ZDHC Brands to Zero: 91% Demand Chemical Data, Only 74% Follow Up

By Priya Raman

The 2026 ZDHC Brands to Zero Report finds 91% of signatory brands now require suppliers to submit InCheck chemical inventory data, up from 75% a year earlier. Yet only 74% actively follow up with suppliers on that data. The gap between watching numbers and fixing problems is the report's central finding.

ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals, an industry chemical-management standard body) published the assessment, which KPMG Netherlands independently conducted. It scores brands on corporate governance and supply-chain performance across three maturity levels: Pioneer, Accelerator and Champion.

What does Champion status actually require?

Brands reaching Champion Level have embedded sustainable chemical management into corporate and purchasing processes, ZDHC said. The designation requires implementation at scale plus documented evidence from supply chains.

The results show purchasing power alone does not determine progress, according to ZDHC. Governance, accountability, clear expectations and supplier relationships all shape outcomes.

That claim deserves scrutiny. ZDHC did not disclose how many brands achieved each level. The report announces a framework, not a league table.

Monitoring is up, but is anything improving?

The headline numbers point one direction. The share of brands monitoring InCheck data rose from 87% to 91%.

InCheck data reports chemical inventory conformance with ZDHC's Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL), the standard governing chemical formulations in textile, leather and footwear production.

Active supplier follow-up climbed from 60% to 74%. That is the fastest-moving metric in the report. It also remains the lowest.

ZDHC itself flagged the limitation. Collecting and monitoring data does not automatically translate into improvements, the organisation said.

The report urges brands to:

• Engage suppliers directly and understand implementation barriers
• Support corrective action and sustain improvements
• Integrate chemical management into purchasing decisions, operational responsibilities and long-term supplier relationships, rather than treat it as a compliance exercise

ZDHC said: "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."

Can ZDHC data satisfy regulators?

The report positions the ZDHC Gateway as a source of primary factory data on chemical inventory conformance and wastewater performance. Brands can use it to identify gaps and assess implementation.

But ZDHC issued a caveat. Data from the Brands to Zero programme can support reporting and disclosure. It does not independently fulfil every regulatory requirement. For sourcing teams mapping ZDHC data against the EU's tightening disclosure regime, that distinction matters.

ZDHC also said sustainable chemical management requires collaboration across the value chain — brands, suppliers, chemical formulators and solution providers. Shared guidelines reduce fragmentation and support more consistent progress, the organisation said.

What is the 2030 target?

ZDHC's longer-term ambition is MRSL conformance for 100% of chemical formulations used across the ZDHC community and 70% across the global industry by 2030.

ZDHC added: "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."

Ambition is one thing; the report offers no baseline figure for industry-wide MRSL conformance today, which makes the 70% target difficult to benchmark. ZDHC said only that reaching these goals will require continued investment, stronger collaboration and a shared commitment to evidence-based improvement.