The fashion industry’s carbon footprint accounts for a significant share of global emissions. Much of those emissions (70%) lie upstream in the supply chain as Scope 3 emissions. To reduce their impact, key players are collaborating and innovating both internally and with their suppliers to decarbonize.
With new regulations coming into play and major apparel companies setting ambitious targets, the apparel value chain matters to everyone. That is why today is the most important time for apparel companies to measure their carbon footprint and act. Here's how.
What is the fashion industry's carbon footprint?
The fashion industry's carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas emissions from producing, shipping, selling, using, and disposing of clothing and footwear. Published estimates range from roughly 2% to 10% of global emissions, with one 2018 estimate putting it at 4% of global emissions.
Most of those emissions come from producing and refining raw materials, processing fabric, and transportation, not from brands' own stores and offices.
The estimates differ because researchers draw the boundaries of the fashion industry in different places. Some include footwear and the consumer-use phase of the products, like washing and drying, while others stop at the factory gate. For an apparel company, its carbon footprint matters more than industry figures, which regulators, buyers, and investors care about.
Where apparel industry emissions come from and why they are hard to measure
Scope 1 and 2 emissions cover what a brand owns or powers directly: stores, distribution centers, and offices. For most apparel companies, they make up a tiny percentage of their overall footprint.
H&M Group put 99.4% of its 2021 footprint in Scope 3, and a Swedish Textile Initiative for Climate Action (STICA) study of 40 apparel and textile companies found about 95% of their emissions came from their supply chains. Mid-market companies follow the same pattern. When Good.Lab built a full inventory for sportswear wholesaler TKO Evolution Apparel, most of its emissions sat in the goods it bought from contract manufacturers.
Most of that Scope 3 falls in a single category: Category 1, purchased goods and services. The Apparel Impact Institute estimates the sector's production emissions at 944 million tonnes CO2e in 2023 and splits them across four supplier tiers. Textile production (Tier 2: fabric formation, dyeing, and finishing) accounts for 55%. Raw materials account for 22%, yarn and processing for 15%, and garment assembly for just 8%.
That split explains why apparel emissions are hard to measure. The Tier 1 factories brands work with directly hold the smallest share. The hotspots sit two or three tiers deeper, in mills and farms most brands have no contract with.
The rest of Scope 3 is spread across other categories: upstream transportation (Category 4), downstream transportation (Category 9), and product use and end of life (Categories 11 and 12). Consumer washing and drying count as indirect use-phase emissions, which the GHG Protocol treats as optional and which SBTi lets companies leave out of target thresholds.
Why apparel companies should measure their emissions
Your customers are asking. Large retailers increasingly require suppliers to report emissions, often through CDP's Supply Chain program or through EcoVadis. Good.Lab client TKO Evolution Apparel faced exactly this when Costco asked it to submit emissions data through CDP and THESIS on a compressed timeline. Our supplier questionnaire guide covers how to respond.
California climate reporting rules now apply. SB 253 requires US companies with more than $1 billion in revenue doing business in California to report Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2026, with Scope 3 to follow in 2027. SB 261 adds climate risk reporting for companies with above $500 million in revenue, pulling in mid-sized apparel manufacturers.
Textile EPR runs on the same data. California's SB 707 is the first US extended producer responsibility law for clothing. Covered producers had to join Landbell USA, the approved producer responsibility organization, by July 1, 2026. While the rule doesn't require carbon footprinting, EPR still requires the same product and material data that feeds a Scope 3 inventory. See our EPR guide for more.
You can't set or defend a target without an emissions baseline and tracking. Science-based targets, net-zero pledges, and product claims like "low-carbon" all need numbers behind them. Without a credible baseline, a commitment is a greenwashing liability. If you have a goal or claim, you need to back it up with data.
Measurement shows where to cut. Brands that measure are moving the number. H&M cut Scope 3 emissions 23% from 2019 to 2024, and Puma cut emissions from purchased goods and services 17% from 2017 to 2024, according to the Apparel Impact Institute. Cuts like these depend on knowing which suppliers and materials drive the footprint.
Where apparel emissions measurement goes wrong
Most apparel companies can produce a first emissions number, especially for Scope 1 and 2. Problems show up when you start measuring Scope 3, when you need assurance, or when you need to compare progress year over year. Here is where companies just starting out go wrong.
- Spend-based estimates that never mature. First inventories usually estimate Scope 3 from purchasing spend. That works for a starting point, but it can't show the effect of a supplier switching to renewable energy or low-carbon transportation. When a brand moves to supplier activity data, its numbers can shift dramatically. Deciding when and how to make that move is a methodology call.
- Supplier data that stops at Tier 1. The largest emissions sit in mills and farms the brand doesn't contract with directly. Knowing where to push for primary data and where a defensible estimate is enough takes experience across many supply chains.
- Boundary decisions. Licensing deals, franchise stores, and marketplace sales each raise the question of whose emissions they are. Get them wrong, and you double-count or leave gaps that a regulator could find.
How to tackle Scope 3
Because so much of apparel's emissions fall under Scope 3, regulators and other stakeholders expect fashion companies to measure it.
Additionally, under the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), a company needs a Scope 3 target once Scope 3 accounts for 40% or more of its total emissions, which applies to almost every apparel brand. That target must cover at least two-thirds of Scope 3 emissions.
For apparel brands, supplier engagement usually does the heavy lifting. Effective programs start with the suppliers that carry the most emissions, or, where that data doesn't exist yet, the suppliers that make up the largest share of spend. Some programs are mandatory and others voluntary, depending on the relationship and the brand's purchasing power. For example, Target committed that 80% of its suppliers by spend would set their own science-based targets and
Platforms such as CDP's Supply Chain program and the Higg Index tools help brands collect supplier data at scale. The hard part is deciding which suppliers to prioritize, what data to ask for, and how to turn their answers into numbers a target can be measured against.
How Good.Lab helps apparel brands measure emissions
Good.Lab pairs GHG emissions software with experts who have worked across hundreds of corporate carbon footprints.
For TKO Evolution Apparel, that meant a full Scope 1, 2, and 3 inventory; strong CDP and THESIS submissions; and meeting Costco's deadline for their biggest customer. We bring the same approach to SB 253 reporting, buyer requests from CDP and EcoVadis, and EPR obligations like SB 707.
If you're unsure where your footprint stands or which rules apply to you, talk to an expert.
FAQ
Does SB 253 apply to apparel companies?
Yes, if the company is a US entity with more than $1 billion in annual revenue that does business in California. The law covers both private and public companies.
Does California's textile EPR law apply to my brand?
SB 707 covers producers of apparel and textile products sold into California. Covered producers had to join Landbell USA, the approved producer responsibility organization, by July 1, 2026. Whether your brand is covered depends on how the law defines a producer and its revenue threshold, so confirm before assuming you're exempt.
