About
Aims of Fashion Declares
An urgent shift in behaviour is needed to cut carbon emissions and avert the climate, ecological and social crisis we face. Fashion has the power to shape culture and behaviour beyond the industry itself. As a bottom-up movement, Fashion Declares will create a network of individuals from right across the sector. The movement is coordinated by REAL Sustainability CIC, led by Safia Minney, and is supported by an advisory group of fashion leaders.
The purpose of Fashion Declares is to:
– Raise awareness of the climate, ecological and social breakdown; and
– Empower, inspire and support individuals working at all levels within the industry to speak out and encourage their employers to accelerate plans to address this crisis.
Why Fashion Declares is different from other fashion initiatives
Fashion Declares is unique because it;
– is focused primarily on the creation of a large-scale, bottom-up movement;
– builds a vision for an authentic, regenerative fashion approach, and in doing so creates an ambitious and radical agenda for the fashion industry
– provides a shared language and series of tools to support an ambitious but Just Transition for the fashion industry
The core commitments of Fashion Declares
The Fashion Declares movement is based on 5 commitments that apply to apparel, footwear, outdoor and activewear. Further details are provided at Appendix One.
- Speaking out for urgent action to tackle the climate, ecological and social crisis
- Decarbonisation and Restoration of Ecosystems and Biodiversity
- Social justice and the Just Transition
- Radical transparency and corporate governance
- Transition to a regenerative model for the fashion industry
Signing up to the core commitments of Fashion Declares
Individuals at all levels of the fashion industry are invited to sign an open letter. This will galvanise awareness and action at the grassroots including among designers, buyers, merchandisers, operations, finance, marketing & PR, suppliers, servicing agencies, influencers, campaigning organisations and retail professionals. Whilst signatories of the letter are planned to be individuals in their own right, some may sign on behalf of their employer. Signing up to the commitments will:
– Create a community of individuals which will push businesses to go further and faster to address the ecological and humanitarian emergency
– Provide a democratised mechanism where people’s voices are heard, and
– Ensure that the ‘sustainability agenda’ is no longer the domain of the sustainability department or C Suite alone, but becomes the lens through which all business decisions are evaluated and acted upon, across the whole fashion supply chain.
Accessing tools and good practice
Fashion Declares will provide tools and good practices that address the needs of members. The advisory group is currently being formalised and currently comprises the following individuals:
– Tom Berry, Global Director Sustainable Business, Farfetch, commentator
– Mike Barry, Strategic Advisor, speaker, commentator on Sustainable Business
– Debbie Luffman, Product Director, Finisterre, ThinkCircular / Hubbub
– Mariusz Stochaj, Head of Product and Sustainability at Continental Clothing
– Safia Minney, MBE, Founder, REAL Sustainability & Fashion Declares, People Tree
– Ben Tolhurst, Director of Business Declares & REAL Sustainability CIC
Fashion Declares Webinars include:
– Welcome To Fashion Declares – meet the team & find out more
– How to decarbonise your company
– How to switch to low impact materials
– How to realise a fashion circular economy
– How to reduce water usage and pollution
– How to promote social justice and equality
– How to promote governance and transparency
The Welcome to Fashion Declares webinars are the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 1-2 pm London time. The how-to webinars are on the first Wednesday of every month from 1-2 pm London time. Visit our webinars page to book online. Whilst they are free to attend we suggest a donation of £10 to help us continue expanding our support.
With support from and thanks to:
