Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) have released a new edition of the Pulse of the Fashion Industrya report that annually assesses environmental and social factors in the fashion industry in terms of Pulse Score (sustainability indicator used in the report).
Madrid, 20 August 2019. Awareness of environmental and social practices is growing among consumers. The new edition of the Pulse of the Fashion Industry includes findings from a large sample based on a survey conducted in five countries. More than a third of consumers surveyed say they have switched from their preferred brand to another because of issues related to responsible practices.
However, the data in this edition of the report reveals that sustainability is still far from being a key consideration in purchasing decisions. "It is therefore incumbent on industry leaders to drive large-scale impact and influence consumer perceptions," says Joan Sol, Partner at Boston Consulting Group.
Data from the new edition of the report further reveals that the pace of sustainability progress in the fashion industry slowed by a third in 2018, slowing action to counteract the detrimental impact of the industry's rapid growth. Unless the current trend of Pulse Score (the report's index score), fashion will continue to contribute to climate change, increasing the risk that the Paris Agreement's goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius for the rest of this century will not be achieved.
The Pulse Score has increased by four points in the new edition of the report, from 38 to 42 (out of 100). In last year's edition it increased by six points, so the speed of progress over the last year has decreased by one third.
Progress on sustainability insufficient to combat industry growth
As detailed in the 2019 findings, the rate of positive change does not match the projected growth of the fashion industry. Estimates suggest that by 2030 the global apparel and footwear industry will have grown by 81%, reaching 102 million tonnes, putting unprecedented pressure on natural resources. If the Pulse Score remains on its current trajectory, the gap between the industry's output and the indicator score will continue to widen, and the detrimental consequences of output growth will be even more difficult to overcome.
Pulse Score growth has slowed by a third in 2018
The report finds that the fashion industry has made progress in its social and environmental performance over the past year, but at a slower pace than in previous years. The improvement is mainly due to rapid progress among brands that are in the early stages of their sustainability journey and have implemented key measures in strategy, direction and goal setting. Meanwhile, progress, as reflected in the indicator, has slowed among larger companies that have yet to figure out how to scale disruptive business models and leverage innovative technologies. However, there are several large companies that have implemented promising sustainable practices that the indicator shows are not yet fully implemented. Pulse Score is not currently measured, so its impact has not yet been included in the score.
How to pick up the pace
According to the report, solving scale challenges and developing disruptive technologies will lead to new ways of doing business. Governments and companies must also collaborate, and investors must urge their investees to improve their social and environmental practices.
Morten Lehmann, sustainability director at Global Fashion Agenda, highlights: "These latest findings underline the strong need for the whole industry to come together to accelerate change. However, some transformations will require cooperation between policy makers and stakeholders along the entire value chain.
Sebastian Boger, Partner at BCG, explains: "It is very encouraging to finally see a shift in consumer sentiment. Our research shows that sustainability is moving from being a secondary consideration to a key decision factor. More than a third of consumers surveyed have already changed their preferred brand for environmental and social reasons.
Amina Razvi, executive director of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, says: "To achieve the change required, we must collaborate and make commitments to end harmful practices in our industry. We need to scale up our efforts to assess impacts through a common framework and increase improvements in sustainability performance globally.
Pulse of the Fashion Industry