This first edition of the Report on the Pulse of the Fashion Industry exposes the challenges in a number of sustainability impact areas and along the industry’s value chain, from design and development to end-of-
life for apparel and footwear. It aims to provide transparency on the industry’s stance in terms of its environmental, social, and ethical footprints— topics that have been much debated, yet without a common baseline and framework against which to evaluate change. It also reviews ways in which the industry can maintain and even strengthen its profitability despite the pressures of rising costs.
The overarching objective of the report is to provide a direction and guidance towards a better fashion industry. As a starting point, the report provides a common fact base on the current sustainability performance of the industry. Based on that it lays out a Landscape for Change and presents pragmatic, concrete, and economical actions that are already available for producing palpable change. The report promotes collaboration and innovation as main drivers to accelerate change.
