The Sustainability Performance of the Fashion Industry Revealed

     (Photo: http://mma.prnewswire.com/media/508934/Pulse_Cover.jpg )

In the past decade, the global fashion industry has been an engine for global development and made progress on sustainability. Awareness is growing and individually, companies are optimizing business practices to limit their negative impact. But with current trajectories of production and consumption, pressures on natural resources and social conditions will intensify by 2030 to the point of threatening industry growth itself.

The Global Fashion Agenda, in collaboration with The Boston Consulting Group, has made an in-depth assessment of the industry's environmental and social performance - the first edition of the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report. Drawing on the Sustainable Apparel Coalition's Higg Index and a survey of more than 90 senior managers responsible for sustainability issues and a variety of other sources, it offers the first comprehensive common fact base on the health of the industry - with a "Pulse Score" by type of company, size, region and stage in the value chain.

A few highlights  

• As of today, the sustainability "Pulse" of the industry is weak - scoring only 32 out of 100
• Company size, far more than price positioning, correlates with a higher Pulse score: most large fashion brands show progress, but the great mass of small to midsize firms representing around half of the market-a blind spot in the industry-have done little to improve their impact 

• Apparel consumption is projected to rise by 63%, to 102 million tons in 2030, increasing
 the need for the fashion industry to address its environmental and social footprint 

• With population growth and planetary boundaries reaching their limits, the industry will face strained resources, putting profitability at risk 

• There are proofs-of-concept that sustainability initiatives can present a viable business
case for individual businesses already today

Improving its environmental and social performance would not just advance the industry's commercial prospects, it would also add as much as €160 billion by 2030 in annual value to the world economy. To point the way toward a better fashion industry, the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report lays out the "Landscape for Change". Yet it also shows that even if most of the industry implemented today's best practices individually, it would not be enough to capture this value and close the gap.

To enhance the industry's current and future position - and forestall excessive regulatory intervention - it's time to act differently. The industry can move beyond fragmented individual actions with incremental results. Through collective efforts the industry can unite around an agenda for change, drive the needed systemic change and work jointly on disruptive innovation. By consolidating existing initiatives and fostering groundbreaking innovation, fashion can collectively galvanize change at scale. 


The fashion industry has a clear opportunity to act differently, pursuing profit and growth while also creating new value for society and therefore for the world economy. It comes with an urgent need to place environmental, social and ethical improvements on management's agenda.

More information 

https://www.copenhagenfashionsummit.com/pulse/

Practical information 

Copenhagen Fashion Summit

Date: 11 May 2017

Location: Copenhagen Concert Hall

About Copenhagen Fashion Summit 

Copenhagen Fashion Summit is the flagship event of the non-profit, year-round initiative Global Fashion Agenda under Danish Fashion Institute, whose mission is to mobilise the industry to transform the way we produce and consume fashion. To help set a common global agenda for the industry and spearhead this transition, Global Fashion Agenda has partnered with Kering, H&M, Target, Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Li & Fung as founding members. For more information please visit www.copenhagenfashionsummit.com.

About The Boston Consulting Group 

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firm and the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner with clients from the private, public and not-for-profit sectors in all regions to identify their highest-value opportunities. Our customized approach combines deep insight into the dynamics of companies and markets with close collaboration at all levels of the client organization. This ensures that our clients achieve sustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, and secure lasting results. Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 85 offices in 48 countries. For more information, please visit www.bcg.com.