Extreme heat and flooding could erase $65bn in apparel export earnings from four Asian countries by 2030 as it jeopardises the health of the workers, new research has revealed.

The slow growth from extreme climate conditions will also result in one million fewer jobs being created, found the study by Cornell University and Schroders.

 

The research mapped out the climate vulnerability of 32 apparel production hubs of six global brands in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan and Vietnam. It found flooding and heat pose material risks to entire fashion industry, leading to a 22 per cent decline in export earnings.

These projections are expected to rise significantly by 2050, representing about 69 per cent in foregone export earnings and 8.64 million fewer jobs, warned the researchers.

But brands, investors or regulators are not prioritising in planning for these risks in the countries that collectively represent 18 per cent of global apparel export due to the industry’s focus on mitigation rather than adaptation measures, said the study.

“Flooding and extreme heat pose significant risk to every constituency in global apparel production – workers, manufacturers, regulators, investor and brands themselves,” said Jason Judd, executive director of Cornell University’s Global Labour Institute.

 

“But no one is factoring the on-the-ground costs of climate breakdown into their planning. The apparel industry and regulators have mostly framed their climate responses around mitigation issues – emissions, water usage, and recycled fabrics,” he said, explaining how climate “loss and damage” for manufacturers and workers are treated by brands as someone else’s problems.

“They are ignoring the climate issues that are dramatically and directly affecting suppliers and their workers now.”

 

FULL STORY

I'm in two minds about this.

On the one hand I despise the "fashion" industry that relies on women throwing away perfectly good clothing, which ends up in landfill, and on the other hand the industry employs many thousands of poor people that would likely find it hard to make a living otherwise.

I'd prefer it if the fashion industry vanished, and people could make a living doing something more worthwhile.