While Hurricane & Wildfires Devastate US, Fashion Companies Announce They Will Take Another Two Years to Even Set Climate Tar...
September 19 2017 - 1:06PM
Business Wire
Green and Consumer Groups Hoped for Actual
Climate Commitments from the Fashion Sector During Climate Week, In
Response Issue Fashion Industry Climate ‘Shopping List’
As some of the top business leaders and fashion brands converge
in New York City for Climate Week, Filthy Fashion, a newly-launched
campaign from Stand.earth in partnership with consumer group
SumOfUs, takes aim at top fashion brands including Levi’s, Calvin
Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Guess, Express, American Eagle Outfitters,
Wrangler and Lee - calling on them to commit to immediate and
strong climate reduction targets now and take responsibility for
their devastating climate impacts.
Over 118,000 people have signed onto a petition asking jean
companies to clean up their ‘dirty denim’ and commit to
sustainable, substantive environmental goals and immediately begin
addressing their greenhouse gas emissions created by denim
manufacturing.
VIEW THE PETITION HERE:
http://sumofus.org/filthyfashion
As Climate Week begins with climate announcements from top
fashion brands, SumOfUs and Stand.earth have released a fashion
industry climate ‘shopping list,’ to help spot real versus fake
climate commitments.
VIEW THE FASHION INDUSTRY CLIMATE ‘SHOPPING LIST’ HERE:
https://www.stand.earth/latest/dont-buy-fake-climate-commitments
One key promise to watch for is emissions reductions throughout
companies’ whole supply chains, not just at retail locations and
head offices.
Today, some of these leading apparel companies--including
Levi’s, Gap, Guess and VF Corp. (Wrangler and Lee)--announced their
intention to set climate targets in two years through the
Science-Based Target (SBT) project. Stand.earth and SumOfUs call on
these companies to go further in the face of the growing climate
crisis. Real climate action requires committing to significant
climate goals now for their entire supply chain and a move to
renewable energy, as Mars and Apple have. While a SBT can be a
useful tool, unless coupled with immediate action, bold targets and
commitments to renewables, a weak SBT can also provide PR cover for
climate laggards.
According to reports from the Carbon Disclosure Project, denim
and apparel companies ignore as much as 90% of the climate
pollution they generate. Groups Stand.earth and SumOfUs are calling
on companies to account for their supply chain, whether they own
their factories or use contract manufacturers abroad.
“Hundreds of forest fires burn out of control on the Western
side of our continent while hurricane after hurricane pummels the
South and East and the fashion industry waits for someone else to
address the climate crisis. Companies like Mars and Apple, which
have each pledged a billion dollars for climate solutions, are
responding. But every company must take action - it’s time for
Levi’s, The Gap, Lee and Calvin Klein to lead,” said Todd
Paglia, Executive Director of Stand.earth. “Manufacturing a
single pair of denim jeans produces emissions equivalent to burning
44 pounds of coal. That is why, as part of our Filthy Fashion
campaign, we created a ‘shopping list’ to help fact check
commitments fashion brands make during Climate Week—warning these
brands that PR-friendly but weak commitments will not cut it for
the planet.”
“The world is quite literally under water and on fire right now
as flooding and wildfire disasters sweep the planet,” said Liz
McDowell, Campaign Director at SumOfUs. “Lives are on the line.
Fifteen years ago, it might have been enough for companies like Gap
or Nike to promise to set short-term emissions reductions targets,
but today it’s simply not enough. The urgency is too high. In the
absence of leadership from the Trump administration, apparel
companies need to take meaningful action today to reduce the
devastating climate impacts of their production around the world.
Promising to make promises two years down the road just doesn’t cut
it. And industry giants like Calvin Klein, American Eagle
Outfitters, Guess and Express haven’t even come clean about the
environmental footprint behind the clothes they make.”
For more information:
https://www.stand.earth/page/filthy-fashions-climate-impact
According to one study, the fashion industry is responsible for
a whopping 3.0-5.4% of all global climate emissions when the full
supply chain is considered. Another rough analysis estimates that
the global textile and apparel industry burned the equivalent of
291 billion pounds of coal in 2008 to produce more than 132 billion
pounds of fabric—more coal than was mined last year in all of
Pennsylvania and West Virginia combined. Coal is a primary power
source used for the electrical grid in many of countries, such as
China and Vietnam, where apparel companies contract the production
of their products.
For more information, or for interview with a Stand.earth or
SumOfUs spokesperson, please contact Yasmina Dardari at +1
407-922-8149 or by email at
yasmina@unbendablemedia.com.
Stand.earth is a nonprofit environmental
organization working to create a world where respect for people and
the environment comes first.
SumOfUs is a global consumer group that
campaigns to hold big corporations accountable.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170919006425/en/
SumOfUsYasmina Dardari, +1
407-922-8149yasmina@unbendablemedia.com