BRICS’ COP30 climate goals could scale up global sustainable fashion

Image credit: Mathias Reding

The fashion industry is responsible for about 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions according to the United Nations. At its current trajectory, the industry’s emissions could rise to 26% or a quarter of the world's carbon budget by 2050. Deemed one of the most polluting industries in the world, it uses 342 million barrels of oil (fossil fuels) to make synthetic textiles. It produces greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to around 1.2 billion tonnes of CO2 each year – more than shipping and aviation combined. Despite fashion’s contribution to climate issues, it’s not always included in top level climate discussions.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)’s 30th annual Conference of Parties aka COP30, is the world’s largest and most important annual climate conference with nearly 200 nations is running from November 10 to 21, 2025. The host country, Brazil, insisted that this year’s summit must lead to ‘implementation’, calling it “the COP of implementation”. In addition to setting this year’s COP30 agenda, Brazil also holds the current presidency of BRICS countries- the economic and political trade cooperation bloc made up of ten emerging economies. The COP30 agenda is structured around several themes, three of which relate more closely with fashion emissions:

Transitioning energy and industry is about transitioning away from fossil fuels towards clean energy sources. The connection with the fashion industry relates to the reliance on fossil fuels for the production of synthetic textiles such as polyester being a significant driver of climate change.

Stewarding forests, oceans, and biodiversity focuses on protecting ecosystems, ending deforestation and acknowledging the role of these areas in climate regulation. The fashion industry is a culprit here because it relies on these ecosystems for raw materials and water, yet its practices such as deforestation, pollution, and resource-intensive production severely damage them. This creates a cycle of degradation, biodiversity loss and destruction of ecosystems, which undermines the very natural resources it depends on and exacerbates climate change.

Unleashing enablers and accelerators, including finance, technology and capacity building covers guidelines of climate action, such as mobilising climate finance, developing and deploying technology and building capacity. This can provide a framework for the fashion industry to minimise its greenhouse gas emissions, aligning with goals such as those of set by the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and the Paris Agreement.

Image credit: Marcus Loke

Australia’s fashion overconsumption and COP30 commitment

In regards to fashion and emissions, Australia is one of the biggest consumers of fashion and most wasteful in the world per capita. Australia is also in attendance at COP30 and has committed to Brazil’s leadership in the COP30 agenda which addresses some fashion-related climate issues:    

• deliver the clean energy transition

• further reduce global emissions

• strengthen adaptation efforts

• mobilise resources for climate finance

• unlock investment in clean energy solutions for Australia and our region. 

BRICS green manufacturing agenda can provide a framework for the sustainable development of Australia and the global textiles & fashion sector.

BRICS’ sustainable governance declaration

In July 2025, BRICS’ ten-member states (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Ethiopia, Egypt and Iran) held a meeting in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The bloc’s meeting reaffirmed their commitment to the objectives of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement in tackling climate change and mitigating, adapting and providing the means of implementation to developing countries. In Rio de Janeiro, the bloc produced a declaration, ‘Strengthening Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance’ also known as BRICS Leaders Declaration detailing a set of climate policies specifically targeted at the negotiations at COP30 in the city of Belem, in Brazil in November 2025. These policies of climate finance, carbon accounting, energy transition and a multilateral sustainability platform are additionally suitable for addressing fashion’s emissions and pollution problems.

In a statement addressing Brazil’s COP30-BRICS climate convergence, the Interim Executive Director, World Resources Institute, Brazil Mirela Sandrini said “Brazil deserves credit for bringing the BRICS together behind a more assertive vision for climate action. Brazil is deftly weaving climate diplomacy into the fabric of broader global agendas – from its G20 Presidency to BRICS and soon the COP30 summit.  This integrated approach helps reduce fragmentation across international fora and positions climate policy as a cornerstone of global economic and financial reform – driving the inclusive, green growth the world urgently needs.”   

