Major International Fashion Week Emissions Tracked for the First Time

Each major fashion week typically involves plenty of travel for designers and buyers. Now, for the first time, a research project measured the carbon emissions of travel associated with the ready-to-wear wholesale buying process.

B2B fashion business platform Ordre.com and the Carbon Trust collaborated on “Zero to Market,” which quantified carbon emissions from attending the industry’s international fashion weeks.

“Every year, the big hitters of the international fashion world gather together at each of the ‘big four’ fashion weeks: New York, London, Milan, and Paris,” the report says. “These fashion weeks are the cornerstone of the global industry, setting the agenda for the coming season.”

The research project identified 2,697 retailers representing the ready-to-wear industry, and 5,096 designers showing at major fashion weeks. Then the project measured carbon emissions from travel for these buyers and designers over a 12-month period. That year-long buying process produced 241,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, according to the report. The total cost was $1.4 billion.

These figures are likely on the low side, the report authors noted. Their research also didn’t include other groups attending the collections, like journalists and fashion influencers.

Of the fashion week emissions that were measured, New York represented 37%, Paris 28%, London 18%, and Milan 17%. Air travel accounted for 147,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO2e), accommodation was 78,000 tCO2e, intercity travel 11,000 tCO2e, and transporting collections was 5,000 tCO2e.

Ordre.com made these recommendations for how the fashion industry can reduce emissions from the ready-to-wear wholesale buying process:

• Fashion week schedule: Combine seasons and collections, for example bring together the pre-season market with the main market. Combine men’s and women’s weeks into single events for fashion companies that have collections for both. Establish smaller regional fashion weeks. And reducing the duration of major fashion weeks.
• Fashion shows, presentations, showrooms: Establish a designated fashion district, and schedule events within them to reduce travel. Establish and enforce a production code of ethics around environmental factors such as recycling, reuse, low carbon, and energy. Incentivize the use of shared venues for shows. Embrace virtual technologies to present collections as an alternative to physical attendance.
• Travel: Avoid flying business class and combine long-distance trips to minimize the need for extra flights. Choose train travel over flying where possible, select airlines and hotel groups that offer lower carbon options, rent low-carbon house and apartments that can be shared, and use lower carbon transport within a city.

Although the emissions measured are barely a drop in the bucket, the report pointed out that perception matters. Ordre.com and the Carbon Trust urged fashion industry business leaders to understand and act upon their most visible effects on the environment, including travel.

“For an industry that lives in the spotlight, accusations of hypocrisy — whether real or perceived — can seriously undermine company credibility and damage brand reputations,” they wrote.

The report comes at a time when fashion weeks face increased scrutiny over sustainability. Last month Copenhagen Fashion Week organizers announced plans to cut its carbon footprint, move to zero waste, and align with UN Sustainable Development Goals.