The G7 has just wrapped up and, among the various international agreements, it also gave rise to the Fashion pact. The 32 signatory fashion companies will commit to reducing the impact of their sector.
Not only the defence of the Amazon, where countless fires are causing no small amount of concern. During the recent G7, which concluded on 26 August, the textile and clothing sector played an equally fundamental role in the climate debates addressed by political representatives from France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and the United States of America.
Thanks to an agreement between several internationally renowned fashion companies, the Fashion pact was presented at the conference, bringing together 32 brands with the aim of reviewing production processes and reducing the impact of one of the world's most polluting industries.
The Fashion pact was developed to guide companies in defining a plan for the mitigation of climate change, drawing inspiration from Science based target, an initiative promoted by the Carbon disclosure project (Cdp), the United Nations Global compact, the World resources institute (Wri) and Wwf.
The three objectives that define the agreement concern the climate, biodiversity and the oceans. Specifically, the brands that have signed the pact will commit to:
Within these points fall measures such as the sourcing of sustainable raw materials; the adoption of renewable energy across the various production processes and throughout the entire supply chain; the introduction of innovative materials whose production does not compromise plant and animal species; the promotion of a more sustainable consumption model and much more besides.
This agreement was strongly championed by French president Emmanuel Macron, who had already entrusted the president and chief executive of the Kering group, François-Henri Pinault, back in April with the task of bringing together the leading names in textiles and fashion.
After a dialogue that led to the definition of an action plan to reduce the fashion sector's footprint, the names that agreed to sign the pact were Adidas, Bestseller, Burberry, Capri holdings, Carrefour, Chanel, Ermenegildo Zegna, Everybody&Everyone, Fashion3, Fung group, Galeries Lafayette, Gap, Giorgio Armani, H&M, Hermes, Inditex, Karl Lagerfeld, Kering, La Redoute, Matchesfashion.com, Moncler, Nike, Nordstrom, Prada, Puma, Pvh, Ralph Lauren, Ruyi, Salvatore Ferragamo, Selfridges, Stella McCartney and Tapestry.
The Fashion pact amounts to a remarkable achievement for a sector characterised by rivalry and each party's desire to let its own creativity shine. But it took the climate emergency and the condition the planet finds itself in to unite the different players in fashion in pursuit of a common goal.
This collaboration certainly represents a first step forward, and we hope it can serve as an example for all those who still appear to be firmly attached to traditional, high-environmental-impact working methods.