Greentech Alliance’s Industry Spotlight Series highlights members across all sectors represented in our community, with the aim of bringing great awareness to the sustainability challenges of the current and future generations. This is the fourth blog in the series. View our previous blogs via the links below:
Industry Spotlight #1: Biodiversity and Conservation
Industry Spotlight #2: Plastic Waste Solutions
Industry Spotlight #3: Innovative Solar Solutions
September is the month of fashion weeks. From New York and London to Paris and Milan, the world’s top fashion capitals go all out to showcase the latest designs and drive new industry trends. But behind the beauty lies a tough reality of high carbon emissions and waste generation. And an even closer look at the fashion industry reveals a pattern of microplastic pollution, low industry wages, and a lack of circularity that feeds landfills.
According to a landmark report published in 2020, fashion technology company ORDRE and climate change consultancy Carbon Trust relayed that the CO2-equivalents emitted as a result of travel to the world’s four largest fashion weeks – New York, London, Paris, and Milan – was equivalent to 241,000 tons, on par with the annual emissions of a small country like Saint Kitts and Nevis.
Fashion weeks only account for a small percentage of the sustainability challenges of the global fashion industry, but they’re a good starting point for raising awareness about concerning trends in fashion supply chains. In addition to the carbon emissions from travel to fashion weeks, the fashion industry overall accounts for about 4 percent of global carbon emissions. Meanwhile, nearly 80 percent of clothing goes to landfills at end-of-life, and 35 percent of ocean microplastic pollution come from textiles. And average wages have long left garment industry workers in poverty—a reality that was exacerbated by the COVID pandemic.
The good news is that some fashion weeks are transitioning to be more conscious of the problem. And certain cities have started celebrating dedicated “sustainable fashion” weeks. Even more good news is that some Greentech Alliance companies have made it their mission to improve circularity, reduce waste, and build more sustainable business models in the global fashion and clothing industries. In light of this month’s many fashion-related events, we posed the following questions to our members working in the sector: “What are some changes you’d like to see to make Fashion Weeks more sustainable? Any current Fashion Week practices or examples that really stand out?”
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Company: BENDI
Co-Founders: Mandeep Soor, Ben Norsworthy, & Oli Bacs
Mission: Bendi makes environmental and social commitments a reality by helping organizations deepen supplier visibility and reduce future supply chain risks.
Mandeep on Copenhagen Fashion Week’s upcoming sustainability criteria: “Fashion Weeks are playing a growing role in embedding the responsibility agenda. In Denmark for example, from 2023, brands showing at Copenhagen Fashion Week must meet 18 sustainability criteria that cover not only the products but also the show itself. The impact of Fashion Weeks is not just in the clothes shown, but also the whole infrastructure surrounding them. From models and glam squads to journalists, think of all the people flying in and out of locations and the carbon emissions associated with all this travel. During the pandemic we saw many brands showing collections virtually and experimenting with new ways of showcasing their work. If properly considered, there is a huge potential for emerging digital technologies to change the way we interact with fashion.”
Mission: Home collection service of pre-loved textiles.
Tommaso and Francisco on the importance of going local: “Byewaste would love to see fashion designers use local pre-loved textiles to create their own collection. We would also like to see more sober and resilient fashion shows. A good initiative that takes place is the "Green Fashion Week", exhibiting garments made with sustainable materials and produced with quality care.”
COMPANY: CLOTHESfriends
Co-Founders: Carmen Jenny & Sonja Wunderlich
Mission: CLOTHESfriends is a B2B2C-solution for fashion-rental-as-a-service, helping companies grow their rental and resale offers to lower their carbon footprint and acquire customers.
Carmen and Sonja on on more circular, aware, and waste-conscious fashion weeks: “We would like to see a greater empowerment of circularity at fashion weeks. Designers should realize their responsibility in showcasing circular alternatives. Potential examples include collections with fewer pieces or made entirely of upcycled or waste materials; those that celebrate new, innovative, and eco-friendly materials; or those made accessible to society through circular business models like renting. Above all, traveling and equipment for fashion weeks should be massively reduced as more fashion shows and installations can be experienced digitally, and goodie bags and printed tickets should be eliminated for in-person events. It’s great to see how first changes are happening in fashion weeks such as this season’s NYFW, where Gabriela Hearst brought climate activist Xiye Bastida on the catwalk. She was also wearing a cap from Sound Future, a non-profit organization that aims to measure, discover, and deploy meaningful environmental solutions for the live event industry. During Berlin Fashion Week, we saw emerging designers focused completely on upcycling. CLOTHESfriends also invited people to swap and rent their fashion week outfits instead of buying new ones. It was a great chance for us to collaborate with our concept store partners Staiy and ZAMT and raise awareness for circular fashion with the support of Fashion Council Germany.”
Mission: CoolDudeChoice helps customers stay minimalist and make smart eco-choices by offering sustainable and upcycled products for an active lifestyle.
Tushar on completing the cycle of fashion: “We believe that fashion is not just about style, but a way to promote a healthy lifestyle. In that regard, we would like to see some spotlight on completing the cycle of fashion, for example, by recycling old clothing to contribute to a healthy planet.”
Mission: With Infinite Athletic, your sportwear will never die. From your waste to your garments, recyclable, infinitely.
Francois, Francesc, and Isaac on changing the statistics on fashion waste: “We would like to change two key statistics about the fashion industry: the fact that 1) only 3 percent of material used in this industry is recycled; and 2) only 1 percent of all clothes sold is eventually recycled, leaving landfills and deserts full of non-biodegradable plastic waste.”
Company: LoopLook
Co-Founders: Alessandra-Isabel Hager, Daniel Hagen & Stefanie Barz
Mission: LoopLook is a digital marketplace that connects local textile service providers and consumers to help them find the perfect solution for prolonging the lives of their clothes.
Alessandra-Isabel, Daniel, & Stefanie on Berlin Sustainable Fashion Week: “Especially in Berlin, we see that shifts towards more sustainability are already taking place around the Fashion Week. This is reflected in the organization of some events and the choice of themes and designers that focus on sustainability and circularity. Two good examples this year were the Summit 202030 and Estethica, which focused particularly on enlightening panel and exhibition formats. For the future, we would like to see the entire Fashion Week under these themes and organized accordingly.”
Mission: NEWEX has developed the first ecological suit for canyoning, made in Spain and recyclable, with raw materials of natural and sustainable origin, eliminating the highly polluting plastic neoprene.
Alvaro on the benefits of a circular production process: “It is important to educate brands and stakeholders in the fashion industry to design and produce with a sustainable vision. It should be a priority to produce in a way that allows textile waste to be reused and recycled once it is discarded; otherwise we will continue to be perceived as a highly polluting industry when we should instead serve as an example of sustainability. Using second-life, recycled, or natural raw materials is a necessity for a growing sector with high production volumes. Finally, we must inform marketers and customers that conscious production methods do not necessarily equate to more expensive products. NEWEX’s products, for example, compete with the most recognized neoprene brands in the sector.”