Fixing fashion's sustainability problem

The inaugural Drapers Sustainable Fashion event attracted more than 300 fashion retail professionals to hear from the industry’s leading pioneers on sustainability, share best practice and make a commitment to improving the environmental performance of their business.

Mary Creagh, chair of the House of Commons environmental audit committee, which has been investigating how the fashion retail industry can reduce its environmental impact, kicked off the event in London last week by calling for an end to “throwaway fashion”: “Being sustainable should be part of a business’s licence to operate. Turning a blind eye is problematic. Retailers need to be responsible.”

More than 40 brands and organisations – including Adidas, Kering, Burberry, H&M, Farfetch, Marks & Spencer, The North Face and Eileen Fisher – took part in power talks, panel discussions, showcases and networking at the sold-out event. Designer and activist Katharine Hamnett added her insight as a veteran of the sustainable fashion movement.

In the afternoon, five start-ups pitched their sustainable innovations to “Drapers’ Den” – a Dragons’ Den-style panel that included Hawes & Curtis and Low-Profile owner Touker Suleyman.

But as well as sharing information, the day was about taking action: Drapers called on participants to write down “My 2019 pledge” – a concrete and measurable commitment to sustainability in their organisations. These were collated by graffiti artist James the Scribe on to a giant wall panel (pictured above). 

We also launched the Drapers Sustainability Survey, to find out what fashion companies need to support their efforts and to inform next year’s event.

If you are intereste in sponsoring next year’s event, please contact Paul Stewart, Drapers commercial director, on 020 3953 2054 or 07892 716686, or email paul.stewart@emap.com.