Players Part 2

The second group contributing to Fashion's Environmental Footprint is Business. Depending on where they operate, in what area and their business structure, they may or may not have Corporate Social Responsibility Policies or CSR. As we learned last week, there are very few limits set forth by International governing bodies, so we are relying on these businesses to do the right thing.

There are some problems with this. First, a great deal of textile dying is done in developing countries where they often do not have the money or technology to act in a green manner. This results in direct toxic dumping to the water supply. Often, these countries use coal for power adding to the pollution.

China is a primary example, producing more than a quarter of the world's textiles and clothing. As we are learning with the Beijing Olympics, China boasts 16 out of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. 750,000 people die each year as a result of pollution in China.
To maintain production, China is opening two new coal fired power stations every week. As China races to compete and beat the West on their rise to economic power, CSR is not even on their radar.

Looking at developed countries we run into the "Corporation". This lovely animal was created in the early 20th century, allowing a business to be viewed as an individual with all individual rights attached. Sounds great but we have now created big businesses protected like individuals that have no conscience. They are beholden to making a profit for their stock holders at any cost. You may remember the flurry of images in the 90's of children chained to sewing machines in under-developed countries. Nike got a lot of bad press for this as did Kathi Lee Gifford, who was satirized by South Park.

There are certainly companies that have and follow CSR policies. One example that contributes greatly to Fashion's Environmental Footprint problems as a fast fashion retailer is H&M. H&M has a comprehensive series of CSR policies that cover Labor conditions, Organic Cotton, Eco-Labeling, Carbon Emission reduction and Sustainability indexes. They review their policies and efforts on a continual basis and provide transparency to consumers by posting their efforts on their public website and providing complete information to all interested parties in pdf format.

•Environmental Sustainability Index ESI preceded EPI and was measured from 1999-2005.
•Environmental Performance Index EPI quantifies the environmental policies of a country.
•Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes track the financial performance of companies following environmental policies.

While it would be virtually impossible to reduce Fashion's Environmental Footprint to zero, there are certainly opportunities in the supply chain for each business to do reduce their damage. We'll investigate the challenges and opportunities over the following weeks, months and years.

What can you do? Do some research. Check out the CSR policies of your favorite brands and support those brands that are working to reduce their environmental impact.

Till next week--