Professions in fashion created by social issues and the circular economy

Is sustainability and a circular economy the future of the fashion industry? As the ‘Big Four Fashion Weeks’ from New York to Paris wrap up, the hottest topics on the runways this season has become eco-fashion, climate concerns and animal rights. In the midst of the Global Climate Strike and the Climate March led by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, Kering announced its commitment to full carbon neutrality with LVMH following suit shortly after. Meanwhile, companies such as H&M boycotted Brazilian leather as a result of the Amazon fires. With social and environmental issues now at the forefront of the fashion industry, FashionUnited asked four professionals at the helm of sustainability and social impact what their job entails and how they use their power to affect change.

Jackie Lewis, Sustainability Expert at Alvanon

What exactly does a Sustainability Expert do?

A Sustainability Expert challenges what we do today and asks is there a better way, an approach which achieves the same outcome but at less cost to people and the environment. In the fashion world that requires experience and a full understanding of how to design, source and manufacture a product. The continuous obstacle is how to deliver against your sustainability promise whilst still making profit and giving the customer what they want.

What do you love about your job?

When I hear people playing back my words, then I know they have really connected with sustainability. My job as a sustainability expert is to help them by identifying what people really care about, what affects them day-to-day and how even the smallest changes can positively affect their lifestyle and environment, to drive momentum and action change.

Q&A with the Sustainability Expert of Alvanon, Jackie Lewis

Amy Smith, Chief Giving Officer at Toms

What are your responsibilities as the Chief Giving Officer at Toms?

It’s a unique job without a rulebook. While it’s extremely rewarding because I’m passionate about the impact we make, it's challenging too. After all, it's such a critical role within Toms. My job is to strategize and oversee our giving work, making sure that we are making the most impact possible, whether that’s through our shoe and water giving or through our new project-based work that supports local needs. My role entails everything from the ordering to manufacturing, to how the shoes will be stored, to how they will be distributed, to the feedback loop with partners, and analysis of what we can do better. I’m also looking into new projects and local partners, and identifying where we can make a positive impact in the future based on what is needed most.

What does a typical working day look like for you?

My days are long but truly never the same, which I love. I manage our network of around 90 giving partners and our giving programs. My team and I also work on developing the best strategies for our giving, using feedback from our current partners in the field. We feel a strong obligation to give shoes, sight, and water in the most responsible way possible. For example, we now make shoes in a number of different silhouettes to match the climate of the region and activities kids are engaging in. These additions to the product line are a direct result of our giving partner’s feedback. We also make sure to give them shoes, water and sight as part of larger health and education programs, which we’ve found has a greater impact.

The C-suite title of the future? Q&A with Amy Smith, Chief Giving Officer at Toms

Magdalena Schaffrin, Sustainability Agent and the Creative Director of Neonyt (Sustainable) Trade Fair

How important is sustainable fashion?

At the moment, the current discussion about microplastics and plastics in general in the oceans, which of course also affects the textile industry, is attracting a great deal of media attention. In addition, broader alliances have formed up to UN level, which has put the topic of fashion on the agenda for 2019.

If you had all the power for one day, what three problems in the fashion industry would you solve?

First of all, I would improve the working conditions of all people in the textile supply chains. Then I would ban all harmful chemicals and ingredients. Third, I would eliminate excessive consumption so that we all have more time again for the important questions in life and do not spend our time buying new things, managing them and getting rid of them again.

How can one do luxury better?

The crucial point is quality. For me, sustainable aspects such as high-quality materials are a given. I am convinced that it is not possible to speak of good quality when harmful ingredients are used or when people working in the supply chain suffer. The new concept of quality, as I understand it, includes sustainability aspects.

Magdalena Schaffrin: “The new concept of quality includes sustainability"

Flora Davidson, Co-Founder of Supplycompass-a sustainable sourcing platform

How did you start the company?

I was working as a fashion innovation consultant, researching for lots of big clients such as L’Oréal, Stella McCartney and Adidas, helping them to design products around their customers’ needs. Working with these huge brands showed me that I was much more interested in the way things are made rather than how to sell things.

At first, we thought we’d be more of a marketplace, helping to match brands and factories. We spent two years in India, living in Mumbai, visiting over 200 factories and asking them questions, as we knew the problems we were seeing didn’t exist only for brands. Nobody really asks the factories ‘hey, how are you, guys? If you could improve the process, what would you do?’. So, we went about building relationships with factories which were open-minded and aligned with our values. We specifically looked for factories with between 15-500 employees. Initially, we were just an agent, without a platform, but then we raised investment and built a platform and that’s how we are where we are today: we’re a marketplace production automation tool. But we’re only three years in, so we’re not everything we want to be yet.

