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Asos aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030 and aims to match the general population in gender and ethnic diversity among its leaders as the fast fashion company responds to shoppers’ increasing demand for ethical brands.
Fast fashion retailers have faced continued criticism from campaigners about the carbon footprint of cheap clothing that many customers consider disposable. It is estimated that fashion is responsible for about 10% of greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.
The wider sector has also grappled with social issues such as representation among bosses and alleged minimum wage violations against some workers who make the industry’s clothing.
Asos, which sells only online, said it would try to responsibly meet growing customer demand for more choice with emissions reduction, recycling and employee representation targets.
Nick Beighton, the CEO of Asos, said the company had big ambitions. Asos wanted to act sustainably and responsibly, even as it wants to grow rapidly around the world, he said.
Beighton said the sustainability goals would drive some marginal cost increases, but predicted that larger scale would offset this by attracting more people to the brand.
The retailer said it would produce no net carbon in its own operations by 2025 and hopes to align its wider supply chain by 2030. Asos will then offset the remaining emissions from the products and services it purchases.
It also said it would improve the circularity of its products, including using more sustainable or recycled materials in its own branded products and packaging, designing clothes that can be easily recycled and making it easier for customers to recycle clothes.
Primark, another fast fashion leader, also said this week that it would commit to making all of its clothing recyclable by design by 2027. The retailer will also halve its carbon footprint by 2030, it said.
More circularity would help to further reduce the impact of fashion on the planet. A study by the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce found that nearly half of the products added to Asos, Boohoo, Missguided and PrettyLittleThing over a 14-day period were made entirely of new plastics, such as polyester, acrylic and nylon. The demand for virgin plastic helps sustain the fossil fuel industry and ultimately contributes to the waste.
Beighton acknowledged that Asoss’ move was partly aimed at attracting more environmentally conscious consumers, as well as increasing sales from existing customers.
Customers will decide how much to put in their baskets, he said. However, he added that super-cheap prices for some clothes can become unattainable.
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In terms of diversity targets, Asos said it would ensure that by 2030, 50% of managers at every level were women and 15% were from ethnic minorities, from 42% and 7%. That would broadly correspond to the British population, in which: 50.6% were female in 2019, and 14% of ethnic minorities in 2018, according to the Diversity UK think tank.
The retailer will also map its own-brand clothing supply chains by 2030, from finished product to raw material level. Asos was one of the retailers to take away clothes from Boohoo last year after its fellow fast fashion brand faced allegations of minimum wage violations hidden in factories in its supply chain in Leicester.
The responsibility for a sustainable future rests with all of us, and companies must lead the way, Beighton said.
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