We’ve been saying for a while now that the fastest way to cut greenhouse gas emissions in our supply chain is by working alongside our suppliers, other brands and cross-industry partners. This week, we put that belief into action.
At New York Climate Week, we joined forces with Marks & Spencer and Schneider Electric’s SE Advisory Services to launch the Fashion Renewable Collaborative (FRC). It’s a new program designed to help global apparel suppliers — the garment manufacturers and fabric mills that make our clothes — turn their renewable energy ambitions into reality through practical solutions that make clean electricity more accessible.
Fundamentally, the FRC is based on lessons we’ve learned over the past decade about how to do this work and the need to scale the progress we and other brands have made individually into something larger. Textile processing — the fabric mills and dye houses — accounts for more than half of the fashion industry’s emissions, and shifting that part of the supply chain to renewable power is the single biggest lever the industry has for cutting emissions in manufacturing. The catch is that most suppliers want to make the switch but run into the same challenges: it’s expensive, the energy markets are confusing and every brand they work with asks for something slightly different. Imagine trying to plan your energy strategy while five different customers each hand you a different rulebook.
What makes the FRC new is that it gives suppliers real tools they can use to understand and access renewable electricity in their markets. This includes digital education, market guidance and hands-on help with things like power purchase agreements, energy certificates, on-site solar and battery storage. One clear, coordinated path instead of a pile of conflicting asks.
We’ve seen how this can work firsthand. A little over a year ago, we launched a pilot program in India to help our suppliers gain access to renewable electricity. Nearly 50 facilities signed up, which told us two things: suppliers want to make this shift, and the demand is there when you remove the friction. The FRC is our attempt to take that lesson and scale it — not just across our own supply chain, but across the industry.
We think this is one of the more innovative efforts to address the fashion industry’s climate challenge head-on — reimagining what’s possible in this space not with another commitment, but with something suppliers can actually use. But we know one brand and one retailer, even working with a partner like Schneider Electric, can only move the needle so far. So we’re actively inviting other fashion brands to join as sponsors and members. The more companies that sign on, the more suppliers get access to consistent support instead of a patchwork of programs, and the faster the whole industry can move.
This didn’t come out of nowhere. Back in 2024, we introduced our climate transition action plan (CTAP), laying out how we’d hit net-zero emissions by 2050 and cut our supply chain emissions 42% by 2030. That plan was clear-eyed about the fact that we can’t do these things alone. Emissions from our supply chain make up over 99% of our climate footprint, and reducing them requires exactly the kind of industry-wide teamwork the FRC is built for. This launch is that plan put into motion.
“It’s become abundantly clear that the most effective way forward on emissions reduction is working in partnership with suppliers. The FRC enables greater support for suppliers that want to access or would like to increase use of renewable electricity but haven’t been able to so far. We can help facilitate adoption while reducing unnecessary duplication,” said Jennifer DuBuisson, senior director of Sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co. “It’s a natural extension of work we’ve already been doing with our own suppliers, and we’re glad to bring that experience into this effort with M&S and SE Advisory Services — and ideally more brands in the near future.”
