The Fashion Renewable Collaborative aims to replace fragmented brand requests with a common pathway for mills and garment factories to procure renewable electricity.
Levi Strauss & Co. and Marks & Spencer have launched the Fashion Renewable Collaborative (FRC) with Schneider Electric’s SE Advisory Services, creating a shared programme to help textile mills and apparel manufacturers access and implement renewable electricity. Announced during New York Climate Week on September 22, the initiative is open to additional fashion brands as sponsors and members.
From targets to procurement
FRC will provide suppliers with digital training, market-specific guidance and implementation support covering power-purchase agreements, energy attribute certificates, onsite and distributed renewables, and battery storage. Schneider Electric’s Resource Advisor+ platform will support onboarding, readiness assessments, engagement tracking and progress monitoring.
The model addresses a persistent problem for export manufacturers: suppliers often serve multiple brands with different renewable-energy requirements while navigating complex national electricity markets.
Levi Strauss says textile processing—including fabric mills and dyehouses—accounts for more than half of fashion-industry emissions. Citing the World Resources Institute and Apparel Impact Institute roadmap, the programme says renewable electricity in manufacturing represents roughly two-thirds of the sector’s identified emissions-reduction potential.
Nearly 500 facilities already engaged
FRC builds on separate programmes operated by Levi Strauss and M&S with Schneider Electric. Together, those initiatives have registered nearly 500 supplier facilities. Levi’s earlier India-focused Energy Accelerator Program attracted almost 50 facilities, providing training, financial analysis and renewable-power procurement support.
For Levi Strauss, the programme supports its target to cut absolute Scope 3 emissions from purchased goods and services by 42% by 2030 from a 2022 baseline. More than 99% of the company’s climate footprint lies within its supply chain.
A stronger signal for mills
The important shift is from asking suppliers to decarbonise toward helping them execute. Shared programmes can reduce duplicated audits and training while aggregating demand for renewable electricity.
For textile exporters, however, the decisive question remains economics: whether collective procurement can deliver renewable power at attractive prices and financing terms in individual sourcing markets. If more brands join FRC, renewable-energy capability could increasingly become a mainstream supplier-selection and Scope 3 performance criterion rather than a stand-alone sustainability initiative.
