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時尚革命業界帶頭 負責任的創新才是好設計
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本報2016年7月29日綜合外電報導，范震華編譯；賴慧玲審校
今年5月，1200多位時尚、政治和商業領袖聚集在丹麥哥本哈根，參與第四屆「哥本哈根時尚高峰會」（Copenhagen Fashion Summit）。
時尚媒體《BoF時裝商業評論》（The Business of Fashion）為此場高峰會下的註解是，「只談永續已經落伍，談負責任創新才夠夯！」（Sustainability Is Out, Responsible Innovation Is In.）。在超過八小時的議程中，52位講者和其他與會者聚焦討論時尚界該如何為生態環境的迫切需求進行「負責任的創新」。
由業界帶領的時尚革命
高峰會的催生者是丹麥時裝學院（Danish Fashion Institute）暨哥本哈根時尚週執行長伊娃．克魯斯（Eva Kruse），而她也是將生態意識融入時尚界的先驅。高峰會中，時尚產業重要人物雲集，包括紐約時報的時尚總監與首席時尚評論家凡妮莎．富萊德曼（Vanessa Friedman），Nike的企業永續長（CSO）漢娜．瓊斯（Hannah Jones），H&M的永續部長安娜．蓋達（Anna Gedda）都參與了這場盛會。
時尚產業重要人物雲集哥本哈根時尚高峰會。圖片來源： Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2016。
近年來，道德時尚（ethical fashion）已經成為時裝產業的熱門話題，這個概念也進一步打入消費者之中，諸如「時尚革命」（Fashion Revolution）等各種倡議行動的興起，顯示消費者相較以往，有機會獲得更多產品資訊，並能夠理解自己的購物行為會對這個社會和環境產生什麼樣的衝擊。
長久以來，時尚產業一直無法擺脫有害環境與社會的負面形象，如何克服低薪且惡劣的勞動環境、減少水污染和碳排放等，都是正待解決的挑戰。高峰會共同主持人德瑞克．布拉斯伯格（Derek Blasberg）表示，這場盛會舉行的重點在於「把訊息從高峰會傳播出去」，讓時尚產業達成有力又永續的改變。
根據《觀察家報》，本次哥本哈根時尚高峰會總結出五項重要概念：
1. 負責任的創新是新的永續概念
致力於可持續性發展的顧問公司生態時代（Eco Age）創辦人兼創意總監莉維亞・佛斯（Livia Firth）表示，「你將在會議上聽到無數次的『永續』，次數多到讓這個詞變得沒有實質意義。」
比起已經被業界大量使用、甚至濫用的「永續」一詞，「負責任創新」成為新興的替代方案，這個詞彙更能幫助大眾更貼切地瞭解當前服裝產業面對的各種挑戰，以及理解新一代的產品、製程和措施。
2. 以合作取代競爭
時尚產業往往被想像成是競爭激烈、攀龍附鳳的產業。即便是消費者，也有想要排除他人、成為第一個擁有某件名牌外套或鞋子的渴望。然而，環境是所有人共有的，你我都應合作讓時尚產業變得更加友善環境。
愛迪達開放資源部長暨策略創新副總裁詹姆斯・卡恩斯（James Carnes）強調：「我們並不缺乏任何資源，但只有合作的文化才能帶來突破性的改變。」要能翻轉現狀，所有利害關係人和社會各環節需要一起參與，最好能組成具有影響力的聯合戰線，持續針對環境議題進行清晰、廣泛的溝通並提出新的提案。
3. 改變的力量在青年手中
學生和年輕的設計師是明日的創造者，應該要有足夠且可及性高的教育課程及材料，讓他們可以打破現實和想像之間的界線，創新就能由此而生。時尚產業達成循環經濟（closed loop）的關鍵掌握在設計師的手裡，Nike永續長瓊斯說：「要達成永續，應該從設計草稿開始，然後貫穿製程、物流、甚至是產品廢棄後的整個生命週期。」
高峰會中還有全球超過百位研讀設計、傳播和商業類別的學生與會。在高峰會之前數日，他們以聯合國最新的永續發展目標為主題，率先進行了青年時尚高峰會（Youth Fashion Summit）議程，這些青年代表共同討論、描繪時尚界更美好的未來環境想像，並在高峰會上向產業代表倡導他們的訴求。
超過百位研讀設計、傳播和商業類別的學生在哥本哈根時尚高峰會前，共同討論時尚界的未來想像。圖片來源： Copenhagen Fashion Summit 2016。
4. 友善生態的新方案不會讓荷包失血
談及永續企業的經營概念，高峰會共同主持人安伯．瓦萊塔（Amber Valletta）強調，「這會是個聰明的生意」，消費者應該購買高品質、耐用又友善環境的「最佳」產品，當消費者積極意識到自己的消費行為影響甚大，就有機會打破原無節制的購衣行為模式。
而在光譜的另一端，設計師應該發揮創造力，努力創新生產方式、投入開發新材質及紡織技術，以增加產品的整體價值和生命週期。目前全世界對道德時尚的需求節節高升，這對企業和消費者來說都是雙贏的局面。
5. 新的商業模式不可或缺
幾乎可以說時尚產業正處於再建構的關鍵階段，現今消費者將「購買大量且便宜的衣服」的購物模式視為理所當然，是時候由設計師、品牌商和服飾公司打破這個對地球來說並不健康的消費循環，讓消費者選擇將鈔票花在永續的產品上。所有的企業必須有意識地認知到自身行為的後果，並且負起責任。
不過究竟該怎麼做？高峰會提出的想法是，事實上沒有舉世通用的法則，消費者和設計師都必須花時間發展出適合他們自己的方案，一起催生出更負責任的時尚產業。
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【參考資料】
- BoF時裝商業評論（2016年5月13日），Sustainability Is Out, Responsible Innovation Is In
