The majority of funding from developed market investors in textiles is targeting the downstream end of supply chains, shielding them from environmental responsibility, according to new research by Planet Tracker. The non-profit financial think tank urged major investors to push holdings harder to transition their whole supply chains to more sustainable practices, noting that institutional investors control less than 25% of the upstream parts of the value chain, with corporates instead typically accounting for these investments, thus meaning they are more exposed to the environmentally damaging practices involved in textiles. Yet just four US asset managers – BlackRock, Vanguard, Fidelity and State Street – account for over a fifth of all market capitalisation of equity holders for garment production, Planet Tracker said. Richard Wielechowski, Senior Investment Analyst of Textiles at Planet Tracker, said: “These investors have the power to transform corporate behaviour and drive the move to a sustainable textiles industry. Whether it’s through proxy voting or investment decisions, it’s imperative institutional investors and asset managers push brands to take ownership of the environmental harms across value chains.”
