Burberry, H&M and Stella McCartney unite to fight global warming

Burberry, H&M, Stella McCartney and Hugo Boss are teaming up to fight climate change with the signing of a new charter.

The brands are just some of the 43 fashion businesses to have signed the newly-unveiled ‘Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action', a UN Climate Change initiative. Additional signatories include adidas, Gap Inc., Kering, Levi Strauss & Co., Puma SE, PVH Corp. and Target, as well as organizations such as the China National Textile and Apparel Council and the Outdoor Industry Association and Textile Exchange.

The charter aims to address the role of the fashion industry "on both sides of the climate equation" -- meaning that it will focus on the ways in which the sector can reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and focus on sustainable development via 16 different commitments. Its goal is for the industry to achieve net zero emissions by the year 2050.

"This charter is about getting the fashion industry united in important climate work," said Karl-Johan Persson, CEO of the H&M group, in a statement. "Our industry has a global reach and only together can we create the change that is urgently needed."

News of the charter was first revealed by the luxury designer Stella McCartney in November. "Everything is at stake," she said of the initiative at the time. "It's really about bringing everyone together as an industry, and instead of having a few people talk about it, it's having everyone talk about it and the leaders ... actually taking responsibility, putting our money where our mouth is and making an amazing change together."

For more information about the charter, see https://unfccc.int