Stat: The fashion industry’s hottest climate risk is factory workers’ health

Global – A September 2025 report by the Fashion Revolution movement reveals that the fashion industry is failing to measure dangerous factory temperatures, which threaten workers’ health and risk trillions in economic losses.

According to the What Fuels Fashion? report, a staggering 0% of brands disclose factory data on heat and humidity, even as extreme temperatures leave garment workers fainting, falling ill and losing income as productivity drops. 

What’s more, the industry’s greatest share of emissions comes from burning fossil fuels for heat in facilities like dye houses. Up to 100% of this process heat can be electrified using available technologies like heat pumps and electric boilers, which would also improve workplace safety by lowering temperatures and clearing the air.

This opportunity is being missed as progress stalls. This unmeasured climate risk is both a human rights issue and a financially material one for investors, with global productivity losses from heat stress projected to hit £1.8 trillion ($2.4 trillion, €2 trillion) annually by 2030 (source: International Labour Organization). 

Find more insights about the future of manufacturing amid climate change in our Sustainability topic.