingagifttodayorexploringotherwaystogive. StayInformed Email Footermenu-main Footermenu-secondary Footermenu-Offices Footermenu-Additional WorldResourcesInstitute 10GStreetNE Suite800 WashingtonDC20002 +1(202)729-7600 Socialmenu ©2022WorldResourcesInstitute Doyouknowwhatstorieswillshape2022? JoinWRIPresidentandCEOAniDasguptaonJanuary19togetasneakpeekatthisyear'sbiggeststories. RegisterNow ACallforEnhancedImplementationofLossandDamageAction Thiswebsiteusescookiestoprovideyouwithanimproveduserexperience.Bycontinuingtobrowsethissite,youconsenttotheuseofcookiesandsimilartechnologies.Forfurtherdetailspleasevisitour privacypolicy Okay