Levi Strauss & Co. and Marks & Spencer have joined forces with Schneider Electric’s SE Advisory Services on a new industry effort designed to push fashion suppliers towards renewable electricity, in a sign that some of the sector’s biggest brands are increasingly looking beyond their own operations for emissions cuts.
The Fashion Renewable Collaborative was unveiled during New York Climate Week on 22 September and is being presented as an open platform for other app...
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arel companies to join. According to the companies, the aim is to make it easier for suppliers ranging from garment makers to fabric mills and dye houses to understand and adopt cleaner power solutions at scale.
The initiative arrives as fashion continues to face pressure over the carbon intensity of its global supply chains. Industry analyses cited by the companies suggest that suppliers account for more than half of the sector’s footprint, while broader assessments have placed fashion among the world’s largest polluters. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has estimated that, if the industry stays on its current path, it could consume more than a quarter of the global carbon budget available for limiting warming to 2C by 2050.
What distinguishes the new collaborative is its emphasis on implementation rather than ambition alone. The programme is built around online learning, market guidance and practical support intended to help suppliers navigate options such as power purchase agreements, energy attribute certificates, local energy storage and on-site or distributed renewable generation. Schneider Electric’s advisory arm will provide tools and digital education as part of the framework.
In a separate statement, Levi Strauss sustainability executive Jennifer DuBuisson said the most effective route to cutting emissions was to work directly with suppliers. She said the collaborative is intended to support companies that want to access renewable electricity, or increase their use of it, but have so far struggled to do so.
The launch also reflects a wider shift in corporate climate strategy, as brands move from setting individual targets to trying to create shared supply-chain infrastructure that can deliver measurable reductions. The companies said the Fashion Renewable Collaborative was created to overcome fragmented engagement and market barriers that have long slowed renewable energy adoption in manufacturing regions across the apparel sector.
Source: Noah Wire Services
