Want to understand why it’s so hard to cut fashion’s planet-warming emissions? Or why consumers say they care about sustainability, but shop like they don’t? Stop thinking in straight lines, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
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Proponents and Critics of ESG Claim It Can Change Society. Both Will Be Disappointed
Flooding from torrential rains recently led Vermonters to kayak through the streets of the state capital. A month later, Hawaiians were forced to flee to the ocean to avoid devastating blazes. All the while, toxic smoke from wildfires has imperiled the health of Americans across huge swaths of the country. All these alarming environmental developments hurt economic activity. Yet many political leaders seem preoccupied with banning investors from considering the impacts of the fast-changing environment on business.
https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2c3comfbca055bi96zxts/opinion/proponents-and-critics-of-esg-claim-it-can-change-society-both-will-be-disappointed
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How to Grow a Fashion Brand Without Trashing the Planet
Over the last six years Puma has managed to double its revenue while shrinking its carbon footprint by almost a third. It’s an example more brands need to follow, argues Kenneth P. Pucker.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/puma-emissions-growth-sustainable-fashion/?utm_source=newsletter_dailydigest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_210524&utm_content=intro
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Why Fashion Should Have a Plastics Tax
The fashion industry continues to advance voluntary and unlikely solutions to its plastic problem. Only higher prices will flip the script, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/why-fashion-should-have-a-plastic-tax/?utm_source=newsletter_dailydigest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_030524&utm_content=intro
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Beware the ‘Sheinification’ of Fashion
The ‘instant fashion’ juggernaut’s explosive growth is attracting imitators. But keeping up with Shein’s relentless churn puts the industry on a perilous course when it comes to sustainability
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/shein-fast-fashion-hm-sustainability/?utm_source=newsletter_dailydigest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_050324&utm_term=SY6SWPMZQBDD7D52PZ42I4CDEU&utm_content=top_story_2_title
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The Lingering Costs of Instant Fashion
Instant fashion has exploded in recent years, led by Shein whose sales have multiplied by more than 20 times since it entered the U.S. less than six years ago. As Shein explores an IPO, the author reviews the social phenomena that have contributed to instant fashion, the factors that allow it to succeed, and the dangers of the industry’s model. While there’s clearly demand for these products, consumers and policy makers also need to be aware that the business model comes with side effects — particularly the privatization of profit and the socialization of costs, including social and environmental harm.https://hbr.org/2024/02/the-lingering-cost-of-instant-fashion
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Why Big Brands are Pushing Back Against Sustainability Regulations
Fashion companies argue proposed government mandates for greater supply chain transparency are ‘impractical.’ They shouldn’t be, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/why-big-brands-are-pushing-back-against-sustainability-regulations/
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How Fashion’s Business Model Is Wasteful by Design
Excess is built into the economics of the industry at every step of the value chain, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/fashion-waste-business-model-design/?utm_source=newsletter_dailydigest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_201223&utm_term=R7CCWIZCQJD3ZPWK6R3U72MNQA&utm_content=top_story_2_title
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Don’t Believe What Consumers Say When It Comes to Sustainability
A growing body of consumer surveys suggests interest in sustainable consumption is reaching a tipping point. Those surveys are deeply flawed, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
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Brands Know How to Curb Their Climate Impact. Why Won’t They Do it?
Most of the world’s biggest fashion companies have committed to radically reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Though it’s a complex challenge, how to deliver is no mystery.
That is, in part, because there is a cottage industry of consultants advising brands on decarbonisation strategies. As but one high-profile example, trade group Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) and McKinsey co-authored a report in 2020 laying out a comprehensive roadmap to cut fashion greenhouse gas emissions by just over 50 percent by 2030. The analysis shows that more than half the recommended actions will also result in cost savings.
And yet, the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions continue to trend in precisely the opposite direction.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/fashion-brands-curb-climate-impact-why-not-inaction/