WHAT IS THE PULSE REPORT?
Introduction
The Pulse Report was developed from 2017-2019 as a way to measure sustainability progress in fashion. Guiding the Pulse of the Fashion Industry report was the belief that the environmental, social and ethical challenges confronting the industry aren’t only a threat, but also a potential opportunity to recreate value for fashion businesses.
The Pulse Score presented in each report provides a global and holistic baseline of the sustainability management, target setting and implementation of sustainability initiatives for the fashion sector. It creates transparency and establishes a common understanding of the most critical issues facing the industry.
This report also serves as a foundation for the industry’s ever-evolving landscape — one that can learn how to anticipate future investments and innovations as well as how to identify and prioritise the areas where the industry can reap the most benefit.
Pulse of the fashion industry 2019
Published by Global Fashion Agenda
In partnership with BCG and SAC
Taking the Final Pulse of the Fashion Industry
The Pulse Report was co-developed with Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a global management consulting firm and one of the world’s leading advisor on business strategy, and Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the coalition that has developed the Higg Index, a suite of tools that standardises value chain sustainability measurement for all industry participants.
SUMMARY
The 2019 Pulse Score, the final pulse taken, shows that the fashion industry has improved its social and environmental performance since 2018 —and at a slower rate than the previous year. Despite this improvement, the fashion industry remains far from sustainable.
Furthermore, the findings demonstrate that fashion companies are not implementing sustainable solutions fast enough to counterbalance increasing negative environmental and social impacts of the rapidly growing fashion industry. If the Pulse Score stays on its current trajectory, the gap between industry output and the Pulse Score will only widen.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Pulse Score: 42
Pulse of the fashion industry 2018
Published by Global Fashion Agenda
In partnership with BCG and SAC
Taking the pulse of the fashion industry
According to the Pulse of the Fashion Industry 2018 report, the industry’s performance remains weak. The Pulse Score is 38 out of 100. In the past year, it improved by six points.
The Pulse Survey, which covers the perspectives of decision-makers from all industry segments, confirms that the sustainability agenda became increasingly prominent in shaping the corporate agenda.
Of the executives polled, 52% reported that sustainability targets provided guidance for almost every strategic decision they made—an increase of 18 percentage points from last year. While encouraging, these results also indicate the need for still more movement toward increasingly responsible practices.
Pulse Score: 38
Pulse of the fashion industry 2017
Published by Global Fashion Agenda
In partnership with BCG and SAC
SUMMARY
As of today, the sustainability ‘pulse’ of the industry remains weak at 32 out of 100. The industry still lags behind in where it could and should be. When it comes to sustainability, the best performers consist of mainly large players and several mid-sized, family owned companies.
Over half of the market, mainly small to medium-sized players has shown little initiative towards making the sustainability transition. The rest of the industry is situated somewhere in the middle.
This data is confirmed by the Pulse Survey, which found that two-thirds of polled fashion executives have not made environmental and social factors guiding principles for their companies’ strategy.
Pulse score: 32
