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MILAN – As the fashion sector faces the volatility of a dampened economy and declining consumer confidence, the third edition of the Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum is bound to further highlight how the resilience and sustainability of global supply chains depend on progress in sustainability.
“Leading Re-generation” is the title of the summit, which will take place at the Giorgio Cini Foundation in Venice on October 24 and 25, and is organized by Sistema Moda Italia, Confindustria Veneto Est and the consultancy The European House — Ambrosetti.
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The two-day event is set to attempt to unpack the ongoing eco-tour for the sector, with an agenda that will cover hot topics in the ESG approach and the intersection of the latter with economic sustainability.
Organizers claimed the forum would highlight the challenges facing fashion SMEs in driving innovation and eco-transformation, as well as what brands can do to support the pipeline and what is being done expected from policy makers.
“The third edition shows the continuity of the forum as an institutional meeting,” said Sistema Moda Italia president Sergio Tamborini. “We need to make sustainability a substantial goal again. Over the years, due to greenwashing, sustainability has become a bureaucratic affair.”
For the first time in its three-year history, the forum will welcome representatives from fast fashion players, with Shein spokespeople joining the conversation alongside sustainability executives from the Prada Group, the Tod Group, as well as the chief executive of LVMH Métiers d ‘Art. officer Matteo de Rosa.
“The neglect of fast today has led to the willful neglect of a part of the world, one that is very attractive to consumers,” said Tamborini. “I also believe that fast fashion players will allow the supply chain to control sustainability [journey] from a recycling point of view, but the luxury segment will continue to commit to durability and repair.”
The TBS president also highlighted how mostly non-luxury players create jobs along the fashion supply chain, especially fast fashion companies, and while the Italian pipeline has built its reputation on high-end manufacturing end, it still depends to some extent on. other parts of the fashion market.
As in previous editions, the agenda of the event — covering topics as diverse as the latest regulations, consumer confidence in sustainability claims, the circular economy and much more — is modeled on the results of the “Just Fashion Transition 2024” survey ” by the European House. — Ambrosetti.
The latter, also in its third edition, analyzed around 2,900 Italian and European fashion companies from the point of view of sustainability, in particular 374 supply chain entities, 100 of the largest European fashion companies and 30 global retailers over 775 data points drawn from draft laws and regulations issued. by the European Commission and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, or OECD.
The main findings of the survey will be revealed on the first day of the summit — followed by keynote speeches and roundtables — but consultancy partner and head of sustainability practice Carlo Cici highlighted how the sector is at least eight years behind in transfer, which can no longer be pushed back.
Again, scale emerged as one of the biggest obstacles in the green journey, with the substantial margin gap between brands and supply chain companies, as well as between larger and smaller manufacturing players, affecting the overhaul of the sector.
“We need to rethink and reinvent the sector to break the direct correlation between size, productivity, marginality and sustainability investments,” explained Cici.
“We need more reciprocity between the upstream and downstream supply chain, between manufacturers and brands,” said Andrea Crespi, TBS vice president with oversight of sustainability initiatives. “So far we have a very fast journey but very soon we will have to go as far as possible and that means collaboration.”
Compared to previous versions, the assessments collected against historical data are weighed in the 2024 survey to try to understand where the fashion sector stands in its journey towards achieving the green objectives mandated by the European Union for 2030.
“I believe that choices made for the sector will depend a lot on the weight of our country in Europe on this sector, especially since Italy’s footprint in fashion is very much related to its manufacturing pipeline,” said Flavio Sciuccati , partner at House of Europe — Ambrosetti. and director of the global fashion unit.
The full roster of speakers at the Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum is to be revealed closer to the event.
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