BRICS to COP30 climate policies (à la fashion)

Climate finance

Strengthening climate finance, increased climate lending and deeper green bond markets are one of the BRICS’ climate policy asks. The BRICS declaration emphasised “ensuring accessible, timely and affordable climate finance for developing countries is critical for enabling just transitions pathways that combine climate action with sustainable development.” This means advancing the existing responsibility of mobilising and providing resources from developed countries towards developing countries under the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement.

The declaration includes the objective to strengthen pathways and mechanisms that involve and incentivise private sector climate finance & investment efforts and complement public finance flows to this mission.

It’s assumed that the declaration’s climate policy is reinforcing the agreement created at COP29 in 2024 for a new climate finance goal, New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG). This was designed to provide USD $300 billion annually by 2035 to developing countries with a bigger target for all actors both in public and private sectors to mobilise a minimum of USD $1.3 trillion by 2035; far closer to the amount developing countries need for the mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage.    

Climate finance stems from wealthier nations historically contributing far more to climate change. Critics such as Oxfam have raised concerns that the mix of private investment and loans under climate finance could lead to more debt for vulnerable developing nations rather providing fair and equitable financial climate support.

The July BRICS declaration addresses debt around international financial cooperation, saying “High interest rates and tighter financing conditions worsen debt vulnerabilities in many countries. We believe it is necessary to address the international debt properly and in a holistic manner to support economic recovery and sustainable development….”

If implemented correctly, there are a plethora of ways that climate finance can be useful in salvaging the environment from fashion’s harmful operations. According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), every year, as many as 4 million tonnes of used textiles are shipped across the planet from North to South. Around 40% of imported clothing bundles are unsellable, unusable and unwearable according to Greenpeace. They are immediately destined for landfill, incineration or end up polluting beaches and waterways. Climate finance could mitigate a significant amount of the environmental impact of this waste stream.

Energy Transitions – Reaching adequate, predictable and accessible low-cost and concessional finance to bridge the funding gap for energy transitions is one of the bloc’s summit priorities. As manufacturing is a major and fundamental aspect of fashion production, the industry’s sustainability can benefit significantly from finance for energy transitions.

Carbon accounting

The declaration pushes for a mutually recognised system, methodologies and standard for assessing greenhouse gas emissions for a more balanced international approach by manifesting the BRICS Principles for Fair, Inclusive, and Transparent Carbon Accounting. It focuses on creating carbon accounting standards for product and facility footprints that consider diverse circumstances of different nations. The standard most used in the fashion industry for carbon accounting is potentially the ISO 14067 which provides a framework for only calculating a product's carbon footprint through a "cradle-to-grave" lifecycle assessment (LCA) but does not include the facility’s footprint, nor associated circumstances.  

Multilateral climate, sustainability & trade platform

The BRICS Laboratory for Trade, Climate Change and Sustainable Development is a platform for collaborating on mutually supportive approaches to trade and environmental policy. It enables BRICS members to not only benefit from trade but also collectively respond to unilateral measures and contribute to global efforts in addressing environmental challenges.

This can serve as a model for a new unified international fashion platform or for existing organisations, such as the UN Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, to either step up or create a coordinated agenda of environmental policy, legislation, sustainable trade and global best practice principles. Different countries have been passing various forms of legislation, creating policies and programs for trade to combat the harm done by the fashion industry. It could be highly effective to have a global sustainable fashion platform.

As COP30 has been designated the ‘COP of implementation’ along with the BRICS declaration climate policies for the climate summit, fashion might be able to adopt these measures to advance positive climate and environmental outcomes.

Article by Nina Gbor

The EU’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) law that may force the fashion industry to become more sustainable

Image credit: Fernand De Canne

The European Union has struck textile companies with intensive laws dedicated to reducing the impact of fast fashion on the planet. The union has been at the forefront of rooting out the exploitative business practices of fast fashion giants such as Shein, H&M, and Inditex Group (which includes companies like Berksha, Zara, and Massimo Dutti). The EU is implementing laws that will reduce textile waste and promote recycling of fashion items. 

