ZDHC Publishes the 2026 Brands to Zero Report
The publication of the 2026 ZDHC Brands to Zero Report marks an important moment for the industry. As more brands demonstrate progress in embedding sustainable chemical management into their operations, the findings also reveal where collective action must go further.
For years, the fashion, textile, leather and footwear industries have recognised the importance of addressing hazardous chemicals in their global supply chains. Commitments have been made, policies introduced and expectations established for suppliers.
But a critical question remains: how do we know whether these commitments are translating into meaningful change on the ground?
This question sits at the heart of ZDHC's newly published 2026 Brands to Zero Report, which examines how ZDHC Signatory Brands are integrating sustainable chemical management into corporate governance and implementing it across their supply chains.
The findings tell a story of progress. More brands are demonstrating that sustainable chemical management can become an integral part of business operations, rather than remaining a standalone sustainability commitment.
At the same time, the report highlights an important reality: establishing requirements and monitoring performance are necessary steps, but they are not the same as delivering continuous improvement.
For ZDHC, this distinction matters. The future of sustainable chemical management depends not only on what organisations commit to achieving, but on what they can demonstrate through credible data, effective processes and collaboration throughout the value chain.
One of the most encouraging findings in this year's report is the growing number of brands reaching the highest level of the Brands to Zero assessment.
21 brands achieved Champion Level in 2026, compared with 15 in the previous assessment.
Champions demonstrate that sustainable chemical management is embedded in corporate and purchasing processes, supported by implementation at scale and evidence from their supply chains.
Importantly, these brands represent organisations of different sizes and business models. This reinforces a valuable lesson for the wider industry: progress is not determined by purchasing power alone.
Strong governance, organisational accountability, clear expectations and constructive supplier relationships can all play a decisive role.
The Brands to Zero assessment, independently conducted by KPMG Netherlands, evaluates brands across corporate governance and supply-chain performance. Its three levels: Pioneer, Accelerator and Champion, recognise different stages of implementation maturity, with criteria reviewed and raised over time.
These levels are not endpoints. They are milestones in a continuous improvement journey.
The growing number of Champions therefore represents more than recognition for individual organisations. It shows what is possible when sustainable chemical management commitments translate into practical systems and are supported by credible evidence.
While the results show positive momentum, one of the report's most important insights concerns the difference between monitoring suppliers and actively supporting improvement.
The proportion of brands requiring suppliers to provide ZDHC InCheck data increased from 75% to 91%. The proportion monitoring this data also reached 91%, up from 87%.
These figures indicate that more brands are establishing the systems needed to understand chemical management performance across their supply chains. It also means that brands are not only monitoring results by coincidence, but build on clear supplier requirements.
Yet the proportion of brands actively following up with suppliers increased from 60% to 74%.
This is progress, but it also highlights the next challenge.
Collecting data is not the same as acting on it.
Monitoring can identify risks or where improvement is needed. Meaningful progress depends on what happens next: engaging suppliers, understanding barriers, supporting corrective action and ensuring that improvements can be sustained.
This requires chemical management to be embedded in purchasing decisions, operational responsibilities and long-term supplier relationships. It also requires recognising the essential role suppliers play in delivering change. Brands can set expectations, but implementation takes place in manufacturing facilities, where chemical inventories are managed, production decisions are made and wastewater performance is measured.
A collaborative approach is therefore essential. Rather than treating supplier engagement as a compliance exercise, brands have an opportunity to build the capabilities and relationships that make continuous improvement possible.
The findings suggest that the industry's next phase of progress will depend increasingly on the quality of this engagement.
Another important message emerging from the report is the growing significance of evidence. As expectations around environmental transparency and reporting evolve, organisations are increasingly being asked not simply to explain their ambitions, but to demonstrate the systems and actions behind them. For sustainable chemical management, this means connecting corporate policies with reliable primary factory data, straight from and ideally verified at manufacturing facilities.
