10 years ago, I was part of the very first Copenhagen Fashion Summit, which was held in connection with the UN Climate Change Conference COP15.

I said ‘yes’ to be patron 10 years ago because I began to understand the enormous negative impact the fashion and textile industry has on our planet and the consequences it has for people.  At that time, there were only few that really understood the complexity of the problem and dared to challenge the status quo.

Back then sustainability was still a rather new concept in the fashion industry. Global Fashion Agenda, as it later became known, was one of the few who dared the industry to take responsibility and created this Summit.

I am proud to have been part of the journey to what now is the world’s leading sustainability event in fashion and which has led to Global Fashion Agenda: the foremost international leadership forum focusing on industry collaboration and private-public cooperation.

Today, sustainability is one of the most prevalent topics in fashion, and society as a whole.

But what do we actually mean when we talk about sustainability?  We use sustainability to describe all sorts of things from; sustainable development, sustainable investment, energy, sustainable collaborations, businesses and so on.  It has become somewhat of a ‘buzz’ word.  Everything and Everyone - needs to be sustainable. 

I’d like to share with you Gro Harlem Brundtland, an earlier Norwegian Prime Minister’s, definition which is from 1987. She described sustainability as; “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

I like this definition because it suggests that respect for the needs of future generations doesn’t mean we have to neglect our current needs and it also reflects an understanding of the challenge associated of changing deeply entrenched behavior.  

We know that global consumption will only increase in correlation with an ever-increasing global population. So, we must be smarter, greener, circular, visionary and more ethical in our thinking, our approach and our solutions.  Profit cannot continue to be the primary measure of success.  Sustainable transformation must be a business imperative and a core priority.

Despite new innovations, new technologies and the genuine changes being made — the fashion industry’s progress toward sustainable transformation has slowed by a third in the past year. The industry as a whole was awarded just four points, as compared with 6 points in 2018, according to the Pulse of the Fashion Industry 2019 update.

The report further revealed that since the industry is a net contributor to climate change, the goal of keeping global warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius, as stated in the Paris Agreement, will not – as stated in the report - be met, unless dramatic change is made. 

The call is for extensive industry collaboration and commitment to transform the way fashion is produced, marketed and consumed.  That is what it will take to end the industry’s damaging practices. And that is why we are gathered here again this year.

Today, we live in a society where the concept of ‘the only constant’ is change, is more evident than ever.  The impact of new technologies and rate of their expansion means today we are witnessing exponential growth in many fields.  This level of acceleration will impact our societies and businesses and the way we live - in ways we cannot foresee.

So, how do we accelerate change?

First of all, we need fashion’s leaders to be on board, and sustainability is finding its way onto the agendas of CEOs and board rooms. This was evident for me earlier this year at the launch of the CEO Agenda 2019 in Davos.

Since the first CEO Agenda was released in 2018, it has become a reference for implementing sustainability measures, guiding corporate strategies, policymaking and investments.

But, we must own up to the reality that progress, is lagging.  The entire fashion industry needs to take action and implement sustainability at its core, as an integrated part of all its operations and links across the supply chain. While many CEOs are already stepping up their work to address these shifts, almost half of the industry has yet to take action on sustainability.

In order to support the massive change required, all stake-holders must step up to collectively transform the way we produce, market and consume.

Let’s dwell a moment on the word ‘consumed’ – or consumption, ethical consumption, over-consumption, conscious consumption. And pose the question: Is ethical consumption attainable in the Fashion Industry? And what is the consumers role in the industry’s transition towards a sustainable future?

• Significant growth in global population and the middle-class segment will result in a significant increase in clothing purchases.
• This combined with the current insatiable appetite for fashion and the increased rate at which clothing is discarded means that we must better understand the demands and behaviors of fashion consumers.

History shows that consumers can play a pivotal role in transitioning an industry or a society. For example, the food industry; where consumers demanded organic products and by doing so created a new market.

We are witnessing new trends in terms of; pre-worn fashion, vintage, wardrobe renting, clothes sharing or swapping.  We are seeing the rise of an ideology that less is more and quality over quantity.  And also, that the life cycle of a product is becoming an important driver of purchase.

Today, more and more consumers are searching for meaning in their lives and they are investing in brands that can help them achieve their aspirations. 

But the growth of ethical consumption that we are witnessing in other areas, has not yet materialized at the same level in mainstream fashion.  Why?