According to The Fashion Law, the EU has introduced an “Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)” mandate on 9 September 2025 for textile producers, which ensures that fast fashion companies shoulder the responsibility of “collecting, sorting, and recycling the clothing and household textiles” instead of individual consumers. The EPR is an addition to the existing Waste Framework Directive which calls for the development of sustainable waste management practices. Fortunately, these rules are also applicable to traditional European labels, promoting sustainability in the textile industry regardless of their business model. The EU is adamant about each member state adopting the necessary technology and infrastructure and setting protracted policy goals for the future. 

In the Waste Framework Directive, the EU highlights the complex composition of municipal waste which makes efficient sorting and recycling difficult for existing waste management infrastructures. The active participation of citizens is also a major factor in waste management to ensure each category of waste is discarded and recycled correctly. The Waste Framework Directive also stated that in order to combat the level of municipal waste in the world, a sophisticated system and public awareness is necessary. However, EPR rightfully places the responsibility of recycling on one of the world’s largest polluters themselves, forcing these companies to comply with sustainable business practices moving forward. 

If fast fashion companies continue to operate within the non-stop, trend-focused business model, the fashion industry is projected to generate 26% of the world’s carbon emissions by 2050. The only beneficiaries of this horrible statistic are the companies that earn billions of dollars from exploiting human labor and destroying the planet. This huge achievement toward legislative change in fashion serves as a framework for the rest of the world to reject unnecessary textile waste. However, the issue has not been abolished completely. Unless the rest of the world creates similar programs for its fashion markets, fast fashion giants will continue to switch their marketing practices and entice you to buy that new shirt for your “first” events forever. 

Australia is a leading consumer of fast fashion, ahead of many EU nations and the US. In a 2024 research paper by Nina Gbor and Olivia Chollet from the Australia Institute emphasized that the sheer quantity of Australian textile waste is 200,000 tonnes, equivalent to a weight of four Sydney Harbor Bridges. The Australian government needs to establish concrete laws similar to the EU to curb its textile waste crisis. Nina Gbor, founder of Eco Styles, has launched a petition to revive the Australian textile industry with a focus on circular economy practices. Here is a brief summary of some of the policies this petition is advocating for: 

•  Reviving the Australian textile industry, which can help create a $38 billion industry for onshore production jobs for women 

• Significant industry reform under the Labor Government’s Progressive productivity agenda and its commitment to the net-zero agenda by 2050 as well as strengthen the economic resilience of the country

• Taxing ultra fast-fashion brands and investing the returns into the Australian fashion industry 

• Phasing out virgin plastics and synthetic materials as well as banning toxic chemicals in line with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals foundation

• Public awareness about the health and environmental complications of buying fast fashion items

• Pushing for ethical business and fair trade practices under the Modern Slavery Act of 2018 to ensure there are no human rights violations within the industry. 

Sign the petition to create impactful change in legislation and consumer behavior in Australia. Self-expression through fashion should not have such a heavy cost. When you buy your next piece of clothing, think about the social and environmental impact of the item you are purchasing. Prioritize brands practice sustainability, quality, and fair trade. Opt for methods such as thrifting, mending, repairing, and swapping to elongate the lifecycle of clothing items and prevent their early demise into landfills already brimming to their maximum capacity. 

Article by Samya Dawadi for Eco Styles. Samya’s focus is on environmental and sustainability consulting in business and art. 

Italy fines Shein €1 million for greenwashing

Ultra-fast fashion conglomerate Shein, is being fined for the second time in two months. Italy’s antitrust agency, AGCM recently issued a €1M fine (approximately $1.7 million AUD / $1.15M USD) for greenwashing practices i.e. “misleading customers about the environmental impact of its products.”

Similarly, the first fine for Shein came from France in July this year through the country’s antitrust agency responsible for consumer protection and competition. They hit Shein with the first greenwashing fine to the tune of €40 million (approx. $72 million AUD) for fake discounts and misleading environmental claims.

The brand allegedly used “vague, generic, and/or overly emphatic,” claims that were considered “misleading or omissive” in connection to its “evoluSHEIN by design” collection. It promoted sustainable practices, with claims like using “fabrics left over by other fashion brands that were destined for landfill or incineration.”

