The Business of Fashion Podcast
Episode: Can Fashion Still Meet Its Climate Promises?
Date: November 19, 2025
Host: Sheena Butler-Young with Brian Baskin
Guests: Sarah Kent and Shaiza Walid (BoF’s Sustainability Team)
Episode Overview
As COP 30 unfolds in Brazil with a sobering atmosphere, this episode investigates whether the fashion industry can still deliver on its climate promises—particularly the goals established under the 2015 Paris Agreement. With major brands commonly lagging or even moving backward, the team breaks down why progress has stalled, the structural obstacles facing fashion, the explosive emissions growth from fast fashion players like Shein, and whether there are glimmers of optimism for meaningful change.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Fashion's Lagging Progress on Climate Commitments
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State of the Industry (02:05–03:42)
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Most major fashion brands pledged to reduce emissions (especially in supply chains) by 2030, but nearly all are far off target.
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Growth in production and sales means emissions decline is virtually nonexistent at an industry-wide scale.
"Their baseline emissions in 2019 were 10 million tons of carbon dioxide...2024, their emissions were 9.9. That doesn’t seem like progress to me."
— Brian Baskin (03:42)
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Representative Companies Named
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Inditex, Nike, H&M Group, Shein, LVMH, Adidas
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Only Adidas has made modest progress, none are credibly on track for 2030.
"No, I would not say any brand has a credible pathway right now to meet their targets for 2030...Driving down their carbon footprint over the next five years is going to be harder, more complex, and more costly than the steps they've taken to date."
— Sarah Kent (04:58)
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2. Why Aren’t Climate Promises Being Fulfilled?
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Fundamental Business Model Conflicts (21:27–22:28)
- Brands can't decouple sales growth from environmental harm; more clothes equals more emissions.
- Executives are not structurally incentivized to address "externalized" climate costs.
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Industry Structure & Outsourcing (09:50–10:57)
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Most emissions are in supply chains outsourced to manufacturers in Asia; brands lack direct control.
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Local regulations often hamper renewable energy transitions (e.g., grid issues in Sri Lanka/Bangladesh, more favorable conditions in India).
"Majority brands don't own the facilities or the factories where their clothes are made... these factories are in countries where the policies aren’t maybe the most favorable for them to make certain shifts."
— Shaiza Walid (09:50)
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Political Volatility and the “Trump Factor” (10:57–13:16)
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US policy shifts create uncertainty but do not halt global action; signaling and brand communications on climate have slowed.
"Trump... is just an agent of chaos... you've kind of thrown a hand grenade into the middle of this conversation."
— Sarah Kent (11:11)
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3. Shein as a Case Study: Fast Fashion and Escalating Emissions
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Shein’s Impact (17:54–21:27)
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Shein’s emissions have soared, now outpacing Nike and Adidas combined.
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Their growth nearly cancels out the emission cuts made by industry peers.
"Its emissions grew between 2023 and 2024 by more than again, Nike and Adidas managed to cut their emissions over their entire commitment period. So it’s basically almost singlehandedly wiping out a big chunk of the fashion industry’s progress on emissions."
— Brian Baskin (20:01)
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Limits of Voluntary Commitments
- Shein’s business model is fundamentally incompatible with meaningful emissions reduction; voluntary pledges are insufficient in the face of ‘growth at all costs’ strategies.
4. Human Impact: Climate Change on Fashion’s Workforce
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Worker Conditions and Health (22:28–25:52)
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Rising temperatures and climate events are already affecting factory workers through heat stress, unsafe conditions, and food spoilage.
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Direct impact on productivity and factory operations—could soon translate into financial risk for brands.
"For the worker, that impact is very, very direct."
— Shaiza Walid (23:09)
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Corporate Awareness and Preparedness (25:52–26:56)
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Brands are aware of climate risks but currently see disruptions as manageable due to flexible supply chains; experts warn this is shortsighted.
"We have not yet seen a major disruption... from these kind of climate crises yet is more luck than anything else."
— Sarah Kent (25:23)
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5. Silver Linings: Examples of Progress & Industry Innovations
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Renewables and Coal Phaseouts (26:56–30:20)
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Adoption of renewables has exceeded expectations in some sectors/countries.
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H&M has notably moved most suppliers off coal-fired boilers, prompting wider industry conversations about reform.
"The rise of renewables, which has blown past anyone’s expectations...H&M, which has made more progress than most, has weaned most of its suppliers off coal...There are paths to maybe not hitting those original 2030 targets, but making progress here."
— Brian Baskin (26:56)
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Complexity of Solutions
- Some solutions, like converting boilers to biomass, present new sustainability trade-offs. Long-term fixes (e.g., electrification) require industry collaboration and client commitments.
6. What to Watch: Metrics & Milestones for Change
- Key Measures to Track (30:40–32:41)
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2025 marks the halfway point to the 2030 targets—progress will become clear as emissions reporting improves.
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Coal phaseout data and innovation adoption (renewables, heat pumps, process innovation) in 2026 will be telling.
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Shein’s sales/emissions—will continued growth signal consumer and industry priorities?
"If you want to see if the industry is bending its curve on emissions, keep an eye on where those emissions numbers are coming in... next year is a critical year, this year is halfway to 2030... the data for 2025 will only become available in 2026."
— Sarah Kent (31:45)
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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On the gap between ambition and reality:
"Even the fact that they have set specific targets is beyond what many, many other companies in the industry have done. Simply having set a target—and this is insane to say in 2025—is still quite progressive."
— Sarah Kent (06:25) -
On the business contradiction:
"The profitability and sales growth trajectory of businesses are fundamentally at odds with the environmental commitments companies have made."
— Sarah Kent (21:27) -
On hope and the need for honesty:
"I do think that's a major step forward that we're getting away from this period of saying these nice platitudes...and acknowledging that didn't work."
— Brian Baskin (30:20)
Timeline of Key Segments
| Timestamp | Segment | |------------|----------------------------------------------------| | 00:08–02:05| Episode Setup & Industry Context | | 02:05–04:48| Review of Brand Emissions and Targets | | 06:05–09:29| Were the Climate Goals Ever Feasible? | | 09:29–14:10| Supply Chain Realities and Political Headwinds | | 17:54–21:27| Shein and Fast Fashion’s Escalating Emissions | | 22:28–26:56| Worker Impact and Short-Term Corporate Thinking | | 26:56–30:20| Renewables, Biomass, and Paths to Progress | | 30:40–32:41| What to Watch: Metrics Over the Next Year |
Tone & Concluding Thoughts
The conversation is frank, data-driven, at times bleak—yet ultimately committed to fostering transparency, accountability, and hope for incremental progress. The hosts encourage close scrutiny of 2025–2026 emissions metrics, urge continued innovation, and call for systemic, not just voluntary, change.
"Sobering, but I think there are beacons of optimism in there as well."
— Sheena Butler-Young (32:41)