We live in challenging times. COVID-19 has altered lives and economies around the world. It has opened our eyes to what a global crisis truly looks like. It’s difficult to visualize one ahead of time, but now that we’ve seen it, we must truly acknowledge that climate change, while already impacting millions, will become much worse if we don’t address it now.

Making a deep transformation towards sustainable development that holds global average temperature rise to 1.5°C is the greatest challenge of our time and will continue to be for generations to come.

Progress means making tough choices. If we truly want economic and social recovery from COVID-19, we must choose a pathway forward that reflects the urgent and collective need for a more resilient, sustainable and climate-friendly future.

Currently, nations are not on track to meet the temperature goal under the Paris Agreement, and according to the latest estimates, we are heading for more than double that number. The upcoming Conference of the Parties (COP26) is an opportunity for nations to make progress in addressing climate change and to detail how they will build forward better. At the same time, it’s vital that the private sector scales up its efforts in this critical decade. In this context, more work is needed with non-State actors like subnational states, regions, businesses, investors and civil society to boost their climate ambition and bold action. We have seen significant advances, but much remains to be done.

The fashion industry has a unique opportunity to drive climate action by using its collective strength to transform the industry to low carbon technologies and products through its Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action. Brands, suppliers, retailers, industry associations and coalitions that signed up to the Charter have the opportunity and responsibility to translate words into decisive action. We must remember that the keyword in the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action is “Action”.

As a key sector, fashion can utilize its unique leadership position by acting as an example for other industries. As with other industries, the emission footprint of fashion is significant and growing. By committing to the Charter, fashion industry actors have also committed to working collaboratively to define what the “best course of action” looks like. While progress has been made by our signatories, we are still at the beginning of the journey. Nevertheless, the direction of travel is clear: it is imperative to decarbonize our economy as soon as possible in support of the broader Sustainable Development Goals. This requires a herculean effort by everyone, and UN Climate Change remains committed to helping the fashion industry in this journey.

Since we launched the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action at COP24 in Katowice, Poland, we have had many opportunities to discuss ways to increase our collective ambition level and focus on tangible greenhouse gas emission reduction initiatives that help our industry to set a timely trajectory to deliver on the target of 1.5°C.

The challenges to transform fashion for a 1.5°C world are enormous. While individual action will continue, with the full commitment of the Charter’s growing signatory base, we have a unique opportunity to collaborate on issues that no brand, supplier or retailer can resolve on its own. COVID-19 has clearly demonstrated the vulnerability of our globally interconnected economies. As a result, solutions to global problems require cooperation at a global level. Our Charter marks an unprecedented industry-wide effort on climate that brings together a broad set of stakeholders to define our fashion’s decarbonization pathway and align on a climate action agenda. In doing so, we have committed to doing our part in support of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals, which guide our individual actions on social and environmental issues.

During 2020, we have seen the climate action agenda elevate substantially within the apparel and footwear industry. Many organizations now look at climate as a priority, each providing important insights, tools and approaches for decarbonizing our sector. This is a positive development, and we must continue to build an enabling environment for our industry to “walk the talk” at the pace needed to be part of the solution to climate change.

Yet, to fulfil our commitments, we recognize the need to act today, both individually and collectively. Climate strategies must be embedded in business decisions and models, and we need a strong focus on transforming our supply chain to low carbon. The main levers are quite clear: our industry needs to prioritize low-carbon materials and switch to renewable energy.

We ask for the commitment of our fellow signatories to engage in implementing these low-carbon solutions together. We urge you all to join forces and help to shape and endorse recommendations that will be coming your way on ambition levels, materials, renewable energy and the phasing out of coal.

We are convinced that, collectively, we can drive the change that we need and that we want.

The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action was launched in December 2018 by fashion stakeholders under the auspices of UN Climate Change, with the vision of achieving net-zero emissions in the sector by 2050. The Charter is industry-led and open to a wide group of fashion stakeholders including brands, suppliers, and retailers. It is supported by a range of relevant organizations, including non-governmental organisations, that help to foster ambition, and is convened and tracked by UN Climate Change. The Charter aims to drive climate action in the sector by developing a transformational pathway for the industry to reduce emissions by complementing and supporting other
fashion-sector initiatives and coalitions aimed at increasing climate action.

The fashion industry has been facing a number of sustainability-related challenges in the past few years, with a growing number of consumers and investors demanding more transparency and activities from the sector to address these concerns. The COVID-19 crisis has only added to these challenges with the pandemic affecting all stages of the value chain. As a result, the digitization of business processes and operations, and a growing focus on sustainable production and consumption will accelerate in the near future.