Well……It is said, that particularly fashion consumption is quite irrational, as opposed to ethical consumption based on rational judgements. In fashion, purchasing decisions are more likely to be driven by emotions linked to pleasure, aspiration and excitement. It is a social activity that gives us status and is a way to express our identity.

So, the influence of rational thoughts about ethics and the environmental consequences of our purchases – which today are complex and lack clarity - are perhaps weaker than we would like to think.

In contrast, it is perhaps easier to be rational or make ethical judgments when considering the purchase of food or water in a plastic bottle – and the fact that there are accessible alternatives, also plays a significant role.

Despite, new consumer research (from Boston Consulting Group) showing that sustainability is beginning to shift from a secondary to a primary driver of purchase. The strong desire for that new dress or those cool sneakers is something that is difficult to suppress, so using ethical and environmental arguments to influence more rational fashion consumption is a strategy that may not pay-off ‑ enough.

That is not to say that we shouldn’t communicate these important issues. But they are complex, difficult to understand and there exists a high level of conflicting information around them. 

Therefore, we cannot expect that fashion consumers will place strong enough demands on the industry to deliver sustainable solutions and products - and we definitely cannot wait for it to potentially happen. 

So, perhaps the more effective strategy is to accelerate the use of new technology and business models to design products that can be recycled or re-made into new styles with minimal use of raw materials, water, energy and chemicals.

This suggests that we need to reverse our traditional marketing thinking – that demand drives supply.

As I said, the appetite for fashion is insatiable, and it demands to be fed. But it is the industry that must dictate what and how it is to be fed. So, you could say that supply becomes the driver of demand.

Fashion reaches beyond clothing and into the way we choose to live our lives - help fashion consumers to choose right. You are all part of an industry that has inspired and led for generations, now be the inspiration and lead to a clean and sustainable future.

If we change our mind-set from threat to opportunity, we can see that the transformational priorities outlined in the CEO Agenda, in fact embody future growth prospects.

The circular economy for one – from design to disposition, throughout the entire supply chain.  Currently, 73% of the world’s clothing eventually ends up in land-fills and less than 15% of clothes are collected for recycling.  And many of today’s products continue to be designed with neither durability nor recycling in mind.

There are significant opportunities – and gains – to be made here.  Instead of discarding assets after only one product cycle, companies should be developing ways to continually re-acquire and re-introduce these assets to market.

New solutions, technologies and innovations are also crucial in the push for transformation and I am pleased that Copenhagen Fashion Summit once again presents its sustainable solutions platform, Innovation Forum which features some of the world’s most promising sustainable solutions.

And there is also a curated space, Future Lab which will highlight the ten most convincing innovators presenting technologies and business models that hold the potential to transform the fashion industry as we know it.

To create an environment where new solutions, technologies and innovations can thrive we need greater focus and investment and we need to look to other industries for inspiration, knowledge-sharing and collaboration.

Change is not easy, but overall progress is too slow. We simply cannot afford to lose another year of incremental improvements in the industry’s sustainability performance.

With topics like climate change, human rights and resource scarcity reaching new heights, Copenhagen Fashion Summit is more vital than ever.

Industry-led transformation is why we are gathered here today. It is promising to see such an array of leaders from fashion, policy, academia, NGOs and interconnected industries coming together. The complexity of the challenges calls for industry-wide collaboration and industry-led change.

Therefore, it is very pleasing to see more fashion leaders than ever gathered; from 40 countries, from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania.

I’m also very happy to see more and more key industry players joining Global Fashion Agenda on its journey and would like to thank the organisation’s Strategic Partners for taking a leading role to drive change.

Very briefly, I’d like to leave you with a couple of comments that were made by key players in the industry, in Davos earlier this year.

The first – we (being the brand) believe our customers are conscious.  But whether they are or not is irrelevant for us, because we are and that is what we strive to deliver.

The second – for us the goal is to reach a point where sustainability is simply a gift with purchase.

These comments struck a chord with me because they speak of taking industry-leadership and the necessity of presenting consumers with products and solutions, where sustainability is simply built in.

The fashion industry is one of the world’s largest and most powerful industries.

Therefore, my hope is that through strong and thoughtful leadership the industry will secure a sustainable future for the industry – and make a vital contribution to the future of our planet.

Thank you.