Climate Change Projected To Cost Fashion Industry $65B by 2030 — Retail Bum

Extreme weather and climate events are expected to significantly impact the global fashion industry, with four leading garment-producing countries likely to forgo $65 billion in earnings over the next seven years, according to a study conducted by Cornell University and investment manager Schroders.

Producers in Cambodia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Vietnam, which account for nearly 18% of global apparel exports, are at a notably higher risk as they will likely see a 22% drop in export-related earnings by the decade’s end. More than 10.8 million workers are today employed by producers in the region, nearly a million of whom are at risk of losing their jobs due to lower productivity.

Many of these producers, based in cities such as Dhaka, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Karachi, Lahore, and Phnom Penh, are at significant risk as they confront extreme heat, humidity, and flooding.

Just last year, Pakistan saw torrential downpours, which put more than a third of the country underwater — the worst flooding it has ever seen. The extreme weather wiped out nearly 45% of the cotton fields in the country, contributing to a global shortage of raw cotton.

Pakistan and Bangladesh, in particular, have been struggling with extreme heat events, with the average…