The state of the climate is scary. In fact, it’s overwhelming when you consider that the retail industry accounts for nearly 8% of the global GHG greenhouse gas emissions. 

Retail is really feeling the pressure and is ramping up its commitment. The Race to Zero campaign, supported by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WVCD), Walmart, and others, has ambitious goals. It aims to reduce retail greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. 

Up to this point, the apparel and accessories industry has focused on low-hanging fruit. Sourcing cleaner truck fleets, manufacturers powered by solar and wind energy, recycled and organically grown materials, lower impact packaging, and labels made with post-consumer recycled (PCR) content paper and water-based inks.

And to go a step further, carbon-neutral runway shows, like Gucci put on, are a novel concept for those with deep pockets. But will it solve the problem? And for those in the industry with limited time or money, some ideas are not, well, sustainable.

Apparel has looked externally, or to its suppliers, to reduce its impact on the planet – and rightfully so. Between 50-90% of most climate impacts originate in supply chains and are driven by growing or extracting raw materials, how products are manufactured, and transported to stores.

50-90% of most climate impacts originate in supply chains

REDUCE CARBON FOOTPRINT WITH THE APPAREL FOOTPRINT

Creating lots of clothing in a sustainable way is still, in the end, still producing excess. To make a considerable dent in the climate impact, apparel manufacturers will have to address the problem of producing large surpluses. Producing only what is needed to fulfill consumer demand by strategic demand forecasting just makes good business sense. 

Being meticulous in the planning and forecasting will reduce unwanted items, eliminate waste, and will reduce the use of water, fossil fuels, and other natural resources. 

Ordering less with a more precise strategy will reduce loss prevention through less shelf waste, decrease carbon emissions and cut costs with optimized transportation and logistics processes. Plus, it will reduce the amount of time staff spends moving, counting, folding, and managing items that are unneeded.

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS (AND IN THE DATA)

Make no mistake: data will be key. Critical information like sales forecasts for previous seasons, weather forecasts, social media trends, channel purchase patterns, holiday purchase timing, and inflation predictors, will help create and improve forecasting models.  

By leveraging technologies like RFID tags or labels, QR Codes, and digital watermarks, retail forecasts can be more precise and can get smarter over time. The best part: these tools do the hard work for you and allow you to not only track and trace garments but also trace raw material inputs and ensure the product or packaging contains the raw materials that they claim (e.g. recycled content, FSC certification, organic content). Digital products like these are a great way to monitor your progress against your internal corporate sustainability goals.

At CHARMING, we partner with brand design, marketing, purchasing, and CSR teams to make sure that the products we provide and that you use to alert your customers to the goals you have achieved or broadcast are, in fact, sustainable. And we give you the tools to do it. Confused about where to start? Reach out to us for a complimentary consultation.