Global brands take Canopy pledge at COP27 for forest-friendly sourcing

©Geran de Klerk

Fashion companies including H&M, Inditex, Stella McCartney, and Kering, have announced a collective commitment to purchase over half a million tonnes of low-carbon, low-footprint alternative fibers for fashion textiles and paper packaging.

©Venti Views

Spearheaded by environmental non-profit Canopy at COP27, each signatory company has committed to purchasing 550,000 tonnes of sustainable alternatives to materials sourced from ancient and endangered forests. It is a move that will support the protection of the world’s vital forests and ecosystems and lower forest degradation pressures from the fashion and packaging supply chains.

Each of the companies will transition to forest-friendly supply chains, utilizing sustainable, lower-carbon alternatives, known as Next Generation Solutions, to accelerate to nature-positive business models, added Canopy.

Every year, over 3.2 billion trees are cut down to produce fiber for packaging and clothing, releasing vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. Alternatives to wood, such as agricultural residues and recycled textiles, are readily available and can be scaled to prevent the logging of these forests at this untenable rate. Moving to Next Generation Solutions could help avoid almost 1Gt of CO2 emissions between now and 2030, explains Canopy.