- 觀察家報（2016年5月24日），The Copenhagen Fashion Summit Was All About Responsible Innovation
Copenhagen Youth Fashion Summit | Source: Copenhagen Fashion Summit
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Sustainability is out and responsible innovation is in. Or so we learned at the fourth Copenhagen Fashion Summit, held on Thursday to propose new business models and bold thinking for the fashion industry when it comes to respecting the environment, addressing climate change, managing ethics and protecting workers' rights and welfare.
Held under the patronage of HRH Crown Princess Mary of Denmark and spearheaded by Eva Kruse, CEO of the Danish Fashion Institute, the Summit was the culmination of a week of activities bringing together an impressive mix of more than 1,200 people from 52 countries — including senior sustainability leaders from Nike, Patagonia and H&M, as well as BoF 500 members Mario Testino, Suzy Menkes, Bandana Tewari, Shaway Yeh, Steven Kolb, Caroline Rush, Carlo Capasa, Miroslava Duma, Renzo Rosso, Vanessa Friedman,Nadja Swarovski, Derek Blasberg and Julie Gilhart.
At an intimate dinner held on the eve of the Summit at Amalienborg Palace, hosted by The Crown Princess and her husband, HRH Crown Prince Frederik VIII, attendees were welcomed by Kristian Jensen, Danish Minister for Foreign Affairs who noted that in many ways Copenhagen was the perfect place to host such a summit. Denmark, he said, is the world’s most energy efficient nation and has set the explicit goal of becoming the world’s first sustainable fashion nation.
While that may be easier said than done, Jensen asserted that the country had already demonstrated, in other sectors, that economic growth and sustainability are not opposing ideas. Through its windfarms, for example, the country regularly produces more renewable energy than it consumes, with enough to spare to sell to neighbouring countries. The country has regularly topped surveys showing that Danes are the world’s happiest people, attributed to a long life expectancy, high GDP per capita, excellent public health care and welfare systems, and one of the world’s smallest wealth gaps.
You could see it in the streets of Copenhagen, teeming with stylish, smiling people walking, riding bicycles and generally projecting balanced, healthy lifestyles. This city has also shown a knack for sustainable innovation in other creative sectors: it is known the world over for its cuisine, largely due to NOMA, the food mecca that has spawned countless imitators.
