STICA PROGRESS REPORT 2025

Stakeholder Voices

STICA PROGRESS REPORT 2025

Stakeholder Voices

Ruth MacGilp, Fashion Campaign Manager, Action Speaks Louder

What does your organisation like about the content in the current 2025 disclosures report? Is there any particular data or conclusions you want to highlight or comment on?

The efforts made by smaller brands to be more transparent on climate and energy issues are admirable, particularly against the backdrop of many major global conglomerates still lacking any meaningful disclosure. Without this kind of detailed transparency on emissions hotspots and the key actions being taken to address them, it’s impossible for a company’s climate credentials to be perceived as credible.

Given what is presented in the report, what can SFA/STICA do to improve our work with the companies overall moving forward?

All voluntary initiatives require teeth for companies to be pushed to actually enact change beyond sharing hopeful goals and narratives. This means clear accountability mechanisms for when companies don’t live up to the commitments they’ve made. We also need to see companies collaborate on the most impactful proven solutions, such as renewable energy and electrification projects in the supply chain, rather than focusing purely on low-hanging fruit like data collection and target-setting.

What implications do you think the report has for climate action in the apparel industry overall (globally or in your region/country)?

It’s clear that companies have a long way to go in translating their intentions into action. Part of this is due to policy barriers that governments must deconstruct, such as by improving access to clean renewable energy, and by developing financial rewards and penalties to incentivise climate action. Other structural barriers, such as shallow supplier relationships driven by short-term profit maximisation, must also be overcome – we cannot expect to see radically different results by using the same methods. Companies can act now, even in the absence of perfect policy, to engage in meaningful collaboration with supply chain partners and financial decision-makers to mobilise money for proven climate solutions that suppliers and workers want and need.

Peter Ford, Energy Policy Lead, EnergyLab Asia

What does your organisation like about the content in the current 2025 disclosures report? Is there any particular data or conclusions you want to highlight or comment on?

I think it is very important to highlight the areas where positive impact is being made, while equally important to note the existing challenges and barriers. This year’s report gives a number of areas for readers to feel optimistic: progress is indeed being made, albeit slowly; increased focus on the emissions associated with fabric production and processing means that brand and supplier attention is in the right place for impact to happen; and discussion on the electrification needed to reach net-zero commitments points to stronger long-term solutions planning.

Yet some stubborn realities remain. Brands are not working at the same speed to improve data access, quality and utilisation to achieve the immediate impact we need to see. This makes it harder convince colleagues and industry peers that positive action is indeed happening, and that decarbonisation timelines — while challenging — are not impossible. I think it is also clear that some brands are not fully aware of how their current sourcing locations are playing a role in the muted decarbonisation successes, with the Viet Nam, India and mainland China’s positive moves to boost access to renewable electricity and remove onsite coal combustion overshadowed by Bangladesh’s continued lack of meaningful decarbonisation options.

Given what is presented in the report, what can SFA/STICA do to improve our work with the companies overall moving forward?

It is important to remain optimistic that STICA members can achieve the targets they have committed to, and indeed for some of them increase their ambition and action. The technology needed for meaningful decarbonisation is moving beyond the pilot stages and is found increasingly across the garment industry: stenters with heat recovery as standard, heat pumps for hot water, waterless dying solutions for different materials, ever more energy efficient machinery, and ever more accurate energy management systems and solutions.

The step now for STICA members is to ensure that their C-suite colleagues fully support the planning, messaging and implementation needed for the industry to ensure these new technologies are rapidly installed and utilised in line with 2030 decarbonisation timelines.

What implications do you think the report has for climate action in the apparel industry overall – globally or in your region/country?

