Second “What Fuels Fashion” report finds big fashion companies unprepared for clean heat
The second edition of the “What Fuels Fashion?” (WFF) report focuses on clean heat, that is renewable, fossil-free energy for manufacturing processes. According to the study author, non-profit Fashion Revolution, it is “the single biggest lever” for cutting emissions along the supply chain.
The report, a special edition of the organisation’s Fashion Transparency Index (FTI), once again put 200 of the world’s largest fashion companies in the spotlight in terms of their energy and decarbonisation efforts - ‘large' meaning with annual revenues of over
one billion US dollars
Fashion Revolution decided to increase the annual turnover criteria from 400 million US dollars last year to one billion US dollars this year. There were three main reasons to do so: to prioritise brands with the greatest resources and responsibility to lead the climate and energy transition, streamline the analysis to focus where the impact can be greatest and to dedicate more time to deep-dive research and sharper advocacy.
Companies scoring worse overall than last year
The companies were tracked across over 70 indicators like Accountability, Decarbonisation, Energy Consumption and Procurement, Financing, Greenhouse Gas Footprint, Governance, Just Transition and Advocacy, Overproduction and Renewable Energy Advocacy, revealing where they lack transparency and where urgent action is required. It should be noted that WFF measures transparency not ethics or sustainability. “A brand can score highly on transparency of their decarbonisation efforts but this does not mean they are ethical or sustainable,” explains Fashion Revolution.
Alarmingly, the overall average brand score - already low at 18 percent (out of 100 percent) in 2024 - has fallen further, to only 14 percent. While the highest scorers hovered around the mid-seventies last year, the best scoring brand achieved only 71 percent in 2025. A similar development can be seen for the number of companies scoring a “0” rating - 32 last year and 39 this year (see below for lowest and highest scorers).
“The path to decarbonisation will be won or lost by how fashion tackles heat. Industrial electrification is a Just Transition opportunity that must centre workers and suppliers. If fashion fails to act, it jeopardises its integrity in a world moving beyond fossil fuels — and with it, the health, safety, and dignity of the people who make our clothes,” comments Liv Simpliciano, head of policy & research at Fashion Revolution, in a press release.
“The textiles industry can lead by example: because process heat rarely exceeds 250 degrees Celsius, it has the potential to move entirely away from fossil fuels. The possibility is here — now companies must commit and set clear strategies to enable the transition,” adds Jan Rosenow, professor of energy and climate policy at Oxford University.
Big fashion companies not prepared for clean heat
The findings are discouraging though - less than one fifth (18 percent) of brands disclose coal phase-out targets that cover textile processing, and none include purchased steam, thus relying on coal along the supply chain. Only 10 percent of brands disclose supply chain renewable electricity targets and even fewer (6 percent) disclose broader renewable energy targets — “a significant shortfall leaving most brands without a public and credible roadmap to power their supply chains with clean energy” according to the report. Only 7 percent disclose any efforts to electrify high-heat processes — despite proven solutions like heat pumps and electric boilers that are commercially available.
Traceability
Ninety brands or 45 percent of the brands analysed scored zero across the entire traceability section, with 59 percent of them being publicly-listed companies, “exposing a serious accountability gap for investors” as the report points out: “Without supplier visibility, investors cannot evaluate climate risks or channel finance into credible decarbonisation. This is a glaring ESG oversight: until supplier lists are disclosed as a baseline requirement, any claim of alignment with climate or social goals rings hollow.”
Accountability
While 60 percent of brands disclose energy sourcing in their own operations, only 11 percent do so in their supply chains where it actually matters most. “Many lean on Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) which mask fossil fuel use, making climate action for many brands an exercise in accounting, not accountability,” finds the report.
Financing
Investments in new technologies are needed when it comes to decarbonising the fashion industry’s supply chains, especially from brands and retailers in their suppliers. However, only 2 percent disclose support for their suppliers’ ongoing operational costs, and another 2 percent report supply chain adaptation investments. Only 6 percent disclose capital investments in renewable energy or efficiency.
“Clean Heat for Cool Work”
With temperatures rising and extreme heat becoming more and more common, garment workers’ health and lives are in danger. However, none of the 200 brands analysed discloses factory-level heat and humidity data or Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT). “Public WBGT disclosure would give unions the evidence to bargain for protections, inform brands of the costs of adaptation like cooling systems, provide investors with a decision-useful metric to assess financial and operational risks and unlock adaptation tools like parametric insurance,” explains the report.