The main summit was preceded by several days of satellite meetings and discussions by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the Youth Fashion Summit and Planet Textiles — making Copenhagen, at least for a few days, the epicentre for everyone and anyone in the fashion industry who is seriously thinking about our environment, the planet and the people who make our clothes.
But integrating the event with royal, Danish government and European Union involvement means one also needs to respect certain protocols which, while a necessary part of the proceedings, slowed down the early momentum of the day with a series of repetitive speeches. Rather than focusing on actions and solutions, these trotted out similar facts and figures, most of which were already well-known to this audience of sustainability experts who were hankering for more concrete actions and debates.
When things finally got into gear part way through the morning, we heard from senior leaders from Nike and Patagonia, for whom sustainability — and responsible innovation — are already at the core of the very way they think, act and work.
Rick Ridgeway, vice president of public engagement for Patagonia, fired up the audience with the mission that lies at the heart of Patagonia’s business: “Build the best product, and cause no unnecessary harm,” which Ridgeway acknowledged is very hard to do, but an essential part of how Patagonia works.
He made a passionate call for companies to design products in a way that will last. “As the usable lifetime of our products increases, the lifetime environmental footprint decreases,” he explained, describing how the company enables its customers to repair, resell and recycle Patagonia products in order to extend their life. Patagonia has created North America’s largest repair centre and offers mobile repair vehicles that travel around the United States to restore damaged products — free of charge.
Patagonia advertisement | Source: Courtesy
But it was his last R — reduce — that was the most surprising, as Ridgeway explained how Patagonia literally even encouraged its customers to reduce consumption of its products altogether, with an ad campaign that told them: “Don’t Buy This Jacket.”
"The environmental cost of everything we make is astonishing," reads the advertisement, first released in The New York Times in 2013 on ‘Black Friday,’ possibly the worst day of overconsumption on the planet, when most companies slash prices to drive sales. "Consider the R2 Jacket shown, one of our best sellers. To make it required 135 litres of water, enough to meet the daily needs (three glasses a day) of 45 people. Its journey from its origin as 60 percent recycled polyester to our Reno warehouse generated nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, 24 times the weight of the finished product. This jacket left behind, on its way to Reno, two-thirds its weight in waste."
But Patagonia is a privately held company without pressure to grow. How can a huge publicly-traded company like Nike, which must grow to meet shareholder expectations, make the necessary changes to minimise its environmental and social footprint?
“Whichever way you do the math, incrementalism and efficiency measures won’t get you there. Less bad is not good enough,” said Hannah Jones, Chief Sustainability Officer and VP, Innovation Accelerator of Nike, explaining that the company has set a “moonshot ambition: ‘can we double our business, while halving our impact?’”
As Jones explained to me later in an interview: “We have set ourselves some ambitious targets for 2020, but the difference between those targets — what we know we can do — and the moonshot is innovation and system change. Sustainability is an innovation challenge, that creates business model innovation and product innovation. You have to think about different technologies for how you make your products and you have to think about different materials, right the way down to the molecule.”
It was a refreshing to hear this point of view from one of the world’s leading apparel companies, and to hear how they are embedding innovation and sustainability right into the design process. “We literally picked up our sustainability team and built it into an advanced innovation function. It became part of the larger advanced innovation effort that Nike has.”
But the unexpected — and undoubted — highlight of the day didn’t come from companies trotting out their accomplishments, it came from the more-than 100 participants in the Youth Fashion Summit. Students from40 nations had gathered in the days prior to the summit to work together on a clear set of ambitious goals and objectives, connected to the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals agreed as part of the COP 21 talks held in Paris last December. They addressed their demands directly to the fashion leaders from around the world gathered in Copenhagen.
It was a moving display with the kind of urgency, clear thinking and concrete actions we need to take if we are to adequately address our environmental and ethical problems in a timely fashion.