What would you say is the thing you’re most proud of?

Transitioning brands which aren’t interested in sustainability to working with organic fabrics and recycled packaging materials because it actually made more sense and it ended up being cheaper than what they were producing.

Want to make your brand more sustainable? This company aims to connect you to the right suppliers

Photos: courtesy of Alvanon, H&M

* This article was originally published here

How these top business trends will affect the fashion industry

Commerce is changing quickly. The way companies do business, the tools and strategies they use, the technologies they implement and the way they present themselves and interact with the customer is evolving - brands that can’t keep up with these changes risk being left behind.

On Thursday, in the North of Amsterdam, at the Eye Museum overlooking the Ij river, consultancy firm Trendwatching hosted an event in which they highlighted urgent trends that represent the biggest opportunities in coming years. Here are FashionUnited’s top takeaways from the event.

The disruption of payments

For centuries, banks and currencies have had a monopoly over how people store and spend money. That’s changing, and in the coming years we will see “the disruption of value itself,” said David Mattin, global head of trends and insights.

French fashion magazine L’Officiel for example has launched its own virtual currency and platform to reward readers for engaging with its content and allowing them to spend virtual tokens on products in their magazines. As money becomes less physical and more digital, other companies and brands are experimenting more with these closed ecosystems of value - they are becoming banks with their own currencies.

“It’s going to cause all kinds of new behaviours around currency around value - around earning it, storing it, trading it - and it's a huge opportunity for brands to involve themselves in that story,” Mattin said.

Read more:

• Farfetch joins Facebook's new cryptocurrency initiative

Brand/consumer connection: the rise of the brand avatar

In coming years we will see the rise of the brand avatar, like Lil Miquela, Calvin Klein’s virtual influencer who, since launching on Instagram in 2016, has racked up an eye-watering following of 1.6 million. According to Mattin, this trend represents the democratisation of the brand-consumer relationship, as it becomes more of a two-way dialogue instead of the top-down one we were used to in the past. “In 2020, consumers will embody themselves via new characters in diverse digital channels,” he predicts.

Self expression and inclusivity

“In 2020, consumers will embrace services, tools and platforms that help them become who they truly are,” Mattin said. Take Nike for example. In June, the American sports giant, known for its messages of inclusivity, released an empowering advert which highlighted barriers that stop girls playing football. The video then follows a 10-year-old California soccer player Makena Cooke playing alongside top women’s football players.

And the brand is backing up its messages with actions. In March it reinforced its commitment to women’s football when it signed a three-year deal to become official partner of UEFA Women’s Football and the match ball supplier for UEFA Women’s competitions.

The championing of self expression will become more commonplace in coming years, Mattin said. “Brands need to be thinking about people’s true identity and how to help them inhabit and live that identity.”

Sustainability and 'eco-shaming'

Whereas for the last decade the eco-story has been routed in status, with brands catering to aspirational ‘eco-status’ consumer, now brands are heading towards the trend of eco-shaming. “It’s no longer a status if you opt in with these sustainable solutions; it’s actually a shame if you opt out,” said Delia Dumitrescu, lead innovation architect at Trendwatching. “We need an intervention. We need someone to lead by example. We are at a cultural tipping point, where the pursuit of eco-status is giving way to the desire to avoid eco-shaming,” she added.

Take Patagonia for example. The US outdoor apparel brand launched a ‘Don’t buy this jacket’ campaign, instead urging its customers to consider the harmful effects of consumerism on the environment. Similarly, in August UK charity Oxfam launched ‘Second Hand September’ a campaign urging consumers to not buy any new clothes for 30 days.

These types of brands are almost “in therapy” with the consumer, Dumitrescu said. They allow you to feel shame about consumer actions and consumption, but they also “take your hand and help you alleviate that shame.”

Photo credit: FashionUnited, Calvin Klein virtual influencer

* This article was originally published here

LVMH is ahead of its sustainability roadmap

French luxury conglomerate LVMH is ahead of its sustainability roadmap and announced new commitments for the environment and biodiversity on Wednesday, when LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault welcomed executives from LVMH and its Maisons to an event at the Group’s headquarters in Paris centered on the LVMH Initiatives For the Environment program (LIFE).

The meeting highlighted LVMH’s initiatives for protecting biodiversity as well as goals for eco-design, engagement with the circular economy and reduced energy consumption. LVMH also presented new commitments, notably an Animal-based Raw Materials Sourcing Charter.

