‘Profit is being prioritised over climate action’ – British fashion is falling behind on sustainability

A new report claims that fewer than 4% of London fashion week designers have published emissions reduction targets, compared with 44% of all UK companies. Why is the industry so slow to reform?

In just over a fortnight, some of the UK’s biggest fashion brands will showcase their new collections at London fashion week. Organised by the British Fashion Council (BFC), it’s always an exciting moment, bringing together some of the country’s top creative talent. But it also highlights entrenched problems in fashion. Only 3.4% of BFC members have published public targets to reduce their emissions aligned with the Paris Agreement, according to a new report by ethical fashion not-for-profit Collective Fashion Justice.

The BFC is a body of organisations from the industry who are responsible for overseeing, supporting and advising on the key issues facing the British designer industry, with members including publishing houses, high street brands and retail destinations, including household names like Yoox, Net-a-Porter and Savile Row. Of these members, only five brands – Burberry, Mulberry, Margaret Howell, Rixo and Kyle Ho – have published science-based targets aligned with the Paris agreement, which would, according to CFJ, “make them effective targets worth working towards”. By stark contrast, 44% of all UK companies have a structured plan to reduce their carbon footprint and climate impact, according to recent data from the Climate Ready Index.