Through the ZDHC Gateway, brands can access primary factory data related to chemical inventories’ ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) conformance (InCheck) and wastewater performance (ClearStream). Further, Brands can rely on third-party assessed Supplier to Zero to understand their suppliers’ set-up and take a Level 2 outcome as proof suppliers meet requirements on InCheck and ClearStream.
This is a fundamental shift in how progress can be understood.
Rather than relying solely on corporate declarations or supplier assurances, brands can use standardised data to identify gaps, assess implementation and support improvement.
It also creates a stronger foundation for transparency.
The same information can support corporate due diligence, environmental risk management and relevant sustainability disclosures, including those associated with European reporting frameworks.
However, evidence must be used responsibly. Brands to Zero data can support reporting and disclosure, but does not independently fulfil every regulatory requirement.
The broader opportunity is to move towards an approach in which sustainability claims are proportionate to demonstrable implementation.
Credibility is built when commitments, actions and evidence tell the same story.
The report also reinforces a principle that has guided ZDHC since the beginning of the Roadmap to Zero Programme: lasting change requires collaboration across the value chain.
Brands, suppliers, chemical formulators, solution providers and other stakeholders all contribute to the transition towards safer chemistry.
No single organisation can achieve this transformation independently.
Brands have a responsibility to establish clear expectations and integrate sustainable chemical management into their business processes. Suppliers need the knowledge, tools and support to implement these expectations effectively. Chemical formulators play an essential role in making conformant chemical formulations available.
The value of a shared framework lies in connecting these efforts.
By establishing common guidelines, tools and approaches to implementation, the ZDHC Roadmap to Zero Programme helps reduce fragmentation and supports more consistent progress across complex global supply chains.
The Brands to Zero assessment adds another important dimension: accountability for how brands are putting these shared expectations into practice.
It recognises progress while making visible the areas where greater effort is required.
Ultimately, sustainable chemical management aims not to achieve a particular assessment level or satisfy a reporting requirement. It is to prevent harmful chemical substances from entering production processes and reduce adverse impacts on people and the environment. This is why ZDHC's work increasingly focuses on linking implementation to measurable environmental outcomes.
In 2025, ZDHC and Quantis published Protecting Supply Chains and Natural Capital: The Power of Safer Chemistry, exploring the potential environmental benefits of sustainable chemical management interventions. The study found that the specific scenarios modelled could reduce selected nature-related impact indicators by up to 80–96%.
These findings demonstrate the potential significance of changes such as substituting hazardous chemicals, improving wastewater treatment and reducing emissions.
They also reinforce the importance of reliable primary data in understanding environmental outcomes.
Brands to Zero helps establish whether the systems needed for sustainable chemical management are being implemented at scale. The next step is to strengthen the link between implementation and measurable improvements in life, land, air, and water.
This is central to ZDHC's 2030 ambition: achieving ZDHC MRSL conformance for 100% of chemical formulations used across the ZDHC community and 70% across the global industry.
Reaching these goals will require continued investment, stronger collaboration and a shared commitment to evidence-based improvement.
The 2026 Brands to Zero Report provides reasons for optimism.
More brands are demonstrating advanced levels of implementation, going beyond policy integration. This means clear supplier requirements aligned with the Suppliers Roadmap to Zero and monitoring based on due diligence and risk management principles are becoming more widespread. The systems needed to measure and understand chemical management performance are becoming more established.
Therefore, the report also reminds us that progress is not simply about having the right policies or collecting the right data. It is about what organisations do with data and information.
The opportunity ahead is to close the remaining gap between monitoring and action, strengthen collaboration with suppliers and connect implementation more directly to environmental outcomes.
For ZDHC and its committed community, this is the next chapter of the Roadmap to Zero journey.
Because the true measure of progress is not what we promise to change, but what we can demonstrate has changed.
Explore the 2026 ZDHC Brands to Zero Report
Discover the findings, the 2026 Champion Brands and the insights shaping the next phase of sustainable chemical management.
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