“ Increased transparency and accountability in the fashion industry has largely been voluntary and unregulated ”
LAURA GIBSON HEAD OF SUSTAINABILITY , CORE UK
“ Digitisation facilitates the development of legislation . Not only can you streamline and automate ESG data collection but this data enables you to map and analyse your supply chain , to identify any sustainability hotspots , benchmark your impacts and track quantifiable impacts of sustainability initiatives , and demonstrate ROI of these digital solutions .”
Gibson feels that there is no singular answer to the ESG challenges faced by the fashion industry , but that “ legislative oversight is definitely part of the solution ”.
“ Legislation such as the Fashion Act could spark important high-level discussions , provide a blueprint for more rigorous and quantifiable sustainable practices , and tackle the problem of ‘ greenwashing ’, leaving consumers in a much better position to make sustainable choices ,” says Gibson .
She also points out that many retailers - in fashion and beyond - have made bold sustainability commitments , and that the foundation of these commitments is their supply chain .
“ Whether your goal is to reduce Scope 3 emissions , protect biodiversity or address social issues within your business ecosystem , how we meet those commitments in a quantifiable way will be one of the key challenges of the decade .”
In conclusion , she says : “ It ’ s helpful to start by thinking of sustainability as a process , not an end goal , and that process starts with understanding what is going on in your supply chain , using verifiable data .”
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