According to data from the United Nations Environment Program, the carbon emissions of the textile and clothing industry account for 10% of total global carbon emissions, which is higher than the carbon emissions of all flights and shipping combined. Forecasts show that when the world’s population grows to 8.5 billion in 2030, the clothing and textile industry’s carbon emissions may surpass the petroleum industry and become the largest source of carbon emissions. Therefore, the green and low-carbon transformation of the textile and apparel industry is urgent, and “carbon-neutral” clothing will become mainstream in the future.
KPI disclosure is insufficient, and awareness of carbon reduction in the apparel industry still needs to be improved
An organization recently conducted a survey on the ESG reports and annual reports of several clothing brands including Peacebird, Anta, H&M, and Uniqlo, and revealed Start the current process of carbon neutrality in the apparel industry. Currently, only H&M and Uniqlo among the companies surveyed have made detailed KPI disclosures on climate goals.
H&M disclosed in its ESG report that its entire group’s climate goal is to reduce absolute emissions of scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gases by 56% by 2030, based on 2019, and absolute emissions of scope 3 greenhouse gases. 56% reduction. The long-term goals are to achieve net zero emissions by 2040; by 2030, store electricity intensity is reduced by 25% compared with the 2016 baseline; by 2030, the electricity in the supply chain is 100% renewable; by 2030, in operations Use 100% renewable electricity.
UNIQLO and its parent company Fast Retailing Group has formulated sustainable development goals by 2030. Specifically: The company’s global stores and offices plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 90% in 2030 compared with 2019; on the supply chain side, it plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2030 compared with 2019; on the commodity side, it plans to reduce About 50% of all clothing fabrics are replaced with environmentally friendly recycled fabrics.
It can be seen that overseas clothing brands such as H&M and Uniqlo attach greater importance to the disclosure of carbon reduction targets, while domestic brands have greater room for improvement.
How much carbon does my country’s textile and apparel industry emit?
Hu Kehua, deputy director of the Social Responsibility Office of China Textile Federation and director of sustainable development projects, said: “The annual carbon emissions of my country’s textile and apparel industry are about 230 million tons, and the total carbon emissions in 2020 are about 209 million tons. The industry’s carbon emissions are about 230 million tons. It accounts for 2% of the country’s carbon emissions and 2.8% of the country’s industrial carbon emissions. So, in the textile and clothing industry chain, which sub-sectors have larger carbon emissions?
Hu Kehua said that the textile and clothing industry mainly includes three sub-sectors: textile industry, chemical fiber manufacturing industry, and clothing and apparel industry. Among them, the carbon emissions of the chemical fiber manufacturing industry and the textile industry account for approximately 23% and 69% respectively of the total carbon emissions of my country’s textile and apparel industry, and the clothing and apparel industry accounts for approximately 8%.
What is the progress of energy conservation and emission reduction in my country’s textile and apparel industry?
Greenhouse gas emissions from my country’s textile and apparel industry have gradually increased with the rapid development of the industry since 2000, and then entered a stable period. From 2014 to 2020, the average annual growth rate of industry greenhouse gas emissions was less than 0.5%. From the perspective of emission intensity, industry emission intensity has been declining year after year. From 2005 to 2020, the industry’s emission intensity dropped by more than 60% cumulatively, and during the 13th Five-Year Plan period, it dropped by a total of 16%. The carbon emission intensity of the three sub-sectors all showed a downward trend. Among them, the cumulative decrease of the chemical fiber manufacturing industry was close to 70%, the cumulative decrease of the emission intensity of the textile industry was 63%, and the cumulative decrease of the emission intensity of the textile and apparel industry was close to 65%.
He who walks alone is fast, but he who walks in groups is far. Recently, in order to achieve the industry’s carbon reduction goals, the China Textile Federation has actively integrated industry forces and carried out a lot of innovative work in promoting industry enterprises and industrial clusters to carry out climate actions. Launching the 30·60 Carbon Neutrality Acceleration Plan is one of them. This plan supports a group of key enterprises to carry out climate innovation actions and guides key industrial clusters to create pioneering demonstrations. As of September 2023, 21 brand companies, 42 manufacturing companies and 3 key textile clusters have joined this plan to fulfill their climate commitments with practical actions. In this list of enterprises and clusters, there are also many well-known brands in the industry.
The road is long and full of obstacles, but it will come soon; if we keep on walking, we will have a promising future
Currently, in the textile and apparel industry, my country is the well-deserved “world factory” and the world’s largest textile and apparel producer and exporter. In the process of being deeply integrated into the global industrial chain, demand from international and domestic markets is forcing companies to explore low-carbon development paths.
Carbon neutrality is a marathon. We hope that in the further future, all relevant parties in my country’s textile and apparel industry can actively join climate action, guide and promote my country’s textile and apparel industry to truly achieve “carbon” synergy in the value chain through the power of the industry. , that is, consumers, brands, and manufacturing companies in the value chain form a “carbon” resonance to help achieve national emission reduction goals and promote the green transformation of the global fashion industry.
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