The Earth is hotter than ever. 2023, and then 2024, were the hottest years on record, and that trend does not seem to be slowing down. In fact, data from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii suggests that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide increased at a record rate in 2024. And forget about the goal to limit temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees Centigrade as compared to pre-industrial levels. All signs indicate that we are on the cusp of blowing past that. Because 2025 is forecasted to add CO₂ to the atmosphere at an even faster rate!

The research notes, “Long-term increases in observed CO₂ are the result of human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—more than enough CO₂ has been emitted by fossil fuel burning and deforestation to account for the increase measured in the atmosphere. Although CO₂ concentrations have now increased by over 50% since the industrial revolution, this increase would have been almost twice as large if some CO₂ had not been removed from the atmosphere through natural absorption by plants and the oceans.”

Let’s start with textiles, arguably the world’s second largest polluter behind fossil fuels industries. McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2025 report cites “challenges at every turn.” The report notes: