sustainability / Climate Change

Efforts to map the footwear industry’s carbon footprint have lagged behind those in fashion. A new study aims to start addressing that.

In a climate where consumers are wary of greenwashing and a backlash against “woke capitalism” takes shape, brands peddling sustainability messaging have to treat the topic with a degree of irreverence and put the product first.

Donation centres around Los Angeles have been overwhelmed by mountains of old clothes, a stark reminder of the excesses of production and consumption that have helped drive the climate crisis and the weather extremes that come with it.

Many brands have treated the climate crisis as a useful marketing tool, while viewing the impact to the bottom line as a distant threat. That approach is increasingly untenable, experts warn.

At VOICES 2024, BoF sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent sits down with a panel of experts to discuss how fashion can operate under increasingly unsustainable climate conditions.

This year offered up a jarring reality check for players seeking to improve the industry’s environmental and social impact, with brands deprioritising sustainability efforts even as the risks of inaction have become more apparent.

A fragmented fashion industry needs to cooperate in order to avoid falling further behind on decarbonisation efforts, according to the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025.

Big brands are focused on buzzy, marketable ‘solutions’ and face little accountability for failing to deliver on decarbonisation targets, but there are ways to unlock more effective action, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.