Thus, under the framework “Clean Heat for Cool Work” Fashion Revolution and climate non-profit Action Speaks Louder are calling for the replacement of coal, gas and biomass-fired boilers and other fossil fuel systems with electric alternatives like industrial heat pumps. Those reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also offering the potential of improving working conditions by protecting workers from heat stress and air pollution inside factories and in surrounding communities. The framework combines low-cost monitoring with high-investment solutions and calls for public disclosure of factory heat data to establish a baseline to measure improvements from switching to clean heat.
“Fashion brands love to promote innovative new products, but the Victorian-era reality of burning coal and wood to manufacture these products is quietly swept under the rug. As access to renewable energy and clean heat technologies grows globally, fashion brands have the responsibility to address their dependence on toxic fuels and safeguard the wellbeing of workers and communities,” states Ruth MacGilp, fashion campaign manager at Action Speaks Louder.
Highest and lowest scoring brands and retailers
Almost one fifth (19.5 percent) or 39 brands scored a zero percent rating, including companies like Aeropostale, Billabong, Bosideng, Deichmann, Dillards, DSW, Eddie Bauer, Forever21, Hudson’s Bay, LC Waikiki, Max Mara, New Yorker, Nine West, Quiksilver, Reebok, Saks Fifth Avenue, Semir, Urban Outfitters and Youngor.
The highest scorer in 2025 was H&M with 71 percent (up from 61 percent in 2024), followed in some distance by Calzedonia, Intimissimi and Tezenis mother company Oniverse with 63 percent (up from 52 percent). The highest scorer with 75 percent last year, Puma, achieved a rating of only 51 percent. Second Gucci with 74 percent in 2024 fell to 47 percent.
It should be noted that WFF evaluates only what brands publicly self-disclose about their decarbonisation efforts in their operations and supply chain; thus measuring public disclosure, not a brand’s decarbonisation impacts. Similarly, points are awarded only for publicly disclosed information and data on major brands’ policies, procedures, performance and progress on decarbonisation efforts across the value chain; a verification of claims made by brands and retailers is beyond the scope of the research.
“Brands keep outsourcing responsibility, prioritising short-term profits over long-term survival. Nowhere is this clearer than in the industry’s failure to tackle heat. Clean heat is the most immediate opportunity to cut emissions at scale — while also lowering indoor factory temperatures, reducing workers’ exposure to heat stress and clearing toxic air in factories and surrounding communities,” sums up the report.
Recommendations
The second edition of “What Fuels Fashion?” remains a must-read for brands, retailers and anyone interested in achieving a Just Transition in fashion. It is not about pointing fingers or feeling dejected that the road ahead is still long but rather about building a roadmap that connects treacherous areas and makes them navigable together so that the fashion industry can move from polluter to pioneer.
The report identifies four key stakeholders to ensure significant progress in reducing greenhouse gas emissions along the supply chain: The onus is on major brands and retailers to electrify heat at scale, finance supplier electrification, implement continuous WBGT monitoring, guarantee fair and stable purchasing, enable living wages, put worker-led due diligence at the centre of decarbonisation and go beyond compliance.
Investors and shareholders should pressure brands and retailers on heat risk, make clean heat a transition indicator and de-risk supplier investment. Citizens also have an import role to play, for once by curbing their consumption and using the research presented to inform their activism, by demanding worker protection and staying informed on policymaking.
Last but not least, journalists should give workers’ voices a platform, academics should provide independent evidence and civil society should advocate, mobilise and hold to account.
“The industry stands at a turning point. If brands continue with accounting tricks and partial measures, they will lose credibility in a world moving beyond fossil fuels. But if they finance supplier electrification, secure renewable power and commit to genuine partnership with suppliers and workers — supported by pressure from investors, scrutiny from journalists, research from academics, mobilisation from civil society and informed demands from citizens — fashion can demonstrate how industrial decarbonisation and climate justice can advance together,” closes the report.
The full “What Fuels Fashion?” report can be found on the Fashion Revolution website, providing performances across indicators, a glossary, an extensive reference section and illustrations.
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