Attire Accessories - Jan/Feb 2020 (Issue 80)

CONSCISOUS FASHION CAMPAIGN 21 Founded by social impact entrepreneur Kerry Bannigan, the Conscious Fashion Campaign was created to overcome the divide between the fashion industry and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Here, Kerry talks exclusively to Attire Accessories about the campaign… Can you tell us briefly about the Conscious Fashion Campaign and what’s it’s about? The Conscious Fashion Campaign, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships, engages global industry events to commit to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The initiative champions fashion as an influential sector to address the world’s most pressing issues and lead a future that leaves no one behind. The campaign is dedicated to driving change through advocacy, education and engagement of industry stakeholders to create a sustainable future for all. The campaign aims to connect with leading tradeshows, fashion weeks, conferences and speaker series to message the Sustainable Development Goals to their communities as well as implement sustainable solutions and practices in their event experiences from execution to completion. Why is it so important for independent fashion brands and retailers to become involved? Independent fashion brands and retailers have a responsibility in shifting the needle towards sustainability in the industry. Brands and retailers play a core role, sometimes more than they realise, from affecting supply chain to waste management. Both carry influence over industry and consumer decisions and behaviours. If brands created with sustainability and circularity in mind whilst at the same time retailers stocked impact product that enabled consumers to purchase with purpose and shop their values, there would be a tremendous positive shift in the industry. We hear a lot about consumer power but the reality is fashion brands and retailers are a vehicle to drive sustainability awareness, education and activation for change. The fashion industry employs up to 75 million people with an estimated 80% of these being women. Looking just at this one area, we need to understand the importance of ensuring that fashion is not oppressing people.   In what way can our readers become involved in the initiative? When we align with leading industry events, we aim to encourage education, engagement and overall awareness of the Sustainable Development Goals for attendees to learn and be inspired to integrate into their business. The main goal is for the industry to come together and speak about the Sustainable Development Goals as a unified language and standard to all aim towards. There are various ways from using the goals as a framework for reporting, selecting certain goals to support and help achieve as businesses ethos, utilising brand assets and networks to share the goals to a company’s community (internally and externally) as well as being educated as a company on how to do better business. How do we come together as an industry to do our part in creating a sustainable future? Collaboration and partnerships are a key element to the industry accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals, especially for the 2030 agenda. However, businesses focusing on implementing internal sustainable practices and principles are critical at this stage. The Sustainable Development Goals provide a framework for the industry to work towards a unified language and standard mission whilst providing guidance for reporting, milestones and action. The Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice. The Goals interconnect and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve each Goal and target by 2030. Governments, businesses and civil society together with the United Nations are mobilising efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Agenda by 2030. Universal, inclusive and indivisible, the Agenda calls for action by all countries to improve the lives of people everywhere.  What are the ramifications if we don’t? From people to planet we are experiencing and witnessing turmoil globally and situations will worsen if things are not addressed immediately. The fashion industry is complex and currently negatively affects many environmental and social aspects. Let’s look at child labour as one element. The International Labour Organisation estimates that 170 million are engaged in child labour, or 11% of the global population of children, with many within the fashion supply chain, making the textiles and garments to satisfy the demand of consumers in Europe, the US, and beyond. The Guardian reported that children work at all stages of the supply chain in the fashion industry: from the production of cotton seeds in Benin, harvesting in Uzbekistan, yarn spinning in India, right through to the different phases of putting garments together in factories across Bangladesh.  Each of us have the power to act now and make a difference. It is up to our generation to demand that leaders from government, business and communities fulfil their commitments and take action for people and planet. How do you see the future of fashion in terms of realising the terms of the SDG’s? An industry of transparency. Respect for environmental and social issues. Circularity being the way of business. Any other comments? Join the conversation online and share your work with us on Instagram @consciousfashioncampaign Twitter @consciousfash #SDGLive CONSCIOUS FASHION CAMPAIGN W: consciousfashioncampaign.com Thoug tful fashion