- Study finds global fashion industry's response to
environmental urgency all talk, no action
- 9 of the top 10 ranking companies remain unchanged from
2023
- 7 circularity metrics are measured but companies have
extensively activated none
- Regulatory pressure will force brands to ramp up their
sustainability efforts
CHICAGO, June 27,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Today global management
consulting firm Kearney releases its 2024 Circular
Fashion Index (CFX), its fourth annual study measuring the
global fashion industry's progress toward circularity and
sustainability. Based on proprietary analysis, the CFX acts as an
objective tool helping companies understand where they rank in
their sustainability practices and which circularity levers remain
to be pulled. This year's CFX reveals that, with notable
exceptions, the industry still tends to be long on conversation
around circular thinking and economics and short on actual redesign
and execution.
"This fourth iteration of Kearney's Circular Fashion Index found
that most brands continue to work within the confines of
traditional linear models, making, from an ecological point of
view, suboptimal choices at nearly every step in the process, from
raw material selection to consumer education," observed report
co-author and Kearney partner Brian Ehrig. "This is illustrated by the
industry's continued emphasis on debating material choices and how
good or bad a particular choice may be for the environment based on
emissions, land use, and so on, conveniently overlooking the fact
that there is still no clear consensus on which material choices
actually minimize environmental damage."
CFX 2024 has been expanded to include 235 global brands in 18
countries, with this year's addition of Japan. It tracks the industry's performance
over five key categories: fashion, sports, outdoor (previously
analyzed alongside the sports category), underwear and lingerie,
and footwear, with a new price segmentation for the fashion
category.
Findings from this year's Circular Fashion Index include the
following:
- The 235 fashion brands analyzed this year achieved an average
score of 3.20 out of 10, an increase of 0.23 points compared to
2023 results.
- Though brands have improved their performance throughout the
years, with the exception of the top 10 brands none of the seven
circularity measures identified has been activated extensively.
- CFX scores across categories showed the highest performance in
the Outdoor category and the highest improvement in the affordable
luxury segment
- Only the top 4 brands scored above 7 out of 10 in the
Index.
- Results of Kearney PERLab's life-cycle assessment of the
environmental impacts of cotton vs. polyester showed that no
material is better for the planet itself, but the industry must
think in terms of product design to reduce its environmental
impact
- Sustainability regulations and directives will dictate change
in the next year, regardless of consumer behavior
The report also takes a close look at circularity strategies
such as choice of materials and add-ons, the impact of the
manufacturing process on ease or difficulty of reusing or recycling
them, upcycling or downcycling products and the rethinking of
design, to create a circular economy.
"Our 2024 research shows that despite improvements made over the
last year, adoption of circular economic practices is far from
sufficient to begin to mitigate the industry's environmental
impact," said report co-author and Kearney partner
Dario Minutella. "Of the 235
brands we analyzed, only 25 scored 5 out of 10 or more on the CFX.
Brands need better end-to-end understanding of the full economic
and environmental impacts of a decision on materials, identifying
the true trade-offs along the life cycle that optimize different
categories of impact, and agreement on how to measure 'success' and
'failure' as opposed to simply spend-based metrics."
The 2024 Circular Fashion Index is available
here.
About Kearney's Circular Fashion Index
Now in its fourth edition, the 2024 Circular Fashion Index has
expanded by nearly 20 percent to analyze 235 global fashion brands
from 18 countries (this year including Japan) over five apparel categories: fashion,
sports, outdoor, underwear and lingerie, and footwear, with a
first-time refined price segmentation for the fashion category,
distinguishing between luxury, premium/affordable luxury, mass
market, and fast-fashion brands. Each company's CFX score is based
on seven dimensions affecting the circularity impact of the brand:
share of garments made from recycled fabrics, repair and
maintenance availability, "circularity" in brand communications,
detail/accessibility of care instructions, breadth/depth of
second-hand sales, breadth/depth of rental services, and the
availability of drop-off locations for worn clothing. CFX 2024
introduces a refined price segmentation for the fashion category,
distinguishing between luxury, premium/affordable luxury, mass
market, and fast-fashion brands.
About Kearney
Kearney is a leading global management consulting firm. For
nearly 100 years, we have been the trusted advisor to C-suites,
government bodies, and nonprofit organizations. Our people make us
who we are. Driven to be the difference between a big idea and
making it happen, we help our clients break through.
www.kearney.com
Media Contact:
MKPR/Meir Kahtan
+1 917-864-0800
mkahtan@rcn.com
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SOURCE Kearney