Discover challenges, key takeaways and innovative solutions for a sustainable future presented at the 2024 Global Fashion Summit to tackle climate impact.
Last month, the Global Fashion Summit held its 15th edition under the theme “Unlocking the Next Level.” This summit brought together industry leaders, visionaries, politicians, NGOs, journalists, and environmentalists to mobilize the global fashion system towards greater accountability and sustainability.
It is evident that the fashion industry faces enormous challenges and needs to work together to come up with creative solutions. A new report by the Apparel Impact Institute found that the industry’s greenhouse gas emissions are set to increase by 40% by 2030, despite needing to halve in order to align with the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius.
This year's summit focused on urgent action. Eva Kruse, founder of the summit, expressed her frustration, saying, “Honestly, I am disappointed that we’re not further along. Fifteen years! When we first started, we didn’t think it would go on for so long. I thought we would solve the problem and move on to another topic. I’ll be brutally honest, I’m quite disappointed in all of us that we haven’t been able to push things forward.” While acknowledging some progress, Kruse emphasized that it has been excruciatingly slow.
The Challenges
Addressing the fashion industry's issues is multifaceted. Federica Marchionni, CEO of The Global Fashion Agenda, outlined the most pressing issues: “The accelerated rate of global warming intertwined with the growing environmental impact of clothing production. Over 70% of the industry's emissions come from energy-intensive raw material production and processing, with the remaining 30% generated by downstream activities such as transport, packaging, and retail operations.”
Marchionni then highlighted the inequality suffered by the artisans and workers in the industry: “The industry wage gap across key producing countries has increased to 48.5 percent, with many workers receiving less than half of the money they need to reach a living wage. So, the industry must work to enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion and build stronger systems for worker protection and representation.”
The bottom line is that fashion needs to stop exploiting its people and the planet. Production levels are unsustainable, workers are mistreated, and the industry is still hesitant to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Author and business leader Paul Polman encouraged the fashion industry to be part of the solution instead of a mindset of being ‘less bad’. He reiterated that a metamorphosis of the industry is required.
The C-Suite of fashion brands and retailers need to foremost work towards a world beyond the next season. Collective Fashion Justice’s Emma Håkansson made an argument to transition away from cattle rearing for the production of leather, at the panel for Luxury, Leather and Land. Kering stubbornly refused to move from leather to bio-leather.
The Solution
The 2024 edition highlighted five key focuses as operationalising sustainability, redefining growth, activating consumers, prioritizing people, and material mobilization. The forum called for collective action to meet the 2030 and 2050 sustainability targets.
Key takeaways from the summit included:
Legislative Action: The need for legislative action is paramount as the industry is still not on track with its goals.
Circular Fashion Economy: The Ellen MacArthur Foundation unveiled a new initiative called The Fashion ReModel which explores Rental, Remake, Resale, and Repair models to create revenue – H&M Group, Primark, and Reformation enrolled as the first participants.
Value in Experiences: NYT Fashion Director, Vanessa Friedman, urged the audience to create value in experiences and not just sell products. She explained that the brands should not just stand behind the products until it leaves the store but take an interest in resale, rental, and recycling products.
Ethical Luxury: Consumers are demanding better social responsibility from everyone.
Citizens First: Patagonia CEO, Ryan Gellert, advocated for a “citizens first, customers second” approach to sustainability.
Embracing AI: Leveraging AI to optimize supply chains and enable sustainable practices.
Fashion is facing an uphill battle. As Ryan Gellert of Patagonia put it, "Hope is a passive idea, not a strategy." It is time for precise legislation, more inclusivity, more action, more innovations, more research, more borderless initiatives and less status quo, less production, less wastage, and less consumption. The future of fashion depends on our collective ability to drive meaningful change.
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