The next edition of Copenhagen Fashion Summit will mark the event’s 10th anniversary. When the first Summit was held in connection with the UN Climate Change Conference COP15 in 2009, sustainability was still a rather new phenomenon in the fashion industry and often viewed as a philanthropic endeavour. Global Fashion Agenda, however, saw the urgent need for our industry to take responsibility and sparked the discussion by creating what is now the leading sustainability event gathering fashion decision makers. Today, a decade later, sustainability has finally found its way onto the agendas of CEOs. Realising that it’s not only the right thing to do to protect and optimise our planet’s finite resources, more and more companies are also beginning to integrate sustainability into their business models. Likewise, there is also an increasing demand from consumers – making it a business imperative. With topics like climate change, human rights and resource scarcity soaring to new heights, Copenhagen Fashion Summit is more vital than ever.
To inaugurate this anniversary, Copenhagen Fashion Summit reached out to this year’s speakers to get their insight on industry developments over the past ten years, and hear their hopes for the next ten years. Read some responses below.
In the past 10 years, what do you think has been the biggest improvement in the fashion industry?
Baptiste Carriere-Pradal
Vice President, Sustainable Apparel Coalition
“The Accord: An unprecedented collaboration between brands, manufacturers and industry stakeholders that led to redefining practical collaboration between all parties of our industry. The work done by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition towards a common language and true, meaningful, comparable transparency. Our industry has become radically more collaborative: We’ll either become an obsolete industry altogether, or we’ll find a new way together.”
Helen Crowley
Head of Sustainable Sourcing Innovation, Kering
“There has been an impressive shift in the last years in the way that the fashion industry has acknowledged its impact on nature and on society. We need to keep this positive trajectory going and continue to collaborate and innovate, while amplifying transparency, to drive positive environmental and social outcomes.”
Michael Barton
Vice President and General Manager, Global Commercial, Avery Dennison RBIS
“We’ve seen rapid changes in the fashion industry over the last decade, but one of the biggest strides made has been in the area of social responsibility. Today, brands understand that they must be aware of their social impact and, additionally, compliance rules have helped to enforce a better standard for everyone.”
Rubana Huq
Managing Director, Mohammadi Group
“The discourse over the first phase of the last ten years was mostly around prices and remediation followed by the second phase focusing mostly on sustainability and innovation.”
Maghan McDowell
Innovation Editor, VogueBusiness
“From a technology perspective, data literacy has allowed for better prediction of what customers want — and thus less waste. In the coming years, I see this capability only expanding in accuracy and scope.”
Stephen Fairchild
Chief Creative and Brand Officer, Pandora
“Consumers today – especially the younger generation – want to know how products are made. They make a conscious decision with every purchase. With more awareness and more transparency comes a real urge to drive sustainable change in our industry. That’s an amazing journey to be part of.”