Fashion Made it on Santa’s Naughty & Nice Lists This Year

By Dawn McGregor 20 December, 2022

Get on top of the fashion headlines making the Naughty and Nice lists this Christmas with CWR's McGregor. Which is Zara on? How about Shein? And what about a new next gen fibre initiative?

Fashion is a regular on Santa’s Naughty list with its dirty, thirsty & frolicking in oil ways & this year is no different with US$15.3bn in waste, lacking net zero targets & more
But this year it has also made it on the Nice list with a ‘next-gen’ fibres initiative at COP27, a ban on re-sale of fast fashion, new resale & fix platforms & more
Next year, we need many more headlines on the Nice list, our climate depends on it; plus, remember to do your part and make suitable fashion choices, Santa will know!

The fashion industry is a regular on Santa’s Naughty list due to its negative and significant impacts on the climate – accounts for 8 -10% global GHGs – and the environment (dirty, thirsty, wasteful, frolicking in oil and it goes on) but this year it has also made it on his Nice list, just. So, get on top of the fashion headlines making the Naughty and Nice lists this Christmas.

And for next year, we need to see many more reasons for fashion to be on the Nice list, our climate depends on it. Plus, remember to do your part and make suitable fashion choices, Santa will know!

Reasons for making the Naughty List

  • Fashion brands failing to include supply chains in net-zero targets, undermining credibility
    Signatories to the UN Fashion Charter, more than 100 brands, have in principle committed to become net zero by 2050 but a recent report finds many are far from and one of the biggest issues is that net zero ambition is not reaching supply chains, where the majority of GHGs emissions are. Only two out of ten brands analysed (H&M and Kering) have set emissions reduction targets of at least 50% that cover their supply chains. At the recent COP27, the UN said many current net zero promises amount to little more than greenwashing and released a list of 10 recommendations to add credibility to net zero claims.
  • Low uptake of science-based targets
    Globally, 259 textile, apparel, footwear and luxury goods companies have committed to set science-based targets (SBTs), and only 98 have approved targets. In particular, the SBT adoption rate is relatively low in Asia (20%) when compared to Europe (55%).
  • ‘The Missing Billions: The Real Cost of Supply Chain Waste’
    Waste continues to be a massive issue. The apparel sector loses US$15.3 billion in supply chain waste every year through overproduction and damage, according to a new report. Two-thirds of this is down to overproduction.
  • Hazardous chemicals in SHEIN products break EU regulations
    A recent Greenpeace report found that of 47 SHEIN products, seven of them (15%) contained hazardous chemicals that break EU regulatory limits, with five of these products breaking the limits by 100%. The findings – which include very high levels of phthalates in shoes and formaldehyde in a baby girl’s dress – prove, according to Greenpeace Germany, SHEIN’s careless attitude towards environmental and human health risks associated with the use of hazardous chemicals, in pursuit of profit. We recently wrote about SHEIN’s detrimental ultra-fast-fashion ways and how it’s hindering our climate fight.

Reasons for making the Nice List

  • Global fashion brands commit to sourcing ‘next-gen’ fibres at COP27
    Fashion brands including H&M, Inditex, Kering and Stella McCartney have joined a new collaborative initiative, “Next Generation Solutions” to reduce deforestation and emissions by purchasing low-carbon alternative fibers for textile production and packaging. This will prevent an estimated 2.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions compared to the production of virgin forest fibre. The signatories have also committed to ensuring their respective supply chains are free of Ancient and Endangered Forests.
  • Vestiaire Collective platform bans fast fashion
    “We wanted to reduce waste in people’s wardrobes, and that waste is mainly coming from fast fashion because it has no value, and as a consequence very little resale value,” said Vestiaire president and co-founder Fanny Moizant. Roughly 5% of listings will be hit by the move, like listings from brands like Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing and Asos.
  • Zara launches ‘pre-owned’ platform for garment repairs and donations
    The platform, launched in the UK on Nov 3, is available in Zara stores, online and through the mobile app. It allows customers ways to fix or pass on garments, as well as to sell older garments to other customers.
  • California governor signs off on PFAS ban in clothes manufacturing and sale
    The bill bans the manufacture and sale of garments and textiles that contain PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) in the state by 2025. PFAS, a.k.a. forever chemicals since they do not degrade, can build up in the body and may cause various health disorders – a process that has been linked to illnesses including kidney cancer and thyroid diseases. The governor also signed a bill banning the toxic chemicals from cosmetic products.

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Dawn McGregor
Author: Dawn McGregor
Dawn leads CWR’s work to help corporates navigate increasingly disruptive & material risks from water & climate threats, as well as transitional risks in the supply chain arising from new regulations in China. Here, Dawn engages extensively with the global fashion industry delivering on-ground workshops in China to keynotes and strategic input at European HQs. She has written at length on the end of dirty and thirsty fast fashion and her report to overcome gaps between brands and manufacturers for a clean and circular future inspired the industry to create a new wastewater tool. Dawn also works closely with the property and tourism sectors where she not only conducts strategic assessments of their exposure but builds collective action toward resilience via closed door working groups and invite-only events. Having helped build CWR, Dawn is a frequent keynote, panellist & moderator at events, including being twice selected as the lead-rapporteur at World Water Week. Her articles are cited in various industry publications including the UN’s ‘World Without Water’. Dawn previously worked in a global investment bank assessing geo-political risk, crisis management and business resiliency. She was born and bred in Hong Kong and has lived in France, England, Singapore and Beijing.
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