TAKING THE PULSE OF THE FASHION INDUSTRY
The fashion industry has a clear opportunity to act differently, pursuing profit and growth while also creating new value for the world economy. It comes with an urgent need to place environmental, social and ethical improvements on management’s agenda.
In the first Pulse of the Fashion Industry report (May 2017), The Global Fashion Agenda, in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group, have made an in-depth assessment of the industry’s environmental and social performance. Drawing on the Sustainable Apparel Coalition’s Higg Index and a survey of more than 90 senior managers responsible for sustainability issues and a variety of other sources, it offers the first comprehensive common fact base on the health of the industry – with a “Pulse Score” by type of company, size, region and stage in the value chain.
HIGHLIGHTS
· As of today, the sustainability "pulse" of the industry is weak – scoring only 32 out of 100
· Company size, far more than price positioning, correlates with a higher Pulse score: most large fashion brands show progress, but the great mass of small to midsize firms representing around half of the market—a blind spot in the industry—have done little to improve their impact
· Apparel consumption is projected to rise by 63%, to 102 million tons in 2030, increasing the need for the fashion industry to address its environmental and social footprint
· There are proofs-of-concept that sustainability initiatives can present a viable business case for individual businesses already today
INDUSTRY GROWTH AT RISK
In the past decade, the global fashion industry has been an engine for global development and made progress on sustainability. Awareness is growing and individually, companies are optimizing business practices to limit their negative impact. But with current trajectories of production and consumption, pressures on natural resources and social conditions will intensify by 2030 to the point of threatening industry growth itself.
A LANDSCAPE FOR CHANGE
Improving its environmental and social performance would not just advance the industry’s commercial prospects. It would also add as much as €160 billion by 2030 in annual value for the world economy. To point the way toward a better fashion industry, the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report lays out the "Landscape for Change".
IT´S TIME TO ACT DIFFERENTLY
To enhance the industry’s current and future position – and forestall excessive regulatory intervention – it’s time to act differently. The industry can move beyond fragmented individual actions with incremental results. Through collective efforts the industry can unite around an agenda for change, drive the needed systemic change and work jointly on disruptive innovation. By consolidating existing initiatives and fostering groundbreaking innovation, fashion can collectively galvanize change at scale.
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