The drive towards sustainable practices in the shipping industry is largely fueled by fashion brands, as per observations made by global shipping giant, Maersk. The fashion sector is under scrutiny from regulators and consumers alike to minimize its carbon footprint.
The mechanism of the fashion industry encourages large-scale shipping. Retailers source products from manufacturing hubs like China, Vietnam, or Bangladesh, producing massive carbon emissions in the process. According to the United Nations Environment Programme’s recent report, the textile industry contributes between two to eight percent to the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.
Embracing Eco-friendly Shipping
To combat this carbon footprint, the shipping industry is offering green alternatives, like low-emission fuels such as biofuels derived from food waste or cooking oil, or methanol produced from renewable energy. Their goal is to sail towards net-zero emissions by 2050.
Interestingly, the fashion industry emerged as the chief consumer of Maersk’s ECO Delivery contract last year, accounting for 26% of the 240,000 containers shipped using biofuels. Josue Alzamora, the global head of the lifestyle vertical at Maersk, stated that fashion brands stepped up to this eco-challenge primarily due to consumer pressure.
Under Pressure: The Meta Trend towards Green Fuels
Fashion brands, pushed by the increasing environmental awareness of their most youthful and affluent consumer bases, are scrambling to address climate impact issues. Brands are making ambitious pledges to slash carbon emissions. H&M, the second-largest fashion retailer globally, is leading this initiative. They pledged to be ‘climate positive’ by 2040 and championed biofuel for ocean transport.
Big-name retailers like Amazon and IKEA have also committed to fully shifting to zero-carbon fuel shipping by 2040. Biofuels can indeed slice emissions by more than 80% compared to regular fuel oil, making it a viable green alternative.
The Emerging Preference for Methanol
Despite these strides, biofuel-powered vessels only accounted for around 2% of Maersk’s total sea volumes last year. However, there’s rising interest in another alternative fuel – methanol.
Maersk has commissioned 25 vessels capable of running on both methanol and fuel oil, with their premier delivery set for this September. This attraction to methanol is not limited to Maersk; other shipping companies have ordered over 100 dual-fuel vessels that can operate on methanol and standard fuel oil.
Even though sourcing green fuels such as methanol presents a challenge given the industry’s nascent stage, the fashion industry’s high demand for methanol exerts a compelling influence. Alzamora stated, “The fashion industry helps us to move the needle when it comes to getting more methanol produced.”
This paradigm shift reflects the fashion industry’s power in shifting the tide towards sustainability. As a mammoth sector for container shipping, its demand for eco-friendly alternatives is a significant catalyst in the green evolution of shipping fuels.