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Marie-Claire Daveu is the chief sustainability and institutional affairs officer at Kering. She last wrote about fashion’s role in the climate crisis for Vogue Business. Eva Zabey is the CEO of Business for Nature, a coalition of businesses and non-profit organisations working to align government policies and business operations through biodiversity and nature conservation.
Today, on the International Day of Biological Diversity, the Business for Nature coalition announces that the first batch of nature strategies has been accepted into the It s Now for Nature’ campaign, among which is Kering.
The multi-billion-dollar fashion and apparel sector employs an estimated one in eight of the world’s workers and has reported rapid growth in recent decades. Consequently, this has led to an increased impact on natural ecosystems, greenhouse gas emissions and a depletion of freshwater stocks.
Fashion is deeply intertwined with nature in many ways. Without it, there would be no raw materials and no industry. So the commitment for fashion companies to protect, restore and sustainably source raw materials from nature isn’t just an ethical choice, it’s a business imperative. With climate, biodiversity and fashion interlinked, businesses need to move towards a nature-positive economy — and quickly.
Businesses must be bold
Building truly sustainable supply chains and raising awareness of its importance are both key to creating nature-positive businesses. So too is the recognition that this is every brand’s responsibility, reinforced by commitments to adopt actions that generate positive impacts on nature and champion transformative change.
Kering was among the first movers to publish a biodiversity strategy, in 2020, understanding that biodiversity conservation and regeneration is not only imperative for a resilient business, it is critical for businesses to act for the health of the planet. Kering collaborates closely with its brands and creative designers, as well as farmers, herders and other raw material producers on the ground to target and restore biodiversity loss where it occurs. The company is under no illusion that more needs to be done, both internally and across the wider industry, however it is hopeful that implementing dedicated and targeted strategies will drive critical change.
Other fashion leaders are also championing change, with some commendable moves towards a circular economy model. This is underpinned by the principle that products and materials are kept in circulation to avoid the use of new natural resources.
Sports fashion giant Lacoste has introduced a comprehensive Product Durability Protocol to apply durability standards to all its textiles. With the objective to produce garments that last longer, testing is carried out on the finished product in a laboratory setting, and customer surveys are distributed, to assure longer-lasting clothing.
Danish brand Ganni launched a rental platform, Ganni Repeat, introducing re-made products from previous collections. The brand has also created specific rental-only collections to incentivise customers to embrace ‘slow fashion’ and try renting items rather than buying to excess.
These examples highlight how the sector can modify existing practices and embrace new models that limit impacts on nature compared to more traditional approaches.
Act today for tomorrow
While consumers have an integral part to play in demanding more responsibly made products, the reality is it’s up to businesses to enact effective change. Given that approximately 90 per cent of fashion’s environmental impacts fall in the supply chain — starting from raw material production where fashion meets nature — this is absolutely crucial.
The business case is also very clear. According to a recent Pwc survey, 45 per cent of CEOs from an array of global sectors worry their businesses won’t be viable in a decade without a reinvention of their business models. What’s more, the World Economic Forum concludes in its 2024 Global Risks report that four of the top-five long-term global risks are environmental, including biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and natural resource shortages.
Despite important strides in the fashion sector, corporate action on nature lags far behind climate action. To achieve change at the pace necessary, businesses must make use of existing support and collaborate across the sector to enact lasting policies throughout the value chain. To this end, the Business for Nature coalition, with support from Accenture UK, has developed guidance that lays out the priority actions fashion and apparel companies should implement to reduce their negative impacts on nature, including recommendations to restore degraded lands and highlighting the need to move towards regenerative agricultural practices. And now, with the “It’s Now for Nature” campaign encouraging companies to develop and publish a credible nature strategy, momentum is building — with Kering among the first companies whose strategies are featured.
The fashion industry has the power to be a leader in environmental stewardship. Businesses in the sector have a crucial role to play in halting and reversing nature loss, and do not have to make this journey of reinvention alone. By embracing nature-positive practices throughout the supply chain, businesses can not only ensure the longevity and resilience of their industry, but also contribute to a nature-positive and net-zero world.
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