Acceleration & Collaboration — Let’s Help Darwin!

If you’re reading this, you already know: the global fashion industry accounts for an estimated 8–10% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Without significant action, these emissions are projected to increase by 30% by 2030. According to McKinsey, two-thirds of brands are falling behind their own decarbonization schedules — schedules that were already insufficient to meet the industry’s targets. Even the brands with the best intentions aren’t doing enough.

In short, we’re on track to miss the greatest challenge of our lifetime.

It’s tempting to fall into the “Victim” narrative: It’s too complex. It’s not my fault. I’m doing my best. Trust me — I’ve been there too. Welcome to the club!

But there’s another, cooler club: the “Hero” narrative. This is where solutions are emerging, battles are being fought, and industry game-changers are starting to take shape. Join us, and let’s disrupt fashion from the inside!

Moving From Diagnosis to Action

Our friends at McKinsey offer valuable insights in their report, How Fashion Can Afford and Accelerate Decarbonization. They highlight several key hurdles the fashion industry faces, including the complexity of supply chains, the high upfront costs associated with sustainability, and the uncertainty many brands feel about where to start. Additionally, the industry struggles with a lack of supply chain transparency, further complicating efforts to decarbonize.

Despite these challenges, McKinsey outlines clear actions to drive progress. Brands need to get granular on their data, focusing on precise impact measurements. They should prioritize what McKinsey calls the “Big Two” solutions: material transition and energy transformation at the tier-two supplier level. Finally, collaborations should shift from theoretical discussions to action-oriented partnerships.

We’ve taken these recommendations to heart and are actively working on solutions that align with these principles.

The Cold, Hard Truth

Here’s the current reality from the “Victim” perspective:

The industry isn’t moving fast enough. Regulators, brands, and consumers all recognize something is off, but they differ in their sense of urgency and the paths they believe are most viable. Production processes remain resource-intensive, relying on toxic chemicals, excessive water use, and generating massive amounts of waste — an unsustainable starting point.

On top of this, brands and suppliers often struggle to collaborate effectively. Traditional relationships in the fashion industry are transactional, overlooking the potential for mutual growth and innovation. This dynamic is problematic because the scalable solutions the industry desperately needs require collaboration.

Finally, competition within the industry further complicates progress. Building partnerships and trust is challenging in a fragmented, hyper-competitive landscape.

Is the Industry Stuck Forever?

No. We believe change will happen.

Progress is already happening. Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable practices, pushing brands to innovate. Suppliers are stepping up with new manufacturing technologies. Climate-tech startups are emerging to tackle the industry’s toughest challenges, and policymakers are beginning to introduce regulations that reflect the urgency of fashion’s impact on the planet.

The common thread in all these advancements is collaboration. By working together, stakeholders across the industry can drive profitability and sustainability, showing that the two are not mutually exclusive but deeply interconnected.

What We’re Doing at AM Enterprise

Disclaimer: I know I have my own biases. I don’t pretend to have all the answers or understand every single nuance of the problem. But after spending five years surrounded by brilliant, passionate people who genuinely care about tackling climate change, I truly believe the solutions we’re working on right now are the best ones out there. That said, I’m always open to being proven wrong — because honestly, if someone has something better, I’ll be the first to cheer them on. At the end of the day, it’s not about being right; it’s about finding what actually works.

Last year, we shared our goal to accelerate the Sustainability adoption curve.

We’ve been working hard to transform ourselves, and I’m proud to say we’ve made real progress. (just check out our last ESG report — and keep an eye out for the 2024 edition!) In just a few years, we’ve gone from virtually zero sustainable products to having the majority of our portfolio be sustainable, transparent, and resilient.

AM Sustainability Accelerator

One of the biggest steps we’ve taken is launching the AM Sustainability Accelerator. It’s a dynamic ecosystem of climate-tech startups designed to scale sustainability through strategic partnerships. The accelerator is a space for companies looking for an ideal first customer — someone to test, refine, and integrate their technologies or services. We’re focused on partnering with startups that bring digital sustainability infrastructure or industrial innovations to tackle fashion’s most urgent climate challenges.

