Articles – Ken Pucker

Fashion’s Confounding Climate Math, Explained

Ken Pucker — Wed, 26 Jun 2024 00:21:05 +0000

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.

https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/fashion-sustainability-climate-decarbonisation-math/

Proponents and Critics of ESG Claim It Can Change Society. Both Will Be Disappointed

Ken Pucker — Tue, 28 May 2024 20:12:48 +0000

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

How to Grow a Fashion Brand Without Trashing the Planet

Ken Pucker — Thu, 23 May 2024 00:28:54 +0000

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

Why Fashion Should Have a Plastics Tax

Ken Pucker — Fri, 03 May 2024 10:42:37 +0000

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

Beware the ‘Sheinification’ of Fashion

Ken Pucker — Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:17:00 +0000

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

The Lingering Costs of Instant Fashion

Ken Pucker — Tue, 27 Feb 2024 21:34:04 +0000

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

Why Big Brands are Pushing Back Against Sustainability Regulations

Ken Pucker — Tue, 30 Jan 2024 23:17:32 +0000

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/

How Fashion’s Business Model Is Wasteful by Design

Ken Pucker — Wed, 20 Dec 2023 14:28:48 +0000

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

Don’t Believe What Consumers Say When It Comes to Sustainability

Ken Pucker — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 22:03:44 +0000

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.

Brands Know How to Curb Their Climate Impact. Why Won’t They Do it?

Ken Pucker — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 12:16:26 +0000

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/