by DUBAI — In a full agenda of COP28, the annual UN climate summit held here, leading voices from the fashion industry were gathered during the opening speeches of the conference’s Business and Philanthropy forum. The topic, “Sustainability of Cutting Edge Fashion”, brought together a range of stakeholders to discuss ways to move the needle on carbon emissions.
“There is no room for setting KPIs [key performance indicators], writing white papers. We need to stop talking and act,” said Federico Marchetti, founder of Yoox Net-a-porter and chairman of the Fashion Task Force, part of the King Charles III Sustainable Market Initiative.
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It was significant that fashion would be on the conference’s official agenda this year, he said. “We’re an industry that’s responsible for anywhere from 4 to 8 percent of emissions worldwide, depending on which study you’re citing. We are polluting more than airplanes. This is not an opportunity to be used for marketing. It’s a question of survival.”
Innovation, Marchetti said, is central to making change. “That means using technology, but also generally just new ways of thinking about our business.”
Stella McCartney brought the brand’s “sustainable market concept” to COP28 to showcase textile innovations, all plant-based, used by the brand. McCartney has been a pioneer in sustainability for over twenty years, having used no animal products since the brand’s inception.
“I’m here to show how we find solutions ourselves. If my business can do this, any business can. We do not work with any animal by-products: no leather, feathers or fur. We make rules for ourselves. We police ourselves,” she said.
McCartney shared her recent collaboration with Veuve Clicquot, taking discarded grape skins to make a faux leather material.
It’s just a matter of finding a product solution, she said, to get the industry to a net zero goal. “I want to change policy. We need more regulation. I also came to COP to encourage leaders to incentive businesses like mine. For example, because I don’t use animal products, I can be taxed in America. But if I put a piece of leather in something, I don’t pay the tax. I am actually being punished for not using an animal product. We need to incentivize, not punish.
“Most of the industries that are harming our environment will be called out and there are restrictions on the business,” continued the designer. “It’s arguably more damaging to my industry than the cars, but we don’t have any legislation. We have to say that some things are unacceptable.”
McCartney remains optimistic, saying change is accelerating. “In the beginning of my career I was just Paul McCartney’s daughter. Everyone, including my colleagues, made fun of me for not using plastic, fur and sequins. Now it is normalized. It’s amazing to see the change in our industry and the world,” she told the audience.
“The Fashion Task Force, which has 15 members McCartney, as well as the fashion houses Giorgio Armani, Brunello Cucinelli, Burberry and Chloé, is not a think tank, but an action tank,” explained Marchetti. “We are doers.”
Although that may not always be perfect, he mentioned that they have made significant progress in two years with projects related to regenerative agriculture and traceability.
Riccardo Stefanelli, Brunello Cucinelli’s chief executive officer, said the company has a longevity mindset. “We believe that an activity must have different types of sustainability. We are well aware that we need a sustainable supply chain.”
Stefanelli mentioned the progress they have made in relation to a restorative agriculture effort that the brand launched 18 months ago in the Himalayan region of India where they source material from. The goal was to restore harmony between the local nomadic communities and the natural environment. “We wanted to create food for people and animals in these areas with very rough mountain terrain and give them the economic conditions for a dignified livelihood.”
The project supports the local cashmere, cotton and silk economies, and also works to restore the progressive loss of biodiversity.
Stefanelli also believes that the product produced from fibers in that region must be honoured. “We have to look at it from the beginning and think that it can last forever. Even the idea of recycling, when you recycle, you destroy the manufacturing process and the craftsmanship. Better to repair it than donate it, create conditions that allow the product to last longer.”
Greater consumer product awareness and the need for transparency lead to the development of the digital passport for products, supported by the Fashion Task Force. Chloé has already accepted them. “If you go to Chloé in Paris, the entire collection has a digital passport,” Marchetti said.
The concept is simple. “Each product receives an ID that monitors it from the time it is produced through resale and regeneration,” explained Natasha Frank, founder of Eon, a technology company that created the technology that tracks the product from the point of production to the point of sale. “With product identification, the world moves towards companies that have responsibility for their waste because you can track the entire life cycle of products and materials,” she said.
“We can unlock new business models and revenue streams for the industry as well as enable resources to close the loop,” said Frank.
Patrick Chalhoub, group president of Chalhoub Group, said the company, which operates luxury stores across the Middle East, integrates environmental, social and governance principles into its core business model. He launched a circular report this week, sharing the business potential for re-commerce in the Middle East.
According to Chalhoub, the luxury resale market is worth more than $500 million and is expected to grow 10 to 15 percent annually to reach $760 million to $780 million by 2026. Last year Chalhoub Group launched a handbag and shoe resale business with Level. Shoes, the world’s largest footwear retailer, operating in Dubai Mall. “There is a rapidly growing demand for ethical consumption, led by our youth.
“As we see luxury brands and retailers embrace circular business models, we recognize our role and the opportunity to not only meet consumer needs but to lead them,” said Chalhoub. “We aim to lead them on a journey towards a more circular and sustainable future through increased offerings, education and behavior change.”
Consumer awareness, along with brand-led innovation, is driving change. “It’s not always the easiest way to be the first to do something, but if you lead the way many others will follow,” Marchetti said.
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