ZDHC’s latest assessment found that 91 percent of brands monitored suppliers’ chemical-inventory data, while 74 percent followed up with suppliers to improve performance.
The 2026 Brands to Zero report, announced Oct. 15, examines how ZDHC signatory brands managed chemicals across their businesses and supply chains during 2025. The findings show more companies setting requirements and checking factory records, with supplier follow-up still trailing both.
The share of brands requiring suppliers to provide InCheck chemical-inventory data rose to 91 percent from 75 percent in the previous assessment. Monitoring increased from 87 percent to 91 percent, while follow-up rose from 60 percent to 74 percent.
InCheck reports summarize how a factory’s chemical inventory conforms to ZDHC’s Manufacturing Restricted Substances List, or MRSL. The list restricts hazardous substances from intentional use in production. Brands access the data through ZDHC’s Gateway platform, which also holds ClearStream reports on wastewater performance.
ZDHC wants more brands to work with factories on correcting the problems their data reveals. That work continues after suppliers submit their chemical inventories and wastewater reports.
The report also found that brands in the middle assessment tier scored barely above the lowest tier on business integration. ZDHC links that weakness to executive oversight and accountability for putting chemical-management policies into practice.
The annual review is mandatory for ZDHC signatory brands and is independently conducted by KPMG Netherlands. It assesses corporate governance alongside supply-chain implementation, looking at board-level commitments, purchasing processes, supplier engagement, chemical inventories and wastewater performance. Companies participating only as Friends of ZDHC do not undergo Brands to Zero assessments.
Brands receive one of three designations: Pioneer, Accelerator or Champion. Individual companies receive confidential scorecards, while the public report combines their results.
Twenty-one brands reached Champion level in the 2026 assessment, up from 15 in the previous review. To qualify, brands must meet essential performance indicators at each level, use an assessed calculation model and substantiate progress with factory data. ZDHC says the criteria are reviewed and raised annually.
The Champions are Adidas, Asos, Burberry, Decathlon, F&F, G-Star Raw, H&M, Hugo Boss, Inditex, Komar, Levi Strauss & Co., Lululemon, LVMH, Marc O’Polo, Marks & Spencer, New Balance, Next, Nike, Primark, Puma and Victoria’s Secret & Co.
The organization is also developing a Referencing and Claims Framework to distinguish between using its guidelines, participating in its program and reporting independently assessed implementation. The report previews ZDHC ClaimCheck, expected at the end of 2026, through which brands publicly aligning with its Sustainable Chemical Management Framework could register their claims.
ZDHC says companies and investors can use factory chemical and wastewater records in their environmental reporting. They must still do the calculations and provide the additional information their reporting rules require.
The results track the systems brands have established and the implementation they can document. The report does not quantify a group-wide reduction in hazardous chemical use or pollution. ZDHC identifies a stronger connection between implementation evidence and measured environmental outcomes as the next step.
“The harder question and the one that matters most for materiality and impact is whether all that effort translates into tangible environmental improvement,” the report states.