In recent years, sustainability—or the lack thereof—has emerged as one of the most pressing issues in the retail world. With fashion as one of the leading contributors to environmental damage, finding solutions to slow the climate crisis has become more crucial than ever, climbing to the top of retail directors’ agendas. The Future Supplier Initiative has impressed the media with its innovative response:
Courtesy of Future Supplier Initiative
On June 13th, Mango, H&M Group, GAP Inc, and Bestseller decided to abandon competition and unite for a collaborative project called the “Future Supplier Initiative”, yet these globally known brands share more than just a joint plan of action. With their names comes a reputation of fast-fashion and criticism for not-so sustainable production practices. However, together, they seem to be taking a step in the right direction. These four retail giants have formally committed to funding textile factories in Bangladesh with the goal of more sustainable production technology and significantly cutting carbon footprint. Since taking action in Bangladesh, the Future Supplier Initiative has been actively recruiting companies willing to join forces and finance new projects in other fashion manufacturing hubs like Turkey, Vietnam, China, India, and Italy.
Courtesy of Gap Inc.
Partnered with The Fashion Pact, Apparel Impact Institute, DBS Bank, and Guidehouse, the Future Supplier Initiative believes in working together to decarbonise the apparel sector. Considering 99% of emissions occur in the supply chain, technically known as “Scope 3”, the initiative offers technical and financial support to facilitate the renewable energy transition, aiming to reach net zero carbon. Acknowledging the lengthy payback interval for renewable technology, the Future Supplier Initiative hopes to bridge the investment gap for sustainable spinning and knitting machinery and alleviate the financial burden on participating countries, simultaneously accelerating the decarbonisation process. The collective financing project strives to cut “supply emissions in half by 2030”, reveals the Fashion Supplier Initiative.
Courtesy of Chin Leong Teo
Despite these progressive and innovative goals, lots of questions remain unanswered. Within the realm of fashion sustainability, environmental organizations often label 2030 as the lucky number– the deadline by which everything will somehow magically fall into place and carbon emissions will disappear into thin air. Both the European Union and the Global Fashion Agenda declare 2030 as a token of drastic change, when carbon emissions will reach net zero, yet here we are, less than 6 years away and time is running out. Carbon in the fashion world, on the other hand, is not. Which leads us to ask, are these objectives realistic? And if they are in fact plausible, how many players does it take and are they moving fast enough?
Moreover, today, sustainability is a leading determinant of a company’s ethics and hence, a compelling factor for consumers choosing between brands. With its gravitas, however, comes room for exploitation. How seriously will companies take their environmental relief efforts? Will they utilize their influence for genuine change or will they use the “going green” campaign as a mere marketing scheme to lure masses and boost profits? Perhaps only time will tell, but in the meantime, we can hope that first movers like H&M, Gap, Bestseller, and Mango will take their duties seriously and inspire other major players in the retail world to follow suit.
By Wiktoria Sobera