World apparel and footwear consumption is projected to rise 63 per cent by 2030.This increases the need for the fashion industry to address its environmental and social footprint and take remedial action.

Global Fashion Agenda and Boston Consulting Group have developed a pulse score to assess the industry’s performance on environmental and social issues across fashion companies and stages of the value chain.

As of today, the sustainability pulse of the industry is weak – scoring only 32 out of 100.

The fashion industry has a clear opportunity to act differently, pursuing profit and growth while also creating new value for the world economy.

In the past decade, the global fashion industry has been an engine for global development and made progress on sustainability. Awareness is growing and individually, companies are optimising business practices to limit their negative impact.

But with current trajectories of production and consumption, pressures on natural resources and social conditions will intensify by 2030 to the point of threatening the industry’s growth itself.

The industry can move beyond fragmented individual actions with incremental results. Through collective efforts the industry can unite around an agenda for change, drive the needed systemic change and work jointly on disruptive innovation.