The apparel industry is playing a vital role in global efforts to reduce global heating to below 2 degrees — it is arguably working harder and faster than many higher-emitting sectors such as agriculture and construction. It is important to remember this fact when the available data doesn’t always demonstrate clear short term decarbonisation successes. But the processes are in place now for impact to rapidly increase, and the apparel industry must remain aligned and motivated to work together to ensure this continues. While there is competition amongst brands on the high-street and online, from the factory-level perspective there is only shared benefit to collaborate. Many brands share production facilities with their competitors, use similar processing techniques, and require access to the same technologies and renewable energy. I truly hope that those reading this year’s report remember this, and seek further collaboration amongst their industry peers to achieve the meaningful impact I am confident is possible.

Lars Fogh Mortensen, Circular Economy, Consumption & Production Expert, European Environment Agency (EEA)

What does your organisation like about the content in the 2025 disclosures report? Is there any particular data or conclusions you want to highlight or comment on?

Huge congratulations on the report which provides a much-needed overview and data for the companies involved. Official public data on impacts from apparel and other textiles are still very limited as we have found from our development of the textile’s module of the Circular Metrics Lab of the European Environment Agency. Therefore, voluntary data and information from companies in the sector is vital to understand developments and progress made.

I really like the overview of how many companies have made progress for which areas and how many have not. It shows that while progress is being made, there is still a lot to be done for all apparel and textiles companies. I also really like that scope 3 emissions are included in the company reporting, as we need more and better data and knowledge from the emissions through the whole value chain, to help understand what is needed in terms of circular and sustainable business models and policies at the national, EU and global levels.

Given what is presented in the report, what can SFA/STICA do to improve our work with the companies overall moving forward?

The data and knowledge provided is so valuable that the best way to improve the work would be to include more companies, if at all possible. That way the overview of what is happening across the many types of companies would improve, and enable better progress supported by appropriate EU policy.

Also, while I appreciate the focus on greenhouse gas emissions and climate change which is very important, those are not the only impacts from the companies on environment and climate change. The reporting of data and knowledge would improve if other indicators were added, and I would concretely suggest some of those included in the EEA Circular Metrics Lab, including material use, land use and water use in the value chain.

What implications do you think the report has for climate action in the apparel industry overall – globally or in your region/country?

The report provides much needed data and information that can provide both as an example for other companies to follow, and also for policy makers to continue to understand the need to implement the appropriate regulation. It is essential that companies in the sector move towards more sustainable and circular business models, for example through enabling longer use, reuse, repair and recycling. Also, it is essential that the EU regulation in the pipeline – including the Ecodesign for Sustainable products Regulation, the Product Passport and the Extended Producer Responsibility – is finalised and implemented in the countries involving the companies of this very important sector of the EU economy.

Dr. Katy Stevens, Head of CSR and Sustainability, European Outdoor Group (EOG)

What does your organisation like about the content in the current 2025 disclosures report? Is there any particular data or conclusions you want to highlight or comment on?

What really stands out in this report is the level of detail and the openness with which data and experiences are shared. It doesn’t just present high-level results, but gives enough depth to understand what sits behind the numbers, including data quality issues, assumptions and limitations. We also appreciate that the report avoids a single, uniform narrative and instead reflects the reality that companies are on very different climate journeys, shaped by their size, business model and starting point. That honesty makes the findings far more credible and useful.

Given what is presented in the report, what can SFA/STICA do to improve work with companies moving forward?

The report shows clearly that while ambition is there, the pathways to action look very different from company to company. Building on this, SFA and STICA can continue to support companies with practical, hands-on guidance that meets them where they are, particularly in turning transition plans into concrete supply-chain actions. Creating space for peer learning and openly sharing what works (and what doesn’t) will remain especially valuable, particularly for SMEs.

What implications does the report have for climate action in the apparel industry overall?

For the industry as a whole, the report demonstrates the value of transparency, not just in sharing successes, but in being open about challenges and uneven progress. Initiatives like STICA are helping to raise the level of ambition and accountability, but the report also makes clear that this progress is fragile without supportive policy frameworks and incentives. Climate action will continue to look different across the industry, but stronger alignment between industry efforts and regulation is essential to accelerate progress at scale.

