The United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network June 2023 Annual Meeting – Key Lessons and Takeaways

Over time, the definition of sustainable fashion has expanded to incorporate multiple perspectives and approaches. From advocating for environmentally and socially sound processes to establishing communities composed of individuals who engage in open dialogue on the subject and businesses whose strategic plans are centred on sustainability. Together, these individuals and communities are driving positive change and ensuring that sustainable fashion becomes the norm rather than the exception. 

The United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network is one such community. Kerry Bannigan, Co-Founder, United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network and Executive Director, Fashion Impact Fund, shared that the Network has over 200 members in 64 countries who have pledged over 1200 commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The network’s annual meetings provide a platform for the member community of global leaders, experts, and stakeholders to share their insights and experiences toward creating a more equitable and just sector, that in turn will transform communities for people and planet.

Considering the fashion and lifestyle industry’s significant impact on societies and the environment, this year’s Annual Meeting of the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network examined how the industry is mobilizing expertise, innovation, technology, and resources to achieve a more just and equitable future for all. Its primary objective was to examine how initiatives are fostering the inclusive, transparent, and transformative engagement of global stakeholders in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals. 

With Calik Denim, Lenzing, Renewcell, and The LYCRA Company as supporting partners, the meeting was co-hosted by the Fashion Impact Fund and the United Nations Office for Partnerships at the United Nations Headquarters. It brought together over 150 media, industry stakeholders, and United Nations representatives to emphasize actions, solutions, and progress from the fashion and lifestyle sectors to advance knowledge and strengthen engagement in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

At this year’s meeting, industry advocates, change agents, and other voices presented their perspectives and illuminated their works on the following significant topics: Climate Action: Culture Advancing Impact, Responsible Consumption and Production: Scaling Solutions for the Global Community, Partnerships for the Goals: Harnessing Industry Collaborations to Achieve Transformative Action, Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: Designing a Better Future, Reduced Inequalities: Breaking Barriers to Achieve Inclusion for All, Quality Education: Fostering Creativity in the Next Generation of Fashion Leaders, Decent Work, and Economic Growth: Redefining Success Across the Value Chain, and Life on Land: The Role of the Lifestyle Sector. 

In this article, we will examine the five significant insights and actions from the meeting that these change agents believe the industry should prioritize to make it more sustainable.  

PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION: Partnerships and collaborations are crucial to the advancement of sustainability initiatives. The complexity of Sustainability issues necessitates collective action to achieve significant results. The meeting emphasized the importance of global organizations, influencers, activists, citizens, and the entire community banding together to amplify the impact of sustainability initiatives and achieve sustainability goals through collective action. Camilla Mellander, the Consul General of Sweden in New York, emphasized the significance of collaboration in addressing systemic issues, promoting industry-wide change, and influencing policy development for a more sustainable future. In her speech, she emphasized that the industry could become a part of the solution due to the presence of so many influential leaders and voices, many of whom are at the vanguard of efforts to ensure that garment workers have access to quality employment free of human rights violations. She highlighted The Sustainable Fashion Academy as one of the Swedish platforms that assist brands in becoming more sustainable by creating sustainability courses for companies. By collaborating and instigating change collectively, companies can reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and be held accountable. Major brands, consumer brands, modelling agencies, production companies, and factories will foster a healthier and more inclusive environment. 

EDUCATION: The fashion industry is one of the largest contributors to the climate and ecological crisis. According to the publication “Sustainable Fashion: Communication Strategy 2021 – 2024” by the United Nations Environment Programme, the industry is responsible for 2-8% of global carbon emissions, with a recent authoritative report estimating the figure to be 4%.  Climate education should be a top priority in the fashion and lifestyle industries because consumers are constantly seeking to increase their understanding of climate issues to make an impact.  According to Samata Pattison, CEO, RCGD Global, Climate Education is the comprehension of the impacts of climate on the apparel industry throughout the entire value chain. Climate Education enables the industry to recognize its opportunities and challenges. As the numbers become more alarming and the impact of fashion on climate continues to grow, consumers must understand complex concepts like greenhouse gases, carbon footprints, renewable energy, and textile recycling. If consumers are endowed with accurate information, they will be able to compel producers to take responsibility for their products throughout the entire value chain, including when they become waste. Additionally, brand owners should be obligated to provide consumers with regular updates on their successes and challenges, taking their consumers with them on their brand journey and authentically conveying to them their sustainability progress. Brands should interact with their consumers and facilitate the impact of explaining the causes of climate change and offering solutions at the consumer level.

INVESTMENT AND FINANCING: Investment and financing are essential to sustainability because they enable the implementation of sustainable practices, support research and development, facilitate the scaling up of successful projects, invest in capacity building and training, provide incentives for sustainable investments, and ensure the long-term viability of sustainability initiatives. We can accelerate the transition to a more sustainable and resilient future by allocating financial resources to sustainability. The Director of Circular Design at Eileen Fisher, Carmen Gama, expressed concern over the substantial amount of money spent on software investments concentrated on resale and take-back programmes. However, insufficient investments have been made in the essential infrastructure to collect, process, and recycle textile waste. Infrastructure and investments are what the industry needs currently; there are a variety of accessible solutions, but they will require financial investments. For the industry to scale up concepts, funding is necessary. One of the solutions highlighted by Ngozi Okoro, the Executive Director, Custom Collaborative, is to make sustainability profitable to attract businesses; sustainability should be profitable while having positive social and environmental impacts.

LEGISLATION: The Fashion and Lifestyle industry encompasses three global crises, namely Climate Change, Pollution, and Biodiversity destruction. The creation of legislation is necessary for establishing consistent standards, promoting accountability, safeguarding the environment, and fostering social justice and equity. By enacting pro-sustainability legislation, stakeholders establish a legal framework that guides and incentivizes sustainable practices, thereby ensuring a more sustainable and resilient future. To ensure a sustainable future, stakeholders must develop policies and guidelines that make sustainability non-negotiable for brands. Developing the appropriate policy is essential for restoring clothing’s value. All stakeholders should be actively involved in the policymaking and decision-making processes. This action enhances the credibility and repute of existing legislation and policies in the eyes of stakeholders and promotes trust, transparency, and accountability.

TECHNOLOGY: Fashion must be approached differently. The transition of the fashion industry from a linear economy (take-make-dispose) to a circular economy (reduce-reuse-recycle) will significantly rely on advancements in technology. Technology such as Digital platforms, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and blockchain technology must be utilized by the industry to improve tracking, tracing, and administration of resources throughout their lifecycle. These technological solutions facilitate waste reduction, promote recycling, and reuse, and enable the creation of closed-loop systems, in which materials can be continuously cycled back into production processes, to produce less and produce the appropriate products. New models necessitate technology that supports initiatives and opportunities that will transform the industry toward a more sustainable future. By leveraging the power of technology, we can accelerate progress towards a more sustainable and resilient future by highlighting strategies in fashion business models such as take-back, mending, remaking, alterations, and personalization of pieces for the consumer, so that textile waste is disposed of as little as possible in landfills.