The company’s touts of a circular system design and product recyclability "were found to be false or at the very least confusing", and the green credentials of its 'evoluSHEIN by design' collection were overstated, the regulator said.

Italy has fined the Chinese fast fashion online retailer Shien over $1.7 million for greenwashing. Nina Gbor from the Australia Institute says the e-commerce giant was giving “false and misleading” information to customers that they were doing something good for the environment.

The agency said the recyclability claims “were found to be either false or at least confusing,” warning consumers might think Shein products are fully recyclable and made only from sustainable materials which “does not reflect reality.” It’s also "a fact that, considering the fibres used and currently existing recycling systems, is untrue".

Italy’s AGCM also accused the brand of using a “misleading communication strategy” about its environmental impact, like Shein’s commitments to cut greenhouse emissions by 25% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050, noting that Shein's emissions increased in 2023 and 2024.

Shein responded by saying they have “strengthened internal review processes” and cleaned up its website to make sure all environmental claims are now “clear, verifiable, and compliant with regulations.”

Shein’s Impact

Shein made $32.5 billion sales in 2023. Their sales were forecasted to reach $50 billion in 2024. The average price of an item from Shein is between $10 - $20. It ships ultra-cheap clothing from thousands of suppliers to tens of millions of customer mailboxes in around 150 countries. 

These are factors that make Shein one of the biggest polluters of fast fashion. It has about 600,000 items for sale on average on its website and adds around 10,000 items each day. The company was shipping about one million products a day as of last year. In 2024, the company made over one billion dollars in revenue in Australia.  

There were concerns were from Shein’s third annual sustainability report published in 2023 which showed the company nearly doubled its carbon dioxide emissions between 2022 and 2023. Shein emitted 16.7 million total metric tons of carbon dioxide in 2023 which falls far below its Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) validated reduction targets to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 42% by 2030.

Can fining fast fashion companies be effective in Australia and other countries?

There’s nothing that corporations and most businesses hate more than losing profits in any way. So, the answer to whether fining greenwashing can work in my opinion is yes. Provided the fines are substantial amounts and not just a slap on the wrist. I think each time a company fails to comply with environmental regulations they should be fined. And the fines can potentially increase each time the offence is committed again. And if the fines are proving ineffective in general, it might be a sign that the amounts are too small to have an impact, therefore they should be increased.  

Isn’t it the consumers’ responsibility not to purchase fast fashion?

Every individual is responsible for their actions, including their own consumption and overconsumption habits. However, I believe the onus lies more on the brands/corporations to do the right thing by being honest and transparent with their claims. Clothing companies with access to multi-million- or billion-dollar funds have the resources and power to run operations and access materials that are genuinely better for the environment while still being profitable in many cases. Whereas, some consumers are experiencing cost-of-living crises, are time-poor because of life commitments and experience other issues that make it challenging for them to patronise non-fast fashion items.

 What can consumers people do instead of fast fashion?

Instead of buying fast fashion, consumers can:

• purchase secondhand items

• host or attend clothes swaps

• rent / hire and borrow clothing

• repair, mend or repurpose existing garments

• use free clothing services such as Thread Together who get left over clothes from retail brands and give to people who need them.

Moreover, some fast fashion items are have been found to have toxic chemicals from the materials used and dyes. Secondhand clothes might have less toxic chemicals than brand new ones. In addition to this, about 85% of clothes end up in landfill or incinerated each year. Reusing garments diverts clothes from landfill and it’s healthier for the environment in several ways.

*Article by Nina Gbor

How to reduce your fashion waste and environmental impact

Photo by Tamara Bellis

Over recent years the fashion industry has changed drastically; fast-fashion is now leading the growth in clothing consumption with clothing production doubling between 2000 and 2015 whilst the lifetime of the garments is decreasing. Mass produced clothing focusing on fast inventory turnarounds to capture everchanging trends. Let’s talk about figuring out the carbon footprint of your clothing consumption and a few tips for lowering it.  

