Step one is reducing the environmental impact of the fashion week itself. Single-use plastic bottles are already banned and all operational carbon emissions are offset, but the ultimate goal is to be zero waste by 2023.
The second (and more ambitious) part of the strategy is getting all brands to adopt rigorous sustainability policies. By 2023, Copenhagen Fashion Week will ensure all its designers comply with 17 minimum standards, which includes using at least 50 per cent certified organic, upcycled or recycled textiles in all collections and using only sustainable packaging and zero-waste set designs for shows.
“It’s looking at how we, as a fashion week, can use our platform to actively engage with the industry and drive change,” Thorsmark explains. “The most important part is looking at how we can accelerate the sustainable transition of brands.”
Danish brand Carcel - which uses natural materials and employs women prisoners in Peru and Thailand to manufacture its garments, used its debut appearance at Copenhagen Fashion Week to accelerate this conversation. Rejecting the traditional catwalk format, the label didn’t show any clothes, instead opting for a video installation to highlight key issues within the industry. At the end of the show, guests were invited onto the catwalk to underline the role they have to play in enacting real change.
“We need a new conversation in fashion; the conversation that's going on right now is not radical enough,” Carcel founder Verónica D’Souza, a member of the Copenhagen Fashion Week advisory board, says of her decision to experiment with a new format. “What should fashion weeks be about in the future? Should it always be products? I think it should also be about the process. We share images from our production inside of women's prisons; it’s a platform that communicates our brand [ethos].”
While there are few brands that aren’t speaking about sustainability right now, it’s important for Copenhagen Fashion Week that brands take a 360-degree approach. “There are brands out there who claim to be sustainable; maybe it's because they use some sustainable fabrics,” Thorsmark says. “In our world, you have to look at sustainability holistically. I don't think you can call yourself a sustainable brand if you're not actively working throughout your entire value chain.”
Danish brand Carcel - which uses natural materials and employs women prisoners in Peru and Thailand to manufacture its garments, used its debut appearance at Copenhagen Fashion Week to accelerate this conversation. Rejecting the traditional catwalk format, the label didn’t show any clothes, instead opting for a video installation to highlight key issues within the industry. At the end of the show, guests were invited onto the catwalk to underline the role they have to play in enacting real change.
“We need a new conversation in fashion; the conversation that's going on right now is not radical enough,” Carcel founder Verónica D’Souza, a member of the Copenhagen Fashion Week advisory board, says of her decision to experiment with a new format. “What should fashion weeks be about in the future? Should it always be products? I think it should also be about the process. We share images from our production inside of women's prisons; it’s a platform that communicates our brand [ethos].”
While there are few brands that aren’t speaking about sustainability right now, it’s important for Copenhagen Fashion Week that brands take a 360-degree approach. “There are brands out there who claim to be sustainable; maybe it's because they use some sustainable fabrics,” Thorsmark says. “In our world, you have to look at sustainability holistically. I don't think you can call yourself a sustainable brand if you're not actively working throughout your entire value chain.”
Baum und Pferdgarten is a brand that has already set out its sustainability policies in detail, in alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. 50 per cent of the pieces in its collection this season are sustainably sourced, with the aim to reach at least 65 per cent by 2024. “We want the public to know where we produce, how we produce and what fabrics [we use],” Rikke Baumgarten, the brand’s co-founder, explains. “It's not easy but it is possible to make [the] industry more green. Everybody knows it's just not possible anymore to continue like we did before.”
Meanwhile, Ganni, which has commissioned women creatives to craft upcycled and reworked pieces as part of its pop-up this season - is also ensuring it takes an overall approach. Around 70 per cent of the collection will be made from certified responsible and/or recycled materials, once order volumes are taken into account. “In all areas of the business, we're committed to making more responsible choices every day, whether that's exploring new materials or mapping our supply chain to the widest extent possible,” Nicolaj Reffstrup, Ganni founder, chief executive, and member of the Copenhagen Fashion Week advisory board, comments.
Ultimately, Copenhagen Fashion Week hopes that other fashion weeks will follow its lead in ensuring the industry is taking sustainability seriously. “Fashion weeks are extremely important because that's where the entire industry meets,” D’Souza says. “But I think we need to redefine what they're about. We need to take responsibility and start talking about new business models and some of the issues that we have [as an industry]. More than ever, we need to use this platform to share new ideas and visions for where we want to go next.”
“Every fashion week around, big and small, should be requiring a minimum level of sustainability from their participating brands,” Thorsmark adds. “If we want to have a real impact globally, then it's not just Copenhagen Fashion Week that should be doing it.”
Ultimately, Copenhagen Fashion Week hopes that other fashion weeks will follow its lead in ensuring the industry is taking sustainability seriously. “Fashion weeks are extremely important because that's where the entire industry meets,” D’Souza says. “But I think we need to redefine what they're about. We need to take responsibility and start talking about new business models and some of the issues that we have [as an industry]. More than ever, we need to use this platform to share new ideas and visions for where we want to go next.”
“Every fashion week around, big and small, should be requiring a minimum level of sustainability from their participating brands,” Thorsmark adds. “If we want to have a real impact globally, then it's not just Copenhagen Fashion Week that should be doing it.”
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