The Global Fashion Summit, which took place in Copenhagen on 27 and 28 June, is one of the industry’s leading conferences on sustainability. It’s where fashion executives, who this year included the CEOs of Inditex, Berluti and Pandora, meet with policy makers, activists and innovators to mull over the state of progress, or lack of, towards a lower impact future. In recent years it’s been working on elevating a broader range of voices, including its youth initiative Next Gen Assembly.
Previously the Youth Summit, the Next Gen Assembly, hosted by the summit’s official education partner, the Centre for Sustainable Fashion based at University of the Arts London, has rebranded and integrated further with the main programme. Eight participants were given access to the full programme of talks and panels at the Global Fashion Summit, as well as their own Q&A sessions with leaders in fashion, media and sustainability from Nike, H&M Group, BBC StoryWorks and Earthshot Prize. The group were also invited to a closed-door roundtable with C-suite executives from major fashion brands.
The cohort were selected from over 170 applicants aged between 18 and 35 in the early stages of their careers. The successful candidates represent a breadth of countries including Brazil, The Philippines, Singapore, Nigeria and Spain. Flights and accommodation for the group were sponsored by American retailer Target to avoid money being a barrier to entry.
Over the course of the event, and also during a webinar presented by them through summit organisers Global Fashion Agenda pre-summit, they came with a message: the sustainability transition must be inclusive.
Speaking on a panel about European policy on day two, Next Gen Assembly participant Kaja Grujic, a recent graduate of the MA Fashion Futures course at London College of Fashion, said: “It’s important to acknowledge that the people that feel the effects of these policies are not the ones making the decisions. They’re not the ones at the table. So, when we make EU policy, how can we engage them, these marginalised voices, in these conversations.”
Other members of the Next Gen Assembly shared Grujic’s outlook. Sanjana Pimoli, a Next Gen Assembly delegate who works in communication and sustainability for India’s largest apparel manufacturer, said: “A key takeaway for me was this word ‘just transition’ and ‘regenerative, holistic growth’ to see how we center our innovation and work around communities that will be really affected by the change that we want to make. How do we make the entire journey centre around them to make sure that the transition for them is easier and they don’t get lost on the way?”
The term ‘just transition’ originated in the 1990s from North American trade unions concerned about job losses over environmental policies. Over time it has developed as a principle with a more global outlook. The International Labour Organization defines ‘just transition’ as “greening the economy in a way that is as fair and inclusive as possible to everyone concerned, creating decent work opportunities and leaving no one behind.”
The Centre for Sustainable Fashion also announced the winners of its Fashion Values Challenge at the Global Fashion Summit, honouring one industry and one student project that respond to the brief: how can fashion value society? Both winning entries were celebrated for their intersectionality of environmental and social sustainability.
Industry winner SOLIT! is a Japan-based clothing label designing clothing with and for disabled people, while student winner Avatirna supports the heritage of Indian craftsmanship through a ‘phygital’ collection of real-world garments and digital replicas.
The two winners will receive six months’ mentorship to help grow their businesses.
Misaki Tanaka, founder of SOLIT!, said: “We are so excited to have won this award which will enable us to continue our mission to create new style options for many people who have not been able to enjoy fashion before. It recognises that, not only is it possible to create clothing that is good for the planet, it can also be good for a diverse group of people.”
Founder of Avatirna, Prakriti Choubey, is also one of the Next Gen Assembly participants. Commenting on her win she said: “This recognition emphasizes the importance in telling the stories of artisans and preserving their crafts and reaffirms that our efforts to bridge the gap between traditional craftsmanship and the digital world are not only relevant but also valued within the fashion industry.”
For many fashion businesses, younger consumers and employees have been a driving force for action on sustainability and it’s vital that they keep this dialogue open.
Reflecting on the Summit, Clara Tomé, Next Gen Assembly participant, model and Young EU Climate Impact Ambassador, said: “It was an amazing opportunity for us to have this close, raw environment with industry leaders to share our concerns and have a meaningful and transparent conversation about the barriers and opportunities. I think it’s very important to have these kinds of spaces at every kind of event or conference to put together on the same table youth and voices from all over the world with industry leaders to try to build solutions.”
At a time when the industry must relearn ways of doing business in a climate crisis, more diverse voices at the table can only help us get there quicker.