H&M, Lululemon and more commit to £200 million Fashion Climate Fund

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Other major players are expected to join the efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the fashion industry

A pedestrian carries a Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M) branded shopping bag along a street in central Warsaw, Poland, on Monday, Jan. 9, 2017. Investors in Poland are betting that the nations central bank will raise its benchmark rate faster than stated. Photographer: Piotr Malecki/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Luluemon, H&M and others are joining forces in order to help combat climate change, committing £200 million to halve carbon emissions by 2030.

Called the Fashion Climate Fund, the initiative is led by non-profit group Apparel Impact Institute which works to increase sustainability in the fashion industry and decrease its impact on the environment. According to a press release from Apparel Impact Institute, the fund aims to “tackle fashion’s supply chain emissions” by supporting research into innovative solutions and putting them into practice.

According to a previous report by Apparel Impact Institute, recent studies had shown the fashion industry is responsible for between 2-8% of greenhouse gas emissions annually. An additional study by World Economic Forum published last January added eight supply chains – encompassing food, fashion, construction, electronics and more – were responsible for “more than 50% of global emissions.”

H&M

Contributors to the Fashion Climate Fund include not only Lululemon and H&M, but also philanthropic organisations such as the Schmidt Family Foundation. Apparel Impact Institute also announced it hoped to “unlock an estimated $2B [£1.6 billion] in blended capital” from future donors over the next eight years.

It added it was currently in talks with more donors, which would be expected to commit £8 million over the same timeframe. 

Guests at a lululemon event / Credit: Getty Images

Leyla Ertur, the head of sustainability at H&M Group, said it was “time for urgent action” in a press release and called on other industry players to join the fund. “We as H&M Group are constantly looking out for investment opportunities to further strengthen the availability and usage of renewable energy and fund the innovation and distribution of technology that will allow us to fully decarbonise our production and logistics operations.”

Lululemon VP of Sustainable Business and Impact Esther Speck added it was “proud” to be a support of the fund and its work to “accelerate climate action and sustainability solutions in the apparel industry.”

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