As the students’ guide and mentor, Dilys Williams, Director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion, University of the Arts, said to gathered crowd: “This is the first generation of people who really understand climate change, and the last ones who can really do anything about it.”
I am happy to report that if these are the fashion leaders of the future, then we are in very good hands. The full text of their must-read manifesto for change is below.
Imran Amed, Founder and Editor-in-Chief
Youth Fashion Summit Manifesto — 7 Demands for The Fashion Industry, presented at the Copenhagen Fashion Summit, 12 May 2016
The manifesto is developed by 116 fashion and business students from 40 different nationalities. For three days, they worked on how to implement the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals in the fashion industry to promote a sustainable future.
1. As a group of CEOs, business and opinion leaders, academics and students, would you be here today without equal access to education? As inheritors of your roles, we demand empowerment and education of workers and consumers.
We realise you are very intelligent and influential. But you are kind of stuck in a system that is not really working anymore. So, we want to present our desired future.
In 2030, the fashion industry will have blended the line between work and education. Government, businesses and media will have created a positive symbiotic partnership that encourages the wellbeing of all it touches. With an online learning platform, we will be able to train employees, allowing them to build their technical and personal skills. It will have a positive effect on employee contentment and overall productivity. This platform will be incentivised by governments and employed by businesses.
Moreover, we believe that education should not just involve the makers but also the wearers. The media has a huge impact and so does technology and innovation!
Government and businesses can, together with the media, educate and cultivate behavioural change amongst consumers through their influence and widespread reach. This will create a feedback loop that in turn feeds back to the business.
With such an open system, education both within and across cultures will allow empowerment to be possible for all. I hope we have empowered you to join us on this journey!
2. As inheritors of your roles, we demand that the fashion industry takes drastic and immediate action towards implementing closed-loop water systems to ensure that the industry is not dependent on fresh water as a resource.
According to the UN, without immediate action from the fashion industry, clean water will no longer be an accessible resource by 2030 for half of the world’s population.
This is not acceptable. Instead, we imagine a future where the fashion industry is no longer the second biggest water consuming industry. We imagine a world where there is full awareness of the chemicals in our fresh water and their effects on 9 billion people.
We also imagine a drastic shift in how we use and value water, creating a culture that both respects and learns from the value of our resources.
The technology of water recycling is out there, so let us implement it today.
3. As inheritors of your roles, we demand a long-term investment in the well-being of the community as a whole, through: fair wages; improving infrastructure; ensuring food security.
I would like to tell you the story of a man that I am pretty sure you know already. His name? Brunello Cucinelli. Cucinelli is the living proof that creating a corporate culture that encompasses the local community is possible; as a matter of fact, it is happening as we speak — his commitment managed to revitalise an entire Italian village. Now, the community is part of the industry and the industry is part of the community. Working hand in hand and mutually gaining — they have not only increased the quality of the final product but, ultimately, the quality of living.
In this new model that we consider should be the new normal, community and industry thrive together by respecting the hands and hearts involved in the garment's life cycle.
4. What do capital, profit and success mean to you? What if, by 2030, they meant something completely different? As inheritors of your roles, we demand you all to collaborate as active investors in a fashion industry where capital, profit and success are redefined and measured in more than monetary value.
By 2030, these concepts must be measured side-by-side with a holistic view of wellbeing, social security and global health.
The priority must be on collaboration, on knowledge sharing, on rethinking where we place our value and a lowering of the barriers between people, companies and countries which halt the flow of progress.
We want you to imagine a future wherein success can be measured not just through financial gains, but equally through the sharing and increasing of knowledge, technological innovation and social and environmental progress.
5. As inheritors of your roles, we demand that by 2030 fashion is no longer the second-largest polluting industry in the world.
You — global policy makers — must work together with NGOs, brands and corporations to create and implement legislation for no more land abuse. Invest in research and innovation.
It is vital that we take responsibility in restoring the air, water and land that we have altered.
Furthermore, we must create more opportunities for life. To let this world flourish, we must stop taking that which we cannot restore.
