Levi Strauss and M&S Launch Fashion Renewable Collaborative to Help Suppliers Buy Clean Power

# What the Fashion Renewable Collaborative is Levi Strauss & Co., Marks & Spencer and Schneider Electric's SE Advisory Services announced the Fashion Renewable Collaborative (FRC) during New York Climate Week. The program focuses on helping apparel suppliers—garment manufacturers, fabric mills and dye houses—access renewable electricity across global manufacturing supply chains.

Textile processing and related manufacturing use a lot of electricity. According to Levi Strauss, that segment generates more than half of the fashion industry's emissions. The FRC sets out to reduce that portion of emissions by giving suppliers clearer, more practical routes to buying or generating clean power.

# Why this matters for suppliers and brands

For brands, coordinated action can lower administrative friction, make renewable projects more financially viable, and help turn scope 3 commitments into actual energy procurement and investments at supplier sites.

# What the FRC will provide The initiative combines three types of support:

• Digital education and market-specific guidance so suppliers understand options in their local energy markets.
• Practical assistance with procurement tools: power purchase agreements (PPAs) and energy certificates.
• Implementation support for on-site solutions such as solar panels and battery storage.

Those elements are designed to work together: education and market guidance reduce uncertainty, procurement support addresses financial and contractual barriers, and on-site options create more immediate pathways to renewables where grid solutions aren't available.

# The India pilot that informed the collaborative Levi Strauss ran a renewable electricity pilot in India for more than a year. Nearly 50 supplier facilities enrolled in that program. Levi Strauss says the pilot showed clear supplier demand and highlighted the importance of removing barriers to adoption. The FRC aims to apply those lessons across a wider set of suppliers and geographies.

# How brands can participate The founding partners are inviting other fashion brands to join the collaborative. A broader membership is intended to create more consistent renewable procurement requirements across supplier networks. Because many suppliers work for multiple brands, alignment among buyers can reduce duplicated programs and lower transaction costs for suppliers considering renewable investments.

# How this fits into Levi Strauss's climate strategy

# What to watch next The initiative's impact depends on two things: how many additional brands join the collaborative and whether coordinated procurement and guidance can translate into funded projects and executed PPAs or on-site installations at supplier facilities. If it scales beyond pilot markets and aligns buyer requirements, it could lower the practical barriers suppliers currently face when evaluating clean energy investments.