The circular economy model stems from the idea of keeping resources in a loop to optimise their use and value. The clothing industry is globally one of the most dominant industries and highest value industries due to its product value, employment and market size, and it has doubled in production size in the last two decades. Each year, 150 billion fashion items are produced globally, making the textile sector a considerable polluter with a detrimentally significant carbon footprint that many consumers are unaware of. The carbon footprint of the clothing industry is something that must not be ignored and with the increase in fashion overproduction and overconsumption, it’s necessary to stay informed on ways to curate a sustainable wardrobe that can also be very stylish. Something as simple as "extending the life of clothes by an extra nine months of active use would reduce carbon, water, and waste footprints by around 20-30% each".

What makes up the clothing carbon footprint?

Photo by George Evans

Extraction and manufacturing 

The most significant contributor to the clothing carbon footprint is from the production of clothing fibres, their production requires a substantial amount of water, energy, fertilisers, and land use. As well as this, there is the manufacturing process; consisting of the weaving, dyeing, cutting, and sewing which all use large amounts of energy, chemicals, and also the disposal of the fabric offcuts. With many companies having a global presence and reach, another significant contributor is transportation - the raw materials and the final clothing products often travel extensive distances all around the world. Packaging of the products also contributes to the industry's carbon emissions. 

Consumption impacts

Once the consumer has received their items there is then the energy usage of washing, drying and ironing the clothes. Lastly, when people eventually dispose of the clothing that they no longer want, around 87% globally, goes into landfills despite the clothing still having 70% of its useful life left. Clothing made from synthetics such as Polyester “accumulate in landfills because conventional PET is non biodegradable” which can release harmful additives and microfibres which pollute the land, water and air.

Calculating your carbon footprint 

This might seem daunting but there are many ways you can mitigate your impact and reduce your clothing footprint. To make a start there are many online resources that you can use to calculate your clothing carbon footprint, I would recommend Thredup. It asks you various questions about your clothing consumption and habits and then provides you with tailored suggestions on ways you can reduce your fashion footprint. 

What else can you do?  

• Upcycle your clothes - this includes repurposing clothes such as transforming unwanted clothes into something else and clothes customisation. 

• Support circular fashion - utilise brands that offer schemes where they accept old clothes back and buy second hand items to keep existing clothes in circulation. Ensure that brands with take back schemes are reusing or recycling the clothing in the right ways and not burning them or sending the clothes to landfill. 

• Donate or sell your unwanted clothes - donating and selling your clothes gives them a second life and reduces the demand for brand new items.

• Buy less clothes - when you are wanting to buy a new item question how much you need this or how often you will wear it.

• Trade clothes - swap clothes with friends and family and host and attend clothes swaps. Clothes Swap & Style have free monthly clothes swap events in Sydney, Australia. You can get free tips from them on how to host your own clothes swap.

• Repair your clothes - rather than replacing damaged clothes with minor problems, you can repair them, this extends the life of your garments.

• Rent or borrow clothes - instead of buying new clothes for one off special events you can rent them, it is a fraction of the cost and helps optimise the usage of an item of clothing.

• Educate yourself and others - share your knowledge with friends and family and stay connected with developments in circular fashion. Support sustainable brands - when you need new clothing, support the companies that prioritise sustainability and are making clothes designed for long term wear. You can know if a brand is not greenwashing when they are not transparent about how many garments they manufacture each year and refuse to disclose their information about their supply chain. 

• Avoid fast fashion - Instead you could try shopping for preloved clothing. Fast fashion produces clothing at artificially low costs using unsustainable factors such as modern slavery, planned obsolescence and poor-quality materials. Their low quality encourages short-term wear. These clothing items have also been proven to have toxic chemicals such as pesticides and flame retardants in the manufacturing process which can seriously impact your health as prolonged contact with the skin can absorb the chemicals into your body.

• Restyle your clothes - this is using your creativity to wear one item of clothing in a variety of different ways through layering and accessorising, for different types of occasions which is demonstrated in this article.

