Report: Leading Fashion Brands Rethinking Relationship with Nature, Moving Toward Key Sustainability Benchmarks

More than half of The Fashion Pact members developing actionable biodiversity strategies 

ARLINGTON, Va. (April 30, 2024) – Industry-leading fashion companies have made significant progress toward achieving environmental goals addressing deforestation and biodiversity loss, ocean plastics, fossil fuel usage, and more. The “Transforming the Fashion Sector to Drive Positive Outcomes for Biodiversity, Climate, and Oceans” project, led by Conservation International – in partnership with The Fashion Pact (TFP) and with support from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) – shows progress among member companies toward the goal of halting and reversing biodiversity loss and reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

The release of the Project Retrospective Report highlights the strides made over the last three years by 60+ member companies toward sustainability objectives concerning climate, biodiversity, and oceans. The Fashion Pact, launched as an initiative at 2019 G7 Summit in Biarritz, is the largest CEO-led initiative for sustainability in fashion, representing more than 160 brands, including Kering, Inditex, J.Crew, H&M , and Ralph Lauren.

In 2021, the GEF awarded Conservation International  a $2 million grant to support the development and implementation of several fashion-specific tools, guides, reporting mechanisms and pilot projects for Fashion Pact members to develop actionable, science-based nature strategies, supply chains, and to complement existing industry sustainability efforts. A summary of the project outcomes can be found in the Project Retrospective Report here.

Of the Fashion Pact member companies who documented their progress (76% of active members in 2023), the report shows that:

• 52%now have a formal  strategy in place marking a significant jump from only 10% two years ago; and
• 69% are currently implementing measures to reduce their company’s impact on nature and climate during the process of harvesting fibers and raw materials used to make fabrics.

These accomplishments underscore The Fashion Pact's commitment to driving environmental resilience across the fashion landscape. Participating CEOs pledge that their company – brand, supplier, retailer or manufacturer – will follow the roadmap set by The Fashion Pact to lower and ultimately resolve the fashion industry’s negative impacts on nature and climate. All participating companies must pursue sustainability via three pillars: biodiversity, climate and oceans.

“This is a significant moment in the transition towards a nature-positive and net-zero fashion industry, as it means these brands not only agree on what they need to aim for, but also what is required to get there. Our work now is to accelerate the necessary action to reach the destination set out in these strategies and targets,” said Eva von Alvensleben, executive director, The Fashion Pact.

This work was supported by an additional $4 million in co-financing from Conservation International and partners who came together with their technical expertise and experience to work in support of fashion companies helping advance the sector transformation.

“As fashion consumption continues to grow, we’ve seen in real-time how the production of raw materials such as cotton, leather, wool, and cashmere as well as the process of creating, shipping and selling, and disposing of garments does lasting damage to the environment,” said Franklin Holley, director of sustainable fashion at Conservation International, which serves as the delivery partner for The Fashion Pact’s biodiversity pillar. “Actions speak louder than words, so we’re thrilled to see these signs of progress in our project report. In under five years, these industry leaders have made leaps and bounds in setting their sustainability goals and taking tangible steps to reach them.”

Through leveraging public funding to facilitate private sector engagement, Conservation International and The Fashion Pact discovered the impact raising awareness, building capacities, and providing tools to enable on-the-ground actions. As the industry moves forward, the project serves as a promising model for sustainable fashion initiatives, offering a vision of environmentally conscious and impactful industry endeavors led by a new generation of initiatives.

"The fashion industry has an opportunity to capitalize on the results achieved to develop innovative business models that prioritize environmental sustainability and curb the unsustainable production of fashion goods. That would accelerate its path towards combatting biodiversity loss, achieving net-zero emissions, eliminating pollution, and fostering a more sustainable future," said Claude Gascon, director of strategy and operations at the GEF.

Supporting partners in addition to Conservation International and the GEF include: The Textile Exchange, The Biodiversity Consultancy, University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, The Dragonfly Initiative, The Impact Facility, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Green Commodities Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Wildlife Friendly Enterpise Network. 

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About Conservation International: Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork and finance, we spotlight and secure the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, Conservation International partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together. Go to Conservation.org for more, and follow our work on Conservation News, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and YouTube.

About the Global Environmental Facility: The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is a multilateral family of funds dedicated to confronting biodiversity loss, climate change, and pollution, and supporting land and ocean health. Its financing enables developing countries to address complex challenges and work towards international environmental goals. The partnership includes 186 member governments as well as civil society, Indigenous Peoples, women, and youth, with a focus on integration and inclusivity. Over the past three decades, the GEF has provided nearly $25 billion in financing and mobilized another $138 billion for thousands of priority projects and programs. The family of funds includes the Global Environment Facility Trust Fund, Global Biodiversity Framework Fund (GBFF), Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), Nagoya Protocol Implementation Fund (NPIF), and Capacity-building Initiative for Transparency Trust Fund (CBIT).

About The Fashion Pact: The Fashion Pact is a global initiative of companies in the fashion and textile industry (ready-to-wear, sport, lifestyle and luxury) who have all committed to a common core of key environmental goals in three areas: mitigating climate change, restoring biodiversity and protecting the oceans. Launched by French President Emmanuel Macron, The Fashion Pact was presented to Heads of State at the G7 Summit in Biarritz in 2019 by François-Henri Pinault, Chairman & CEO of Kering. Uniquely, the Fashion Pact is CEO-led, action-oriented, and focuses on building upon and going beyond existing efforts. Today, the pact is composed of approx. 60 members, together representing over 1/3 of the fashion industry, each eager to leverage collective action to scale and achieve impact.