Pegged as one of the worst industrial polluters, the fashion industry contributes a massive 10% of global carbon dioxide output[1] . This could increase by 50% by 2030[2] experts warn, unless more sustainable production and consumption models are adopted across the board. Textile waste urgently needs addressing, as only a fraction of manufactured clothing gets recycled today. Fashion brands have come under criticism for practices such as destroying unsold products and sending unwanted garments to landfill sites across the developing world.
But change is coming. Big brands are turning to logistics and technology to fathom out how to eradicate textile waste and address their Scope 3 emissions. What exactly can be done?
Fashion brands’ Scope 3 emissions are in the spotlight
COP27[3] has again highlighted the urgent need for net zero commitments, and a slew of legislation in the EU and North America will soon make supply chain transparency and carbon reporting for apparel items a legal requirement. The UN’s Fashion Charter and the G7 Fashion Pact are the two major fashion coalitions aiming to transform the industry. Both are aiming for net zero emissions by 2050.
However, major challenges remain over how best to achieve this. There’s debate around whether the fashion industry should be offsetting carbon via programmes like tree-planting, or doing the heavy work of reducing their own carbon emissions, across Scope 1, 2, and – most problematically of all – 3.
Scope 1 and 2 emissions arise, respectively, from a company’s in-house operations and the energy it purchases. But the vast majority of the fashion sector’s emissions are in Scope 3: those produced by the rest of the value chain. Although many leading fashion brands are making headway, some clothing producers are not measuring Scope 3 emissions yet, much less reducing them.
Specifically, Scope 3 emissions are the indirect emissions that occur along the value chain of purchased goods and services, such as raw materials and how they are produced, right through to use and disposal at end of life. According to McKinsey[4], Scope 3 emissions can account for as much as 98% of the total carbon footprint of fashion retailers.
In recent years it’s become clear that the best way for Scope 3 emissions to be scaled down is through consumers buying less. Naturally, this is a controversial perspective, and difficult for businesses to embrace. A more favourable approach is encouraging the entire industry to commit to the circular economy. This means designing with long garment lifecycles in mind, helping consumers extend the life of items, and supporting the textile-to-textile recycling industry. Brands will need to adopt digital product passport (DPP) technology to achieve these aims. If we can achieve supply chain visibility, extend product life cycles, and minimise waste, we’ll be on course to massively reduce fashion’s carbon impact.
Circularity driven by digital product passports
Demonstrating progress in sustainability is particularly important in gaining the trust of younger fashion consumers, as some 43% of Gen-Zers[5] say they actively seek out companies that have a solid sustainability reputation. One way to store and transparently share information on a product’s sustainability credentials is through DPPs.
By scanning a QR code on a garment care label and opening a brand app, a consumer can access everything they need to know about how their item was made, the material composition, and how it should be cared for and responsibly disposed of. This cloud-based digital ID would be a more detailed and permanent record than what is provided by traditional sewn-on care labels.
Ramp up garment returning and recycling
With DPPs in place across inventory, retailers can remain stewards of garments, long after the initial retail sale stage. They can introduce ‘take back’ of items for resale or reverse logistics and recycling at the end of a garment’s life. This will require collaboration; creating partnerships with local resellers, recyclers, or reverse logistics providers, to ensure the garments sold don’t end up in landfill. Retailers are considering providing a coupon for customers sending back garments for resale, which creates an immediate ROI.
Data is a necessary step toward achieving carbon neutrality and connecting a garment to a circular supply chain. As it stands, brands are often not providing the data required to achieve the next step in a garment’s life without sending it to landfill. Instead, governments are having to intervene with new legislation. For example, Extended Producer Responsibility ([6]EPR) schemes on clothing and textile items are providing a real opportunity to ensure the sector’s good practices are financially supported.
With the right DPP and digital twin technology, brands can communicate about product specifications to meet the needs of any incoming legislation, and inform customers of how to recycle each item. This will also help commercial textile recyclers, by giving them composition information ensuring garments are recycled in the right way. Avery Dennison already provides digital care labels with QR codes that link to atma.io[7] a data-rich online connected product cloud, to help brands communicate with their consumers, and recyclers, at every stage of the garment life cycle.
Source recycled textiles
To reduce Scope 3 emissions, brands will increasingly seek out sustainable and circular materials in the products they choose to manufacture and stock, for instance, sourcing more sustainable textiles, such as post-consumer recycled products. Even garment care labels can be made from recycled materials, so it’s worth scouring the market for suppliers who can provide sustainable products.
The big win of encouraging more garment recycling by consumers is that sourcing textiles made of recycled fibres will become easier, and cheaper over time.
Collaboration will be key
It will take concerted collaboration and valid data points if supply chain partners are to reduce or eliminate carbon impact in their operations and the materials they purchase. Supply chain transformation will only be possible once brand owners, working with their suppliers and stakeholders, can capture, record, and report emissions throughout the entire supply chain, both upstream and downstream.
Consumers want to play their part and are seeking ways to help reduce fashion’s harmful impact on the planet. Digital product passports will assist them, and the whole industry, as we progress towards a greener future together.
[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-fashion-industry-environmental-impact
[2] https://www.voguebusiness.com/sustainability/decarbonising-fashion-is-imperative-heres-why
[3] https://cop27.eg/#/
[4] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/climate-sustainability-in-retail-who-will-pay
[5] https://lifestylemonitor.cottoninc.com/
[6] https://wrap.org.uk/resources/guide/getting-ready-extended-producer-responsibility
[7] https://www.atma.io/
