Hermes, Nike and Lululemon among those ignoring the human rights impacts of decarbonisation plans.

Global fashion brands, including Hermes, Nike and Lululemon, are being accused of greenwashing for creating bold decarbonisation pledges without the necessary plans to safeguard supply chain workers from the impact of the shift to cleaner energies.

A new report (The missing thread: Workers absent from fashion companies’ climate plans) published today looks at how 65 top fashion brands are failing to integrate worker rights into their climate strategies. Over half of 65 leading fashion brands analysed by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) have committed to cutting emissions by 2030 -- but none of them address the human rights impacts of supply chain decarbonisation.

The report outlines how the urgent need to decarbonise the fashion industry is a chance to remodel it as one that is fairer and more resilient, but emphasises that without meaningful worker inclusion and a commitment to just transition principles based on shared prosperity, brands’ climate strategies risk deepening existing inequalities – and will amount to little more than sustainability spin.  

Key findings from the research: 

• Over half of 65 brands (44) commit to emissions reductions by 2030, but not one target is framed around decarbonising while engaging with or mitigating the impact on workers.  
• No company has a stand-alone Just Transition Policy. 
• Just eight companies include a statement or wording on the just transition within their environmental and social policies. 
• Of the eight companies with the most ambitious climate targets, only two, Inditex and Kering (owners of Zara, Gucci and Alexander McQueen), have public climate transition plans that mention workers. Capri, Hermes, Hugo Boss, H&M, LPP, Lululemon, Nike and Primark do not. 
• Ten companies have published broader climate transition policies or plans that outline how they will engage with climate adaptation and mitigation within their operations and supply chain.  
• Of these ten, just three mention workers, showing an understanding of the risks and opportunities of climate change and the transition for workers, and that these issues must be tackled together. 
• 43 companies set out requirements for suppliers regarding factory emissions; 42 of these detail support offered to suppliers to achieve this, but this is usually in the form of training or general “engagement”.  
• Only 16 companies detail any financial support for suppliers to decarbonise - including indirect support such as help accessing loans and financing.  
• Only 11 companies mention workers in relation to the impacts of climate change in their social policies, including human rights and health and safety policies.   
• Just ten companies acknowledge the critical health and safety issue of heat stress, and only four have detailed guidance on the issue for suppliers.   
• Only two companies (Canada Goose and VF Corp) mention climate impacts on the livelihoods of supply chain workers.   

However, there have been some examples of better practice by brands: 

• Inditex explicitly links its “Workers at the Centre” strategy and its climate transition plan.  
• adidas, Levi’s, Nike and Next set out expectations for suppliers on how to engage with  heat stress. 
• Moncler includes trade unions as a stakeholder group for environmental issues.  
• H&M explicitly acknowledges the need for direct financial support to reduce supply chain emissions. 

The report urges fashion brands to embed just transition principles into their core business strategies – including the promotion of freedom of association in supplier factories. If they are to implement decarbonisation plans that truly take workers into consideration, they must begin by engaging with trade unions as key stakeholders, supporting their suppliers financially to meet decarbonisation targets and publishing guidance on managing workplace climate impacts.

Natalie Swan, Labour Rights Programme Manager at the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, said: "Without major transformation, the fashion industry is projected to contribute more than 25% of total global greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. This will intensify extreme weather events such as heatwaves and flooding in major sourcing regions, disrupting production and endangering the health and livelihoods of already vulnerable workers. There is a critical need to act now, before the window for meaningful intervention closes. 
“But the fashion industry’s climate targets mean little if the people who make its products are not taken into consideration. While urgent decarbonisation of the industry is crucial, companies are failing to recognise the ways in which this rapid process is likely to impact the human rights of workers in their supply chains. Decarbonisation done without workers as critical and creative partners is not a just transition, it’s a dangerous shortcut. 

“Brands must stop hiding behind greenwashing slogans and start seriously engaging workers and their trade unions, whose rights, livelihoods and safety are under threat from both climate change and the industry’s response to it. If implemented thoughtfully, the shift to clean energy can help transform a historically exploitative industry into one that is more equitable, inclusive and resilient. Decarbonisation strategies, done right, protect workers and communities, reduce long-term risk and lay the foundation for stronger, fairer and more resilient supply chains.”

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Notes to editors:  

• Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC) is an international NGO that tracks the human rights impacts of companies across the globe. 
• This report (‘The missing thread: Workers absent from fashion companies’ climate plans’) reveals how 65 top fashion brands are failing to integrate worker rights and representation into their climate strategies. The findings highlight how companies are driving rapid decarbonisation, yet workers are excluded from both planning and protections for a just transition. The result is a transition that risks entrenching existing inequalities, rather than building resilience and shared prosperity across supply chains.
• Methodology: This research (conducted between August 2024 and April 2025) is based on a desk-based review of company policies, reporting and websites of the 65 largest apparel and footwear companies (by market capitalisation). A web scrape review of key terminology was used across companies’ websites. Findings were then presented to supply chain workers in order to inform this report’s recommendations. Focus group discussions were undertaken with workers, trade union leaders, NGOs and other industry stakeholders in Bangladesh (December 2024) and Cambodia (March 2025).