Here’s the cool part: these startups get access to our brand’s inner workings. They can develop case studies, improve their solutions for the wider market, and even explore opportunities to work with Adore Me’s parent company, Victoria’s Secret. On our end, we get to collaborate with some of the brightest minds in the industry and co-shape their product roadmaps — at least in the early stages! (Of course, once things take off, everyone naturally goes their own way.)

Ultimately, the Sustainability Accelerator is all about scaling these solutions beyond our walls. It’s a way to help the entire industry move forward and empower other companies like us to make meaningful progress on their sustainability journeys.

Carbonfact was the first climate-tech startup we partnered with at Adore Me, and it’s been an incredible collaboration. Together, we developed a tool that’s now used by about 80% of Carbonfact’s rapidly growing corporate clients. Through this partnership, we were able to pinpoint the exact sources of our environmental impact and take concrete steps to reduce our carbon footprint.

Marc Laurent, Carbonfact’s co-founder and CEO, summed it up perfectly:

“If more companies had this kind of entrepreneurial mindset, it would create more startups — and better startups — than if you put an extra $2 billion in capital into the market. We don’t need money. We need ideas, pain points, and prospective customers who are ready to share those pain points and co-create solutions.”

Another early partnership was with CommonShare, where we focused on building a comprehensive traceability system for our products. The outcome? A digital product passport that gives consumers, businesses, and regulators detailed insights into the environmental and social impact of products throughout their lifecycle.

We’re also thrilled to be working with EverDye to launch the first scalable pigment solution that dramatically reduces resource use in dyeing processes. (More details coming soon — we promise it’s worth the wait!)

Now, you might be wondering: “How is this different from all the other incubators in the fashion industry?” Fair question. What sets us apart is that we don’t just hand out checks (often with strings attached) or offer a polite nod in the form of a “big brand accelerator.” Instead, we roll up our sleeves and offer what startups really need: brainpower, access to data, a sandbox for testing, real-world challenges, and — most importantly — speed to market.

Admittedly, this hands-on approach limits how many startups we can work with; each collaboration requires significant resources. Right now, we’re averaging two startups per year, but we’re actively working to expand this capacity. If you want to help us scale this effort, we’d love to hear from you!

As we continue to navigate the sustainability landscape in fashion, we know it’s a mix of daunting challenges and incredible breakthroughs. What we’ve learned is that collective effort and mutual learning are the true drivers of meaningful change and innovation.

By sharing our journey, we hope to inspire other brands to build meaningful collaborations and push forward on their sustainability goals. Together, we can shape a more sustainable future for fashion.

Help Darwin

The phrase “Help Darwin” has become a motto internally at Adore Me and is inspired by Darwin’s theory of evolution, which teaches us that it’s not the strongest species that survive, but the most adaptable and resilient. That’s the mindset we need to bring to the fashion industry. Our goal is to help push its evolution — showing that adaptability and resilience are not just essential for survival, but the keys to driving meaningful change for sustainability.

Some topics, products, and companies must succeed and scale as soon as possible to prevent a climate disaster. These are the ones we’ll champion and help grow. On the flip side, some outdated practices and systems are stuck in the comfort of the past, and if left unchecked, they’ll only push us — and the people we care about — closer to disaster. Our role is to challenge these complacent players, separating the ones moving in the right direction from those dragging their feet. In short, we’re here to accelerate the selection process.

At Adore Me, we have the tools to make this happen: the tech, the data, the products, and the resources. More importantly, we have the mindset. We are stubborn, fearless, and ready to move fast.

“Helping Darwin” means working with innovators, startups, and industry leaders to demonstrate that adaptability isn’t just good for the planet — it’s good for business. Sustainability and profitability can go hand in hand when companies embrace innovation and build resilience into their operations.

This is our commitment: to support the good, confront the bad, and drive progress at every turn. Together, we’ll push the evolution of the fashion industry — and help ensure its future is sustainable, adaptable, and thriving.

Stay tuned. We’re just getting started.