Carbon carriers
Fashion logistics companies are criss-crossing the country every day to bring retailers the stock they need to make living.
And there's no denying this huge industry is pumping its fair share of carbon emissions into the environment. In fact, Federal Government figures show that the transport industry is responsible for about 17 per cent of total carbon emissions in Australia.
And while some of the companies well known to the fashion sector are working hard to find a way to address their carbon emissions, many others seem to be still trying to get their head around the issue.
But the fashion logistics sector isn't alone by any stretch - even the experts agree reducing carbon emissions is a huge ask.
A report released by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development at the World Energy Congress a couple of years back outlined some pretty stark figures about the reduction of carbon emissions.
The report, called Energy and Climate Change, said that in 2000 the world emitted about eight gigatonnes of carbon, and that if business continued on as usual, that in 2050 that figure could double.
The council's president, Bjorn Stigson, said the transport industry would be among the slowest industries to make change despite the introduction of hybrid vehicles.
Speaking at the time, Stigson said it would be a particular challenge to cut core emissions from the transport industry in a short space of time.
But road users know the time has come to tackle the issue head-on, and such public admissions usually attract a fair bit of positive media attention.
V8 Supercars Australia was recently publicly congratulated by the Federal Government for introducing a program that involves the planting of thousands of trees to offset emissions, as well as announcing climate change awareness initiatives.
And in April airline carrier Virgin Blue became the first airline in the country to offer carbon neutral flights under the Federal Government's Greenhouse Friendly initiative.
Virgin Blue is now offering travellers the option of making individual flights greenhouse friendly. Customers can go online and choose to make a leg of their air journey carbon neutral for an average of a dollar a trip, proving it doesn't have to cost big bucks to make a difference.
The move marks the first time Australian air passengers have been able to directly offset emissions from their flights, but Qantas first announced that it was working on a program to allow passengers to offset carbon emissions from flights late last year.
Virgin Blue has also sought to find out exactly what level of carbon emissions it is responsible for by conducting an intensive independent greenhouse audit to detect how many greenhouse gases each flight emits.
And the transport industry appears to making some inroads into off-setting carbon emissions, with TNT Express trialling hybrid vehicles within its fleet.
Roger Corcoran, managing director, TNT Express, said the initiative aimed to work towards introducing more environmentally friendly vehicles onto Australian roads.
FedEx Express is also committed to the use of hybrid vehicles, with its US operation already committing to low emission vehicles, which is likely to mean a similar commitment here in Australia at some stage. However, the company didn't return calls on the issue, so presumably isn't willing to be cornered on timeframes just yet.
And the company purported to be the largest logistics company in the world, DHL, has admitted that as a result of looming climate change, there is a pressing need to develop systems to save resources and protect the environment.
Dr Frank Appel is one of the initiators of a German-based DHL Innovation Centre that was established to nut out issues around carbon emissions, among other issues.
"The aim is to develop market-focused, highly innovative logistics solutions that on the one hand can boost efficiency ... and on the other, can increase the sustainability of business activities," Appel says.
"If we succeed in shortening the couriers' delivery times and trips by employing up-to-date traffic information and a satellite-supported, dynamic route planning system, we will increase efficiency and reduce our vehicles' carbon-dioxide emissions at the same time."
However, several other fashion logistics companies weren't prepared to weigh into the debate, most likely because they are yet to commit to a carbon reduction program.
Many would no doubt be weighed down by a number of 'green' organisations and government agencies begging them to commit to some sort of green program or another.
Especially given the issue is at the forefront of the Federal Government's collective mind.
The government has established a Greenhouse Friendly program, part of a $2 billion climate change strategy which works to reduce the nation's greenhouse gas emissions and support the development of new low emissions technologies.
The government's annual 2006 greenhouse emissions project believes the country could achieve significant reductions in greenhouse emissions during the next six years.
Government figures show domestic transport steadily increased its carbon dioxide equivalent emissions between 1990 and 2003, and that most of this is accounted for by road transport. Of those road transport users, passenger vehicles account for over 45 per cent of emissions, with trucks and light commercial vehicles also accounting for around 17 per cent of emissions.
The government says its objective is to balance economic prosperity with environmental sustainability, which is a heady request in anyone's books.
The government is also under pressure from the Business Council of Australia (BCA), which urges the government to think global when working out an effective response to climate change.
The BCA says while it supports a range of domestic measures to fight climate change, it does so on the basis that they do not come at the cost of the Australian economy and the country's expert industries.
But it seems not everyone believes the reduction of carbon emissions is the sole responsibility of the transport sector.
Michael Flanagan, publishing director of apparel intelligence company Clothesource, put some of the onus back onto consumers in a recent talk he gave at a Prime Source Forum at Hong Kong.
Quoting a study done by Cambridge University which found transport accounted for just six per cent of the total carbon emission expended in the lifecycle of a T-shirt, Flannagan says researchers found about 18 megajoules of the energy consumption came from making the cotton. About another 20 came from turning it into a garment in China. Six came from the entire transportation process.
Flanagan says wearing a piece of clothing accounts for more than half of the energy used to get it to the consumer.
"The way you (reduce) carbon emissions is not to start coming out with a lot of that nonsense about how it would all be better if we made clothes in Britain or America because then we wouldn't be polluting the planet," Flanangan says.
"The way you solve the energy problem and the carbon dumping is if the customer irons it differently. If the customer dries it outside, instead of using the dryer. And if the customer uses a 40 degree centigrade setting for the washing machine and not a 60 degree setting. Then, 60 per cent of all those use of energy disappears. Half the energy of owning a T-shirt could be transformed overnight if retailers educated their customers in how to look after the garment," Flanagan says.