A new article from WWD's Sourcing Journal argues that real ecological transition requires moving beyond single-metric carbon accounting to a systemic framework like the Product Environmental Footprint (PEF). The piece highlights how fashion and textile industries often focus on narrow carbon reductions while ignoring broader environmental impacts such as water use, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion. The PEF method, developed by the European Commission, aims to capture the full lifecycle impact of products. The article features Glimpact, a technology company that helps brands implement PEF-based assessments across their supply chains. The argument is that without a systemic view, companies risk shifting environmental burdens from one category to another rather than achieving genuine decarbonization. For carbon market participants and sustainability professionals, this signals a potential shift in how corporate climate performance will be measured and verified in the coming years.