We are running out of resources.
6. As the next generation and inheritors of your roles, and our waste, we demand that designers, brands and governments collaboratively invest in the recycling technology and infrastructure that is needed to secure and enable a circular system.
Products, fabrics and fibres will be infinitely cycled within and across industries. Today’s textile waste is tomorrows textile resource.
We support the concept of mass balance and ask that brands give as much into the system as they take out. This encompasses the continual sourcing of recycled content and active collection of textiles. Government must support this through incentives and regulations, so that early adopters benefit from circular behaviour.
We want an industry that has zero waste practices embedded in its DNA and causes no unnecessary harm. This means a strategic cross-industry roadmap to eliminate post-industrial, pre-consumer and post-consumer waste.
We also demand that brands proactively support the system, by incorporating design for circularity as a driving philosophy in their work.
Our vision is a fashion world in 2030, where circularity is business as usual.
7. As inheritors of your roles, we demand economic consequences in order to reverse standards.
We need to reverse the profitability of being unsustainable. Sustainability should be rewarded. This is why we are addressing you, the companies, the governments, the game changers of tomorrow.
The world happiness report validates the notion that happiness does not increase with financial exponential growth. For this reason, our industry needs to look at other metrics of success.
We need to build a resilient infrastructure in order to create green cities.
In short, we are going to penalise reckless businesses and invest that money in sustainable fashion initiatives.
Through this, sustainability will be the standard in 2030. No one wants to be labelled as something negative, but in the future we want to expose the ones that are. Sustainability is the norm.
Our industry has to reward the people that are making a change.
For more information please visit youthfashionsummit.com
Related Articles:
The Copenhagen Fashion Summit Was All About Responsible Innovation
Global thought leaders convened in Copenhagen to confront fashion’s environmental and social footprint
Arrival hall at the 2016 Copenhagen Fashion Summit
In early May, over 1,200 fashion, political, and business leaders gathered in the eco-hub of Copenhagen, Denmark for the fourth edition of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit. The focus of the summit revolved around the pressing need for environmental change and innovation in the world of fashion. Over the course of the eight-hour program, a total of 52 speakers and panelists addressed the subject of responsible innovation, a key theme of this year’s summit. The sold out conference included a melting pot of innovators and trendsetters such as Vanessa Friedman, Fashion Director and Chief Fashion Critic at The New York Times, Hannah Jones, CSO of Nike, and Anna Gedda, Head of Sustainability of H&M. Eva Kruse, CEO of Danish Fashion Institute and Copenhagen Fashion Week, was the driving force who spearheaded the world’s largest and most important event of the year covering eco-conscious fashion.
The Copenhagen Concert Hall–where the summit was held
Recently, ethical fashion has been an industry-leading topic of conversation, with the influence even trickling down to everyday consumers. Through initiatives such asFashion Revolution and viral social media campaigns such as #30wears, it is clear that consumers are more informed than ever, and increasingly allowing their purchases to be influenced by the social and environmental impact of products. The fashion industry is plagued with severe global challenges: water pollution, low wages, poor working conditions, carbon emissions and more. Patagonia, an apparel company dedicated to creating products with no unnecessary harm, still produces 150 liters of water and 20 pounds of CO2 gas emissions per jacket manufactured. We need to ensure we are putting our words into actions. Summit co-host, Derek Blasberg, asserted that the point of the gathering is, “To take the message outside the auditorium” so we can make an impactful, sustainable change.
Following are five key takeaways from the 2016 Copenhagen Fashion Summit:
1. Responsible innovation is the new sustainability
“Sustainable” is a loaded, overly-used buzzword that the public struggles to fully grasp. During the conference, Founder and Creative Director of Eco Age Livia Firth inferred, “You are going to hear the word sustainable countless times during the summit, so much in fact, that it is in danger of becoming meaningless.” The industry’s overwhelming use of the word caused the declaration of a new age of responsible innovation. The modern label is more fitting for the current industry challenges and the rapid pace of breakthrough products, methods and measures. Nike seemed to be ahead of the game as the CSO & VP of the Innovation Accelerator, Hannah Jones, stated, “ Four years ago, [Nike] turned [their] sustainability team into an advanced innovation team.” There is no need to nix sustainability from your vocabulary, but be aware that there is an evolving vernacular for the eco-conscious, creative revolution.
