I am delighted to be back at the Global Fashion Summit and to see so many leaders from the fashion industry worldwide, gathered in Copenhagen once again. There is truly no better platform for an open dialogue about the direction and trajectory of the industry.

Throughout my patronage of Global Fashion Agenda and Global Fashion Summit, fashion industry has evolved dramatically and while much has happened since we were last gathered, the urgent need for action has not.

Following the last two tumultuous years, characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have all undergone a period of significant adjustment and adaption. The pandemic hit the industry unprecedently, demanding real-time actions and long-term thinking.

Moreover, COVID-19 brought with it a stronger global awareness    exposing the structural fragility in our systems and re-enforcing existing social injustices.

As of February, this year, the war in Ukraine is not only causing a devastating humanitarian crisis, but it is also causing damage to the regional as well as global environment.

For industries, not just limited to the garment industry, these impacts, and the uncertain geopolitical climate, as well as ensued rise of commodity prices and disruption to demand and supply chains will likely present uncertain economic conditions for years to come.

It is clear that our planet and humanity are facing immense challenges. There are only eight years left in which to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and failing to meet these targets will only compound these consequences for our precious world and societies.

In the last decade, Denmark has managed to reduce its emissions by driving innovation, solutions, and the making of a low-carbon society. Thereby, showing the world that a nation that champions the green transformation and a more sustainable lifestyle can be prosperous.

However, at the same time we must acknowledge that we are among those nations with some of the highest consumption rates and the largest footprints per capita.

This transition to low carbon societies requires bold and proactive action. Action driven by policymakers, industry leaders and our citizens alike – a common effort. 

The latest series of reports from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change served as a warning that if we do not adjust our behavior and habits urgently, we will find ourselves on a decisive route to climate disaster.

With fashion accounting for up to 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the fashion industry cannot afford to be complacent in the face of these warnings.

Global Fashion Agenda’s recent Fashion on Climate report projects that if the industry does not accelerate its response to climate change, by 2030 it will produce around twice the volume of greenhouse gas emissions required to align with the Paris Agreement global warming pathways by 2050.

So the challenge is immense. And the global framework has only worsened the conditions under which the industry will need to pursue its transformation.

Yet many efforts focused on pursuing the necessary work towards a vision of a net positive fashion industry, an industry that ultimately gives more to than it takes from the planet to the people.  And the Fashion Climate report also has this focus and lays out various reduction scenarios that even save money.

I see a Global Fashion Agenda at the helm of this work driving change based on innovation, solutions, tools, and new alliances. In a time where there could be plenty of excuses for non-action, I see a noble and an inspiring effort to accelerate progress.

The recently launched GFA Monitor report outlines required action on core priorities such as a fair and safe working environment, a shift towards circular economy and a significant reduction of emissions. It also guides fashion leaders and provides the necessary tools to ensure a unified route of direction for the fashion industry towards becoming net positive.

But direction and guidance do not do it alone. The efforts required to drive transformation exceed the power of any individual agent or company. It is therefore particularly interesting to follow Global Fashion Agenda’s efforts to build alliances through shared industry knowledge.

Promoting Fashion stakeholders must continue this key work towards a new cooperative approach, focused on meaningful change at all stages of the value cycle.

Under the theme ‘Alliances for a New Era’, the Summit will endeavor to form previously inconceivable alliances within the fashion industry and examine atypical cross-industry alliances, in a bid to accelerate the transition to a net positive reality.

When I attended the first Summit in 2009, which was held in connection with the UN Climate Change Conference COP15, sustainability and all that it encompasses, was not so prevalent within the fashion industry.

Today, 13 years later, sustainability has found its way into the agendas and identities of many brands - realizing that it’s not only the right thing to do to protect and optimize our planet’s finite resources, but also incentivized by the strong business case for sustainability.

While recent advances across all these priorities are commendable, systemic issues remain and progress is too slow. All actors within the industry and society must come together to drive changes at scale.

Following the latest edition of COP last November and ahead of the upcoming COP27 in Egypt, this is a crucial moment for us all. At the conference in Glasgow, an ambitious renewed Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action was laid out by the UN Climate Change Secretariat, which aims to drive the fashion industry to net-zero emissions no later than 2050.

I am impressed to see the alliance between Global Fashion Agenda and UNFCCC, who have joined forces to accelerate fashion’s climate action and the impact of the Fashion Charter.

If we took only one message from COP26, it is that sustainability can no longer be recognized by an aspiration to defend ecosystems in the abstract future but rather, climate change is unfolding before our very eyes and impacting the most vulnerable societies across our globe at an accelerated rate.

Bangladesh is the 7^th most vulnerable country in the world to climate change. My recent trip to the country, together with Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Flemming Møller Mortensen, revealed both the stark realities of this as well as the resilience and commitments of the people there.

Global Fashion Agenda’s Circular Fashion Partnership has been carrying out work in Bangladesh with the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and local authorities to support and realize the potential for domestically accelerating and scaling the recycling of post-industrial textile waste to create new textiles and has shown promising results. And today 7 of the 10 greenest garment factories are in Bangladesh.

Building on the successes of the Partnership thus far, Global Fashion Agenda intends to scale this to other key manufacturing countries, such as Indonesia, Vietnam, and Cambodia and to incentivize a circular system that brings greater value and resilience to local manufacturers.

In this transition it is important to ensure people with the right skills to fulfil future roles in this new economy.

We know that addressing sustainability requires multivariate analysis and creative solutions. Issues including climate change, human rights violations, overconsumption, and resource scarcity are soaring to new heights, as a result, global collaboration to tackle issues is more vital than ever.

This will require collective efforts from all here today. But let us not forget that fashion historically has immense cultural significance – no other medium has quite as much power and potential to make ‘sustainability’, in all its forms, desirable.

This, however, can only be achieved by strong alliances, which can give impetus to a new era of sustainability. You are all part of an industry that has led and inspired for generations, now is an opportunity to inspire worldwide, across all industries.

 

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