Two main issues drive emissions in the apparel sector: how garments and footwear are produced, and how much is produced. There are feasible strategies to address both challenges. However, they require significant investment and the engagement of a range of key players. Decarbonizing the fashion industry value chain can therefore be achieved through a multitude of actions, including, but not limited to, scaling up energy-efficient solutions and renewable energy sources, phasing out coal, and sourcing more low-carbon material alternatives. Garment production is nonetheless predicted to grow, translating into rising emissions, even with cleaner energy sources. To adapt to this environment, further solutions entail shifting to circular economy strategies and new business models that can lead to different production and consumption patterns.

In order to use the combined strength of the industry to tackle these challenges and realize the necessary solutions, fashion industry players and UN Climate Change launched the Charter. At its core, the Charter aims to fast-track concrete actions while working on a long-term strategy in support of an industry that is aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Facilitated by UN Climate Change, the Charter's work is driven and carried out by its signatories. It is open to participation by any company or organization professionally engaged in the fashion sector that commits to the Charter principles. Participation is also open to industry organizations and coalitions in a position to substantially contribute to the realization of the Charter’s objectives. The work is organized through working groups, each focusing on one or more of the Charter's 16 commitments, central to which are reducing emissions in scopes 1, 2 and 3 of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol by 30 per cent by 2030 and setting a decarbonization pathway for the industry aligned with a pathway of well below 2°C.

During the first two years, work under the Charter focused on understanding the climate landscape for the industry, identifying and recommending near-term actions, and discussing the building blocks to implement the long-term vision. Work continued throughout 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019-2020, some of the Charter’s activities included:

• Mobilizing 125 companies and 41 supporting organizations;
• Developing and launching the Playbook for Climate Action aimed at helping fashion stakeholders at the beginning of climate action to identify climate strategies, initiatives and programmes that can support them in undertaking their decarbonization journey;
• Supporting development of the milestones document a representation of known decarbonization targets, implementation initiatives and report analyses, compiled to support the fashion industry’s transition to net zero carbon emissions;
• Joining the CDP reporting platform to track and report the progress of climate commitments;
• Conducting in-depth research to evaluate gaps in life cycle analysis data for cotton and polyester;
• Developing a common understanding of different climate policy environments and their respective barriers to, and solutions for, energy efficiency, renewable energy and coal phase-out in key upstream markets in the industry;
• Organizing case studies and webinars that showcase how existing financial tools can be deployed in the fashion industry and how financial stakeholders can promote dialogue on opportunities to support the shift to a low-carbon future;
• Hosting a climate dialogue as part of the Race to Zero Dialogues, centring on key milestones for fashion-sector decarbonization and the importance of policy, finance and engaging the Global South
• Leading the development of a series of online climate action training modules for suppliers that build on the Playbook for Climate Action;
• Continuing to build policy engagement roadmaps in major production countries, including the publication of a call for collaboration and other specific calls to action;
• Becoming official partners of Race to Zero, a global campaign to rally leadership and support from businesses, cities, regions and investors for a healthy, resilient, zero-carbon recovery that prevents future threats, creates decent jobs and unlocks inclusive, sustainable growth;
• Convening hundreds of working group calls with industry stakeholders to share best practices and discuss opportunities and plans to accelerate industry transformation and challenges in that regard.

The first Fashion Charter annual meeting took place in October 2020, where signatories took stock of progress to date and outlined work for the coming years. As part of this, a task force was created to help ramp up ambition. A key takeaway from the meeting was the recognition that more coordinated collaboration is needed to decarbonize fashion supply chains. In this context, a rapid action programme was devised for 2021 onward, which addresses deliverables that can be communicated by COP 26 and outlines focus areas of action over the next five years:

• aligning with the 1.5°C temperature goal;
• encouraging the systematization of more ambitious raw material targets;
• scaling up renewable energy;
• phasing out coal;
• promoting broader climate action;
• ramping up policy engagement efforts.

The work under the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action has so far helped to prepare the stage for action on the ground, and much work remains to be done to achieve the Charter's ultimate goal of ensuring net-zero emissions in the sector by 2050. Given fashion’s considerable carbon footprint, the industry as a whole has to scale up ambition and concrete actions. By providing the space for necessary multi-stakeholder dialogue and engagement, the Charter can help to lead the fashion sector towards a deeper and more systemic transition to low carbon.