Four objectives met for 2020

The LIFE program was launched in 2012 and since 2015, the Group’s 75 Maisons have integrated it into their strategic planning. In 2016, LVMH further strengthened this policy and defined four objectives for 2020: improving the environmental performance of all its products, applying the highest standards for sourcing, improving key environmental performance indicators for all sites and reducing CO2 emissions.

With 2020 just a few months away, the Future LIFE Paris event presented the Group’s achievements in these four areas, along with concrete goals moving forward. “We believe that environmental performance is a source of innovation, creativity and excellence and as such must be considered in all design and manufacture activities. ... Our results speak for themselves. We are making a commitment to accelerate our efforts in this area and continually go even further,” commented Arnault.

Concretely, this means for renewable energy, that the target of 30 percent of LVMH’s energy mix is likely to be exceeded, it being 27 percent in 2018. In terms of CO2 emissions, the Group is on track to meet the target of reducing them by 25 percent by 2020. In terms of waste management, 91 percent of waste was reused, recycled or transformed into energy in 2018.

LVMH’s carbon footprint reduced

LVMH’s Carbon Fund doubled the price per metric ton of CO2 generated from 15 to 30 euros in 2018, thus further accelerating initiatives to reduce CO2 emissions. Not used as offsets, the funds directly finance CO2-reducing projects for the Maisons; 112 projects in 2018.

In terms of materials, 48 percent of the leather used by LVMH’s Maisons is sourced in Leather Working Group (LWG) certified tanneries. The target of 70 percent will be achieved by the end of 2019. LVMH tanneries are already LWG certified. LVMH has already achieved 99 percent of its 100 percent objective for Responsible Jewelry Council certification of diamonds used by 2020.

Guest of honor Stella McCartney spoke for the first time at an LVMH event since the partnership between her fashion house and the LVMH Group was announced in July. She explained her motivations for adopting environmental responsibility in the fashion industry in terms of both design and procurement and discussed her role as special advisor on sustainability issues to Bernard Arnault and members of LVMH’s executive committee. Maria Grazia Chiuri, artistic director of Dior, shared the ways that nature inspired her runway show at the Longchamp racecourse the previous day.

Beyond these commitments, LVMH also announced new strategic partnerships to support its initiatives in sustainable development and protecting biodiversity: emergency aid to preserve the Amazon, a partnership with the Solar Impulse Foundation and funding of the AgroParisTech Foundation Ecological Compatibility Chair.

* This article was originally published here

PM Imran Khan America Visit and Talk At Council On Foreign Relations 23...

Fashion student Chloe Severien wins Threshold Award 2019 with knitting collection made of recycled plastic

The Municipality of Rotterdam and the Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences awarded The Threshold Awards during the final examination exhibition 'Graduation Show 2019' on July 13th. The university reported in a press release: The Threshold Award is an incentive prize of 5,000 euros that is awarded annually by a professional jury to three exceptional graduation candidates.

Student of fashion design, Chloe Severien, received the prize for her project 'Infinite Re-usable Knitwear' in the category 'Commercial Practices'. In her graduation year, Severien developed a knitwear collection made of recycled plastic. Her collection revolves around sustainability, zero waste and reuse.

The Threshold Award 'Autonomous Practices' was awarded to Annemiek Höcker (graduate of Advertising) with her project 'Your Smartphone Is Running on the Tears and Breast Milk of a Volcano'. The Threshold Award 'Social Practices' went to Alona van Rosmalen (Fine Art department) with her project 'Complaint Body of knowledge'.

The original version of this interview was published on FashionUnited NL. The text has been translated and edited for an international audience.

Image: Winners of The Threshold Awards from left to right: Annemiek Höcker, Chloe Severien: seated: Alona van Rosmalen from the Willem de Kooning Academy

* This article was originally published here

Zalando shares ‘excellent’ results from private delivery pilot

Zalando has shared the first positive results following a new pilot delivery service operated by private persons.

The German fashion giant has been piloting private pickup and drop-off points in Denmark (Aarhus and Copenhagen), which see members of the public sign up to be ‘Din Nabo’ (or ‘your neighbor’ in Danish) and receive packages for others to collect, effectively acting as pick up points. They also earn a commission for their service, dependent on the number of packages they handle.

The service aims to be a more sustainable alternative to traditional delivery methods, as it reduces the number of deliveries made by providing a single drop-off or pickup point. Zalando has been trialling the service with Dutch partner Homerr since July and said customers using the service have experienced “excellent service”.