Photo by Tamara Bellis

Article by Talisa Sharma. Talisa has a passion for business and enjoys educating and promoting sustainability and carbon friendly initiatives.

How to host different types of clothes swaps for friends and communities

In this very strange era where clothes are cheaper than chips and perceived as disposable, it’s a real shame that so many amazing, reusable items end up in landfill. Globally, a little under a hundred billion garments end up in landfill each year. In Australia alone, that figure is over 200,000 kg a year.

If you’re someone who loves good style but hates fashion waste, clothes swapping might be the answer to ending this conveyor belt of waste to landfill.

 At a clothes swap, attendees bring their quality unwanted garments and accessories to swap with other people’s valued, quality items.

Why swaps are so much fun? Whether you’re swapping with a few friends at home, or with a big group of strangers bonding over your mutual love for style and waste reduction, you’ll likely walk away with a big smile on your face. Here’s why:

• you meet lots of cool, like-minded people  

• swaps reduce clothing waste to landfill by keeping clothes in circularity for longer

• swaps reduce carbon emissions, energy and virgin resource use

• they’re a free (or low cost) way to give your wardrobe a refresh and new look

• an easy way for your community, organisation, friends or neighbourhood to fight waste.

 Need an additional reason? How about using the swap idea as an excuse for a party?!

 Here are ideas to help you get your swap game going:

Have a film screening

Photo by Joseph Pearson on Unsplash

ABC TV’s environmental tv series War On Waste is an entertaining and informative docuseries that complements a swap perfectly. Have a few friends over at your place for a screening night with a clothes swap on the side. You can also screen other documentaries and films that fuel your passion for sustainable action. A clothes rack or table where people can hang or place their swap items is sufficient. Bonus points if there's drinks and food!  

Neighbourhood & community swap party

Now this is a real party. Organise a clothes swap in your neighbourhood with neighbours or community with members. It can literally be on the street (with required permits), in front of several houses or even a community hall. At these community swaps, new friendships are formed, communities are built and grow stronger. It brings people together and inspires conversations on ways that people in the local community can collectively take action such as swapping other household items to reduce waste, community gardening and composting for instance.

Food always makes events more exciting so you can also make it a barbeque or food potluck clothes swap! Some music and entertainment are options that work beautifully in these scenarios. If you need guidance on hosting a swap, you can find resources here to support you through the process.

All-day drop in clothes swap

These swaps are so convenient for people to drop in when it suits them. The swap can run for several hours or all day. It’s necessary to have some swap clothes ready ahead of time so that the first groups of swappers to arrive have more options of clothing to swap. You can put a call out for clothing donations beforehand that you’ll use on the day to get your swap started.

Create a clothes swap business

Starting a clothes swap business is an innovative way to reduce fashion waste. 92 million tonnes of clothing goes to waste each year globally. With an abundance of secondhand clothes on the planet, a clothes swapping event business could be potentially profitable and healthier for the environment.

General clothes swap event

This is where you host a general clothes swap that’s not designed for a specific community, group or neighbourhood so that anyone, from anywhere can join in the fun. You might promote and advertise your swap online and through other channels so that people can find out about it. This is a great way to convene with sustainability-loving fashionistas. It’s the kind of swap that can attract a few more trendy fashion pieces than your average swap. Here’s a free ‘how to host a clothes swap’ resources toolkit to make it easier to host your swaps.  

Themed swaps

Holiday events and occasions are often celebrated with disposable material stuff, food waste or excessive plastic that quickly becomes waste. In some cases, all of the above. It's time we shifted this environmentally-damaging waste culture by celebrating our occasions in more sustainable ways like swapping.

You can theme your swaps as birthday swaps, picnic swaps, Mother’s Day swaps, Earth Day swaps, Valentine’s Day swaps, swaps for larger sizes only, International Women’s Day swaps, swaps for clothing designed for men, swaps for bridal hens’ nights, swaps for formal wear, etc. Theme ideas are endless!

Article by Nina Gbor.