2. Collaboration over competition
The fashion industry tends to be stereotyped as a cut-throat, social climbing business sector. Even as consumers, we are guilty at times of desiring to be the first to have that jacket or those shoes. However, when it comes to the water we drink, the mountains we climb or even the future of our children and planet, we must join forces in order to create environmental change. Through activating powerful, strategic partnerships, clear and broad communication and educational initiatives around this issue, a united front is necessary. James Carnes, Vice President of Strategy Creation and Lead for Open Source at Adidas, emphasized, “Most of the things we need are there, but it is the culture of collaboration that will make the big difference.” In order to achieve change, it will require participation from all stakeholders and sectors of society.
2. The power is in the hands of our youth
Attendee of the Youth Fashion Summit
Students and young designers are the innovators of tomorrow. Accessible education programs and materials that challenge and push the boundary between fact and fantasy are of utmost importance. This is where innovation is born. The future of a closed loop approach is in the hands of a designer. “Sustainability should start at the sketch pad and flow through the entire process of making a product, delivering a product, and even play a role in the after life of a product”, said Ms. Jones. The conference included a group of select youth representatives from the third edition of the Youth Fashion Summit, which focused on the United Nation’s new Sustainability Development Goals. The program provided more than 100 chosen design, communication and business students from around the world with the opportunity to demonstrate to the fashion industry what they believe a better environmental future looks like for fashion.
3. Eco-friendly initiatives can help (not hurt) your wallet
When speaking in reference to sustainable business, co-host Amber Valletta stressed, “This is smart business, this is where we need to be in the 21st century.” Designers should create and consumers should buy the “best” products on the market–those of high quality, durability, and with the environment in mind. When buyers are actively aware of their purchase intent, they are likely to slow down the relentless purchasing cycle and save up for say that vacation they’ve been longing for. On the other end of a spectrum, designers should strive to invest in superior materials, construction, and production to increase the overall value and lifespan of the product. Extremely profitable and successful brands that you know and love, such as Stella McCartney, have built ethical products based on the idea of responsible innovation. There is a higher demand for ethical fashion than ever before, it is a win-win for both businesses and consumers.
4. New business models are a must
The fashion industry is at a stage of reconstruction, creating groundbreaking industry regulations and protocols that advocate sustainability. Consumers have become acclimated and addicted to rapidly consuming large volumes of clothes at a cheap price. It is time for designers, brands and companies to break the cycle and for consumers to vote with their wallet. World leader in apparel and accessories, Kering, recognizes the need for change and is making headway exposing the environmental opportunities in the fashion industry. At the summit, Chief Sustainability Officer, Marie-Claire Daveu voiced that Kering aims to become the world’s most sustainable luxury goods conglomerate–not a small feat. All companies must become aware and accountable of their actions, however, there is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Both consumers and designers must take the time to develop their own, unique agendas to generate a more responsible fashion industry.
5. One to watch: Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark during her opening speech
Beautifully poised, the ambitious patron kickstarted the first speech of the conference dressed in a stunning ensemble including a sustainable H&M Conscious Exclusive collection lace skirt. However, the princess went beyond glitz and glam, as she spoke with genuine transparency and passion addressing the global importance of the Copenhagen Fashion Summit’s vision. Mary addressed aspects from gender equality and economic growth to poor working conditions and new business models. She seemed to ignite an inspiring energy as she declared, “A movement has been created.” Crown Princess Mary’s bold and admirable points prove that global figurehead’s today are stretching beyond the traditional framework of conservative standards of royal influence. Move over Kate Middleton, there’s a new royal in town.
To read more about the Copenhagen Fashion Summit visit their site here.
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