Today, Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) announced the release of Low-Carbon Thermal Energy Roadmap for the Textile Industry, the second of a two-part series co-authored by Global Efficiency Intelligence (GEI). Building upon preliminary findings, this roadmap provides a clear, data-driven pathway to move the textile sector toward sustainable, low-carbon thermal energy solutions.
The textile and apparel industry accounts for approximately 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions, largely due to the widespread use of fossil fuels for process heating. The newly released roadmap highlights actionable strategies to shift textile manufacturing in five key countries 一 China, India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Indonesia 一 toward alternative fossil fuels and electrification technologies, setting a course for net zero emissions.
Breaking down the path to decarbonization, the roadmap identifies three phases: near-term (2025-2030), during which efficiency improvements and pilot electrification projects should be priority; mid-term (2030-2035), where brands, manufacturers, and policymakers should scale electrification and expand renewable energy procurement; and long-term (2035-2040), when the industry can fully transition to electrified thermal energy systems powered by renewable sources. Each phase outlines key actions for brands, manufacturers, and policymakers, ensuring a structured transition toward electrification and sustainable energy solutions.
The report calls upon apparel brands, textile manufacturers, policymakers, and financial institutions to take immediate action. To accelerate this decarbonization, brands are urged to commit to electrification targets and provide financial support to suppliers in building renewable electricity capacity and adoption, ensuring a more resilient and cost-effective supply chain. As manufacturers implement efficiency measures and prepare for full electrification, policymakers and financial institutions must streamline regulations, enhance investment frameworks, and provide accessible funding mechanisms to drive widespread adoption.
“This roadmap is more than a vision — it’s a call to action for the entire sector,” said Lewis Perkins, President of Aii. “The time for incremental change is over. Achieving net zero emissions requires bold, collective action — now.”
By working closely with brands and manufacturers to scale electrification pilots, expand renewable energy procurement pathways, and develop financing mechanisms that enable widespread adoption of these solutions, Aii is driving industry collaboration to reach net zero by 2040.
To further explore the findings of this report and how Aii is putting its recommendations into action, Aii will host a webinar on March 11, 2025, highlighting key insights on electrification and biomass in the low-carbon transition, country-specific renewable energy procurement pathways, and implementation guidelines for transitioning textile plants to low-carbon thermal energy. This webinar will also discuss policy, infrastructure, and financing recommendations to support industry-wide decarbonization.
For more information on the Low-Carbon Thermal Energy Roadmap for the Textile Industry, you can find the report here.
To register for the webinar, visit here.
About Apparel Impact Institute (Aii): Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) is a 501(c)(3) global nonprofit collective founded in 2017. The organization is dedicated to identifying, funding, scaling, and measuring the apparel and footwear industry’s proven environmental impact solutions. Aii is calling for the creation of a $250M Fashion Climate Fund to leverage a first-of-its-kind collaborative funding model between philanthropy and corporate entities. It is designed to catalyze climate action by funding and scaling solutions for decarbonization, and marked to unlock a total of $2B in blended capital, to meet the industry’s goal to halve carbon emissions by 2030. Most recently, Aii has updated its widely credited 2021 “Roadmap to Net Zero,” a report and guide calling for the system-wide collaboration needed to reduce GHG emissions in the apparel and footwear industry by 45% at minimum by 2030 and to zero by 2050. To learn more about Aii, please visit: apparelimpact.org.