“The test has shown very positive results. Ninety-five percent of the Zalando customers say that they received an ‘excellent service’ when collecting or returning their package,” said Remko Bakker, lead logistics platform services at Zalando, in a statement. “The majority of the customers say that they would highly recommend the service to friends and that they will use the service again themselves in the future. It’s great to see that market research is confirmed by actual results.”

According to Zalando’s market research, 72 percent of Danish customers say they are “highly likely” to use pickup points in the near future knowing that they are more environmentally friendly.

The pilot test indicated that the concept will function even better in rural areas of Denmark because the number of stores is smaller and opening hours shorter, which means there’s a need for more convenient pickup and drop off options. Additionally, in rural areas more private people live in houses or the ground floor of apartment buildings, which increases the convenience of the concept for both the “Din Nabo” and the customer.

Photo credit: Homerr

* This article was originally published here

LAHORE EARTH QUICK ZALZALA Today 24 Sep 2019 5.8 magnitude earthquake

Green Carpet Fashion Awards announces winners

British designer Stella McCartney was among the winners at this year’s Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia, which recognised the commitment of individuals and Italian fashion houses to sustainability.

The awards, now in its third year, closed Milan Fashion Week and saw McCartney awarded with the ‘Groundbreaker Award’ by her friend Amber Valletta, while Francois Henri-Pinault, chairman and chief executive of Kering Group, received the ‘Visionary Award’ and Flavia La Rocca, took home the Franca Sozzani ‘GCC Award for Best Emerging Designer’.

In addition, Valentino received the ‘GCFA Legacy Award’, the ‘Social Media Changemaker Award’ was presented to model Doutzen Kroes, and ‘CNMI Award in Recognition of Sustainability’ went to Elia Maramotti of Max Mara and to Ermenegildo Zegna Group’s Alessandro Sartori and Gildo Zegna.

There was also a special ‘Eco-Stewardship Award’ to the Venetian Gondoliers for their use of responsibly sourced Australian merino wool in their iconic uniform, after joining forces with renowned Venetian design house, Emilio Ceccato in 2017 and returning to use the natural fibre after nearly a 100-year hiatus.

Actress Shailene Woodley, who presented the award, said: “This year’s Eco-Stewardship award links the outfits of 400 gondoliers in Venice with Australia’s finest merino herds thanks to a brilliant project re-connecting a centuries-old-tradition with a centuries-old-fibre.”

Carlo Capasa, Chairman, CNMI, added: “The Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia celebrates the beating heart of the Italian luxury fashion industry. The Gondoliers have used their extraordinary exposure to international tourists to highlight the use of responsible fabrics.

“These are the values of the Awards, of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana (CNMI). We are delighted to be honouring the Gondoliers at third the Green Carpet Fashion Awards, Italia continuing an incredible legacy of outstanding icons.”

Images: courtesy of Green Carpet Fashion Awards

* This article was originally published here

A closer look into Levi's new global water strategy plan

INTERVIEWWith the environment an ever-pressing concern in and out of the fashion industry, brands such as Levi Strauss are continually working to reduce the amount of waste created during the production process. The denim company recently announced its new water strategy, which will take a localized approach to its water conservation, dependent on the needs of each factory’s surrounding area.

Below, FashionUnited spoke with Michael Kobori, the vice president of sustainability at Levi Strauss & Co. to learn more about the brand’s new water strategy.

What has been the process of developing the new water strategy for Levi's, and how will it affect the company's overall waste?

In 2007, we conducted the apparel industry’s first life cycle assessment, which shed light on the industry’s impact on watersheds around the world. This inspired us to join the Better Cotton Initiative in 2010, launch Water

We recognize that water issues pose some of the greatest threats to the global economy and people around the world. We also recognize that water demand and scarcity are variable and that we were operating according to a "one size fits all" approach that did not address the reality of water stress.

Now that we have applied our Water Less® techniques to two-thirds of our products en route to 80 percent by 2020, scaled the Better Cotton Initiative to two-thirds of our cotton supply en route to 100 percent more sustainable and resource-efficient cotton by 2020, and open-sourced our Screened Chemistry program to the industry, we see an opportunity to take another step forward, to use the science and tools at our disposal to focus our reduction efforts where they are most critical, increase water access and inspire the collective action that is essential to delivering the change that’s needed.

Your company is taking a localized approach to water conservation. What went behind the decision to do this?

Over the past decade, it has become standard best practice for companies to address the amount of water that they use. As water stress intensifies in various regions, however, it is increasingly clear that saving a liter of water where water is plentiful is not as critical as a liter where water is scarce. Therefore, we felt we needed to address our water use in the context of local water stress.