Anette Andersson, Sr. Sustainability Investment Specialist, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB)

What does your organisation like about the content in the current 2025 disclosures report? Is there any particular data or conclusions you want to highlight or comment on?

It confirms that companies are taking action and establishing processes to measure and report on emissions. The report also gives us an opportunity to see progress and the level of commitment. We track the number of companies who have committed or approved science-based targets for emissions.

Given what is presented in the report, what can SFA/STICA do to improve our work with the companies overall moving forward?

The sense of urgency cannot be emphasized enough. From my experience many companies are facing the same challenges so shared practices can work as an inspiration for other companies.

What implications do you think the report has for climate action in the apparel industry overall (globally or in your region/country)?

Unfortunately, the mandatory reporting requirements are changing at an even faster pace but regardless every company needs to have a credible plan to reach the Paris Agreement. Many financial institutions have made commitments and are working towards the Paris Agreement and are in need data to be able to track the progress. Companies who choose not to report can look unfavorable from an investment perspective.

Anna-Karin Sundelius, Senior Policy Advisor for Textiles, Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC)

What does your organisation like about the content in the current 2025 disclosures report? Is there any particular data or conclusions you want to highlight or comment on?

We welcome the transparency in STICA’s 2025 report and the growing number of signatories that are reducing their absolute emissions. At the same time, the data again highlights the industry’s core challenge: 80–90% of emissions come from producing new products. This makes the key conclusion unmistakable, the textile sector cannot align with climate science and meet the 1.5°C pathway, without significantly reducing the volume of newly produced products. Efficiency improvements are not enough. Companies need to shift their business models so that a growing share of revenue comes from services and circular offerings rather than continuous growth in new production. Our Max 5 benchmark, no more than five new garments per person per year, illustrates what true sufficiency looks like within planetary boundaries.

Given what is presented in the report, what can SFA/STICA do to improve our work with the companies overall moving forward?

STICA can play a key role in aligning political action and financial incentives to make climate leadership economically viable. By facilitating knowledge sharing, collaboration on innovation, and the exchange of practical solutions among signatories, STICA can help companies act as partners in the transition while remaining competitors in the market. By providing a system-level perspective and fostering actor dialogue, STICA can coordinate efforts across the industry, ensuring that individual company actions add up to sustainable and scalable climate impact reductions.

To accelerate progress, STICA can support companies in developing clear, actionable plans for reducing the volume of newly produced garments. Circular business models are essential, but they must be paired with real reductions in resource use.

What implications do you think the report has for climate action in the apparel industry overall – globally or in your region/country?

This year’s report makes clear that political barriers still hinder companies that want to take the lead. Sustainability must be rewarded. We therefore call for policies where the polluter pays, ensuring that companies flooding the market with cheap, short-lived garments bear the real environmental cost. It should be economically beneficial to produce durable, repairable, and truly circular products and services.

The report shows that progress is possible but far too slow relative to what science demands. Companies that take responsibility and invest in driving a sustainable, circular transition are not only reducing emissions today but also shaping the future of the global apparel industry. They deserve to be supported and rewarded for these efforts.

Elin Larsson, Director of Market & Finance, WWF Sweden

It is encouraging to see the positive progress among STICA signatories. Total absolute GHG emissions across all members have decreased by 23% since their base years — a notable achievement, especially considering the current unpredictable and volatile market conditions.

A big compliment to STICA and its signatories for the level of transparency demonstrated — you are showing the way for how climate reporting should be done.

Looking ahead, two important areas for further reducing GHG emissions stand out: increasing internal awareness, which was identified as one of the challenges, and further developing and implementing transition plans. The share of companies with transition plans needs to increase from 38% for Scope 1 & 2 and 25% for Scope 3 to 100% for both. To speed up this transition, we need bold leaders to level the playing field through legislation and incentives aligned with the necessary transformation.

I look forward to following this development.