Just Style investigates whether the global fashion industry can fulfil its 2030 sustainability ambitions over the next five years.

Global fashion retailers have publicly committed themselves to achieving ambitious sustainability goals, ranging from reduced emissions to greater circularity of materials through more effective recycling. Some of these goals have been adopted from external sources, such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs), which target 2030 deadlines, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles and national net zero emission policies, while some brands have set their own internal targets.   

What are fashion brands’ own sustainability targets?  

In 2021 UK fashion retailer Asos plc unveiled its Fashion with Integrity (FWI) 2030 programme, laying out a comprehensive plan to achieve environment, social and governance (ESG) goals by 2030. These goals included becoming a net zero emissions business across its value chain; ensuring 100% of Asos own-brand products and packaging are made from more sustainable or recycled materials; and providing full public transparency of every Asos own-brand product – all by the end of this decade.  

In 2022, Spanish fashion retailer Mango unveiled its Sustainable Vision 2030, which it says is informed by UN SDGs and commits the company to an 80% reduction in direct (Scope 1 and 2) greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and a 35% reduction in indirect (Scope 3) GHG emissions by 2030, compared to 2019. It also aims to ensure 100% of the fibres used in its garments will be of a more sustainable origin or recycled by 2030.  

Yet despite the fashion industry’s lofty ambitions, according to a March 2024 report from global management consulting firm McKinsey & Co, about two-thirds of fashion brands are behind on their own decarbonisation schedules, and 40% have seen their emissions output increase since making their sustainability commitments.  

McKinsey’s report quotes a widely-cited estimate that the global fashion industry accounts for between 3% and 8% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are expected to increase by about 30% by 2030 if the industry fails to take action.  

UK waste management company Waste Managed says globally, the fashion industry produces around 92m tonnes of textile waste annually, and just 1% is recycled with the rest ending up in landfill. This suggests the sector has a long way to go before it becomes circular. 

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However, non-profit Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), which works to spur collective action in the fashion industry to reduce its environmental impacts, says some brands are taking meaningful steps towards becoming more sustainable by the 2030 deadline.  

“There are a lot of brands that are pushing the industry forward,” Aii’s chief financial officer Ryan Gaines tells Just-Style. He highlights pioneering work by brands including UK fashion retailer Marks & Spencer and US apparel company J.Crew, which have taken steps to cut emissions by assessing and setting carbon reduction targets. Meanwhile, US fashion brand Gap Inc has redesigned its processes and products to save billions of litres of water. 

Are fashion brands on track?  

A Mango spokesperson tells Just Style the brand is making progress towards its 2030 goals, and pointed to its 2023 sustainability report, which outlines accomplishments including the installation of recycling boxes for shoppers to drop off used garments in 100% of its stores to help it achieve its recycling objectives.   

Mango adds that in 2023, 41% of the polyester used in its garments was recycled and it uses circular design principles to make its garments more easily reusable and recyclable after their useful life. It stresses that its garments now have a QR code that redirects customers to information on its website about the origin of the garment’s manufacture and the type of fibres used.  

Gaines says the fashion industry has made notable strides toward its 2030 sustainability targets but admits that “significant work remains” in the next five years. He cites data from non-profit sustainability-focused organisations Cascale, Worldly and Textile Exchange, which allowed Aii to estimate apparel sector CO2 equivalent emissions were 1.17% lower in 2022 than they were in 2021, which suggests the industry is moving in the right direction.  

However, if the industry continues to expand at its current pace between now and 2030, its emissions will also continue to expand overall. “To meet 2030 goals, collaboration [to accelerate emissions reduction] and significant investment must be prioritised now,” he explains.  

Fashion prioritises wrong solutions  

One of the reasons why fashion may be slow to meet its sustainability objectives is the industry is prioritising the wrong solutions, according to Alex Proudfoot, a senior manager at strategy consultancy firm Strategy&, which is part of global accountancy firm PwC. He explains research modelling by Strategy& has shown recycling is not necessarily the most sustainable way of dealing with textile waste: “We found (…) that in 90% of scenarios reuse comes out as more environmentally beneficial than recycling,” he says. “It’s not to say that recycling isn’t hugely important and will not play a huge role going forwards in making fashion a greener industry, just that if businesses are really thinking about which to prioritise it should be around getting reuse right,” he adds.  

At this year’s 29th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) in Azerbaijan, six years after the UN’s Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Change was launched, Marguerite Le Rolland, head of footwear and apparel at business intelligence firm Euromonitor International, said affordability remains one of the chief barriers to achieving sustainability in fashion.   

She told delegates: “Sustainable fashion requires investing in high-quality materials, fair pay and strong labour practices throughout the supply chain, along with eco-friendly energy sources. These factors create growth opportunities but also lead to higher production costs, resulting in a pricing gap that make it difficult for consumers to choose sustainable fashion over more affordable alternatives.” 

Earlier this year fashion industry executives revealed the progress the sector has made so far on reaching its climate commitments.

By Just Style