While there is no prevailing guidance on setting science-based water targets in a local watershed context, we have access to highly respected, publicly-available tools and datasets, such as the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, that help us understand where water stress is greatest.

Though we have not established overarching global targets for suppliers in areas of low- and medium- water stress, we intend to continue to build on our progress there as we empower facilities in those categories to pursue their contextual targets. We also recognize that local water stress will evolve, so we plan to update our supplier water stress classification at least once every three years.

What are the methods Levi's is taking in its production process in order to meet the proposed commitments by 2025?

We will continue to implement and expand programs designed to reduce water use in manufacturing. These include:

· Our water Recycle and Reuse program: over the past year, we have tripled the number of approved R&R facilities and recognized five fabric mills in areas of high-water stress.

· Our partnerships with the International Finance Corporation Partnership for Cleaner Textiles (IFC PaCT) and the Apparel Impact Institute’s Clean by Design program.

· Our existing Water Less® technologies, which can significantly reduce the amount of water that we use to wash or finish jeans, which saves not only water, but also energy.

As we developed this strategy, we consulted various suppliers, each of whom supported the idea of establishing contextual water targets that respond to local water stress. Going forward, our technical experts in the field will continue to work with vendors to drive efficiency, as they have been to date.

What’s more, suppliers are already engaged – and deeply invested – in the effort to reduce water use. In water-stressed regions, suppliers have begun to install water-efficient machinery and recycle water because these represent strong and necessary investments for their businesses.

Will Levi's be making changes to its production houses — in terms of machinery, labor, etc. — throughout this process? How so?

We will target the total amount of water our suppliers use to make fabric and garments. This will include water used to manufacture other brands’ products. We cannot limit focus on only the water used on our products if we want to ensure that the environmental conditions around our facilities improve.

Ultimately, what’s important is the impact that the apparel supply chain has on the watersheds and communities that support it, not just the amount of water used to make LS&Co. products. We want to help our suppliers become more efficient and resilient and leave more clean, fresh water for local communities and the environment.

Can you explain more about the Water Less program?

To our knowledge, we are the first company in the apparel industry to set contextual water targets for all tier one and two suppliers, and among the first in any industry to do so. Our original Water Less® targets invoked a one-size-fits-all approach to scale the Water Less® finishing techniques at an ambitious rate. Our new targets apply a contextual approach to address local watershed needs. This data-driven, outcome-oriented approach will enable a leap in the sustainability and resiliency of our supply chain, and we want to extend that resiliency to the watersheds and communities that support it.

Water Less® techniques and the Recycle and Reuse Standard remain key pillars of our new Water Action Strategy. What will change is that we will move to qualify Water Less® at the facility-level. Fabric or products coming from manufacturing facilities that meet the targets that we issue, which will vary depending on whether they’re located in areas of low, medium or high-water stress, will qualify as Water

LS&Co. will help all its key suppliers achieve the Water Less® designation by 2025 utilizing tools and programs such as existing Water

How does the new water strategy align with Levi's greater approach to sustainability?

“We all know that water is perhaps the most critical resource on the planet and that many places, including countries the apparel industry sources from, are struggling with water crises,” said Liz O’Neill, Executive Vice President and President of LS&Co.’s Global Product, Innovation, and Supply Chain. “This announcement is an illustration of what sustainability means to us now: innovative, responsive, scalable programs that drive impact and inspire collective action to address the most pressing social and environmental issues facing our business, industry, and planet.”

In addition, as part of the Water Action Strategy, LS&Co. will continue to reduce the amount of water required for cotton cultivation by collaborating with organizations like the Better Cotton Initiative to implement better farming methods, while simultaneously continuing to explore the use of alternative raw materials such as hemp and regenerated fibers that can reduce the amount of water used in the cultivation phase. LS&Co. will also continue its industry-leading work on chemicals, which includes not only the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals commitment for 2020, but also its own open-source Screened Chemistry protocols, which prevent hazardous chemicals from entering the apparel supply chain. Water pollution contributes to water stress, so ensuring that the water that gets put back into the environment is clean and safe is as important as addressing water consumption at earlier stages. This comes on the heels of the release of our industry-leading Climate Action Strategy in 2018. Along with rising global average temperatures, climate change is manifesting in altered precipitation patterns, droughts, floods and storms that are increasing in frequency, severity, and duration and impacting companies and communities around the world. While our Water Action Strategy takes essential steps to make our business and the communities it touches more resilient to the water-related impacts of climate change, taking swift action to mitigate climate change is central to our sustainability approach.

Images: Courtesy of Levi Strauss & Co.

* This article was originally published here