Danish BESTSELLER, American Gap Inc., Swedish H&M Group, and several other international fashion brands are collaborating to drive sustainable changes, green advancements, and reductions in the overall CO2 emissions from the textile factories that manufacture their goods.
The initiative, called Future Supplier Initiative, introduces an unprecedented blend of financial security, technical expertise, and economic incentives. This combination eliminates the main barriers currently preventing textile manufacturers from reducing resource consumption or implementing renewable energy solutions at their factories.
Through the Future Supplier Initiative, fashion companies anticipate leading the path towards reducing CO2 from the fashion industry's value chain (scope 3), which currently accounts for about 99 percent of the sector's total emissions.
"At BESTSELLER, we are working intensively to improve our climate footprint. We have largely managed to tackle our direct emissions, but it’s clear that emissions in our value chain require ambitious collaborations on a scale that calls for innovative, joint solutions. The Future Supplier Initiative represents a new mindset for how fashion companies can come together and accelerate the solutions necessary for the green transition in countries where the conditions are more challenging," says Anders Holch Povlsen, CEO and owner of BESTSELLER.
One of several important initiatives
The first projects in the alliance will kick off in Bangladesh and Vietnam, two of the world's largest fashion-producing countries. However, the ambition is to eventually expand to more countries. Baseline measurements and ongoing reduction assessments will document the impact of the projects funded and implemented through the Future Supplier Initiative. The alliance will prioritise projects with significant potential for impact and those that can be widely scaled across the fashion industry.
"We’re aware of the significant challenges facing the fashion industry. That's why it's necessary for us to aid in developing and financing solutions that enable our partners to transition their production through green investments, as we have done ourselves. While we acknowledge there are many hurdles ahead for our industry, we believe the Future Supplier Initiative can make a positive and significant difference," says Anders Holch Povlsen.
The Danish fashion company is already working closely with its suppliers to set targets for reductions in water, energy, and other consumption, and to support transitions to renewable energy sources. In 2022, BESTSELLER facilitated investments in solar panel installations for textile manufacturers in Bangladesh, and in 2023, the company committed to investing DKK 700 million in a wind project in Bangladesh currently being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.
About the Future Supplier Initiative
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The Future Supplier Initiative is facilitated by The Fashion Pact in collaboration with the Apparel Impact Institute, Guidehouse, and DBS Bank.
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The initiative presents a collective financing model, where financial incentives such as risk-free loans and technical support enable textile manufacturers to implement resource conservation, electrification, and renewable energy solutions in their production facilities.
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Several fashion companies, including BESTSELLER, Gap Inc., H&M Group, Lululemon, and Mango, have joined the initiative to share the costs, risks, and responsibilities of reducing CO2 emissions in the fashion industry's value chain. Together, they aim to identify scalable solutions for a smoother transition toward sustainability.
About BESTSELLER
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BESTSELLER is a Danish, family-owned fashion company founded by the Holch Povlsen family in 1975.
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The company has a range of more than 20 brands, including JACK & JONES, ONLY, and VERO MODA.
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BESTSELLER’s products are sold i 70 countries across Europe, Asia, North America, South America, Oceania, and the Middle East, as well as globally through online platforms.
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BESTSELLER’s global supply chain includes more than 400 suppliers, and the products are manufactured at more than 800 factories, which employ over 700,000 people across 29 countries.
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To limit emissions from the supply chain, BESTSELLER collaborates closely with its manufacturers to set goals for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and transitioning to renewable energy solutions.
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In 2022, BESTSELLER facilitated investments in solar panel installations for textile manufacturers in Bangladesh.
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In 2023, BESTSELLER committed to investing DKK 700 million in a wind project in Bangladesh currently being developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners.