Take a critical look at your apparel, footwear, or outdoor brand’s supply chain
The climate impact, risks, and regulatory pressure facing your brand occur almost entirely at the beginning of the supply chain. They sit with the farmers growing the cotton, the mills producing the polyester, and the manufacturing facilities outside the EU assembling the final products.
This is why new European regulations (CSRD, ESRS, CSDDD, ESPR, EPR) require brands to look far beyond their own operations. You must demonstrate clear insight into the impacts and risks embedded deep within your value chain and show how you manage them.
Anyone dissecting the supply chain in the apparel, footwear, and outdoor sectors will see the same pattern:
The invisible footprint of your sourcing
Look closely, and you will see massive volumes of materials and raw substances flowing into your factories. Between 80% and 95% of your total corporate emissions (Scope 3) are hidden invisibly inside these purchased goods.
Fossil fuel dependency in materials
We have built this entire industry on polyester, nylon, and elastane. These are not natural products, but synthetic, petrochemical materials. As long as we remain trapped in these raw materials, the footprint of every garment, shoe, and trim remains directly tied to the fossil fuel industry.
The recycling illusion at the drawing board
Everyone talks about circularity, but reality is stubborn. Mechanical recycling only works effectively when a product consists entirely of a single material type. Because we constantly blend materials for stretch or design, we unconsciously create products that are virtually impossible to recycle. Chemical alternatives are simply not yet available at scale.
Hidden risks in wet processes
The most significant chemical risks are located deep within the supply chain, outside the EU. Think of wet processes such as dyeing, washing, and finishing fabrics, but also the laminates, coatings, and water-repellent treatments applied to footwear and outdoor products to make them functional. This is where a major part of the compliance challenge lies.
For European brands, the era of looking away is officially over. Regulators no longer accept assumptions. Brands are being held increasingly responsible for what happens deep down the chain.
Compliance is no longer an administrative box‑ticking exercise.
You will only survive if you can actually measure, steer, and document those overseas factories.
Escaping the Upstream Trap: Four Hard Requirements
1. Material Transition
The transition begins at the source: material selection. Brands must shift away from fossil-based synthetic materials (polyester, nylon, elastane) toward bio-based, recycled, or circularly designed alternatives with a demonstrably lower climate footprint.
Without this shift, reduction targets remain out of reach.
2. Supplier Collaboration
No brand can reduce its Scope 3 emissions unless Tier 1 to Tier 3 suppliers move with them. Collaboration only becomes true supply chain governance when brands and suppliers make joint decisions on materials, processes, chemicals, design, and data.
3. Data Transparency & Traceability
Estimates and industry averages are no longer sufficient for compliance. Brands must extract primary data from deep within the supply chain and prove how they mitigate risks. This requires reliable supply chain data and verified information.
4. Design for Circularity
Circularity only works when products are designed for recycling and suppliers are given the room to adapt.
Impact is largely determined during the design phase: material selection, fabric blends, chemicals, color processes, trims, and recyclability.
Design dictates the final footprint and influences future EPR accountability: The better a product is designed for recycling, the better organizations are prepared for upcoming EPR obligations.
Why Climate Data Is Now a Strategic Instrument
Climate data is shifting from a reporting requirement to an operational steering tool. It forms the foundation for material selection, supplier sourcing, product design, and process optimization.
Companies that cannot measure their supply chain cannot manage it and will soon be unable to prove they comply with European rules.
Without reliable upstream data, it will become impossible to meet European requirements and retain access to the European market.
Compliance is not an administrative burden, but the minimum requirement to be allowed to sell anything at all.
