ZARA, owner of Inditex, has sharply increased use of air freight to bring clothes from factories in India to its logistics hub in Spain to avoid shipping delays, Reuters reports.
The shift raises questions about how the world's biggest listed fast-fashion retailer is progressing towards its target of slashing by half its 'Scope 3', or indirect, emissions, as air transport produces significantly higher carbon emissions than shipping.
Apparel retailers, and exporters in general, have increased their use of air freight since insecurity in the Red Sea disrupted global shipping routes.
Unpublished data and analysis shared with Reuters on Inditex's shipments from India and Bangladesh, two of its major supplier countries, offer a close-up look at such a shift and its repercussions for the fashion industry's climate goals.
inditex sent 3,865 consignments by air from India in the 12 months to end-August this year, a 37 per cent increase on the previous year, according to a Reuters analysis of shipment records from trade data provider Import Genius.
Of that number, 3,352 were sent since January 1 - after attacks on container ships in the Red Sea ratcheted up.
The share of air freight in Inditex's shipments from India increased to 70 per cent in the first eight months of this year from 44 per cent last year, according to an analysis of customs data which Swiss NGO Public Eye shared with Reuters. For Bangladesh, that share rose to 31 per cent from 26 per cent, its data shows.
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The shift raises questions about how the world's biggest listed fast-fashion retailer is progressing towards its target of slashing by half its 'Scope 3', or indirect, emissions, as air transport produces significantly higher carbon emissions than shipping.
Apparel retailers, and exporters in general, have increased their use of air freight since insecurity in the Red Sea disrupted global shipping routes.
Unpublished data and analysis shared with Reuters on Inditex's shipments from India and Bangladesh, two of its major supplier countries, offer a close-up look at such a shift and its repercussions for the fashion industry's climate goals.
inditex sent 3,865 consignments by air from India in the 12 months to end-August this year, a 37 per cent increase on the previous year, according to a Reuters analysis of shipment records from trade data provider Import Genius.
Of that number, 3,352 were sent since January 1 - after attacks on container ships in the Red Sea ratcheted up.
The share of air freight in Inditex's shipments from India increased to 70 per cent in the first eight months of this year from 44 per cent last year, according to an analysis of customs data which Swiss NGO Public Eye shared with Reuters. For Bangladesh, that share rose to 31 per cent from 26 per cent, its data shows.
SeaNews Turkey
