At the Global Fashion Summit, which took place in Copenhagen at the beginning of the month, the members of the Nextgen Assembly presented their perspectives on the topic “How can fashion be the rights of nature?”. The group’s joint manifesto was presented as part of a roundtable representative: inside from government, NGOs, companies and the non-profit sector.
But what role can the next generation play, to think again – and where does the industry still have to do fundamental course corrections?
What is the Nextgen Assembly?
Nextgen is a training -oriented initiative of the Global Fashion Agenda in cooperation with the Center for Sustainable Fashion at the London College of Fashion. It brings students and graduates together: inside of different disciplines that rethink the future of fashion. This year there were eight members from Great Britain, Australia, India, Vietnam and the USA from various areas, from fashion design and material future to international relationships, environmental sciences and mass communication.
Despite the differences, there was also this immediate connection, a common denominator in relation to the urgency, the tension that we all feel in training, in work, but also a kind of antidote that is to build relationships, not only in the traditional network of network, but in a really deep, authentic way. And not just relationships with each other and our communities, but also to the country, to work and to work. Mel Corchado, designer, artist and founder, Master of Fashion Design and Society, Parsons School of Design. “This has the work we do,” added, “she added, referring to the result of the program, which should be available until the end of the year.
Back to the roots
It is also important to rethink your own points of view. “My original idea was to give nature a place at the table in the fashion industry. And I wondered how we could make it an equal stakeholder in decisions that are made in the industry,” Rory Frost, Student, Master of International Relations at King’s College London and Sciences Po Paris.
After participating in the Fashion Values course of the Center for Sustainable Fashion, his perspective changed: “He gave me to rethink my first idea of giving nature a place. Perhaps we should think about bringing the fashion industry back to nature and recognizing that nature is the original creator and founder in the industry.
Findings like these goods part of the process. “What surprised us most was how much we already agree.
“We have spent a lot of time to think about how we can convey our values to others, may not prioritize sustainability and the environment. We have ended up in education and how we have the things we inspire, in the end. In the end, we enable us to work together better. And as soon as we work better, we communicate better. Then we have a better chance that our solutions will be implemented,” Dauterives add.
What are the biggest hurdles?
Even the young thinkers could do direct questions: did not get out of the socket inside. When asked whether the fashion industry is currently doing enough in view of the rights of nature, the answer was a clear “no”.
“Our dominant economic model based on shareholder priority creates a fundamental separation between us and the rest of nature; there is nothing natural in endless economic growth, and the comparison that comes closest is the cancer. This model prioritizes profit over everything else that leads to commodification, extraction and destruction of nature. And we all know that at this conference, well -minded individual Want to change, ”explains Maya Caine, student, Master of Environmental Management at the Yale School of the Environment.
The group was also able to communicate problems in a stimulating way. “However, large traditional companies are deeply anchored in the system and committed to it. And for them it is not considered optional, but it is not an option. However, we know that this is the root of the evil. So we are at an interesting point. I think the biggest hurdle for a more harmonious relationship with nature is our current and somewhat delusional innovation approach,” emphasizes Caine.
“It almost feels as if we are sticking plasters on a fundamentally broken system, and we cannot free ourselves with Frankenstein methods. We invest a lot of effort to persuade traditional companies for transformation, even if their business model is structurally unable to change. To focus on discussions about the future, ”she sums up.
What are some solutions?
Rumoring the conversation that we have about nature and fashion is part of the solution: “If we really want fashion with the rights of nature, we have to stop considering sustainability as a separate unit. It is not just an ESG-Häkchen,” says Sanya Singh, Studentin, Bachelor of Mass Communication & Media Studies for Media & Communication.
“I think it is more of a lens, a basis through which every business, creative and communicative decision has to be made. And if we talk about the implementable steps, what could be tangible enough for brands, I think we should start to treat sustainability like a feature,” she adds.
“Secondly, it could be about redefining success so that we no longer only consider sales growth as our only performance indicator. We incorporate sustainability into the key figures, not only in the messages. And finally it becomes very important for brands and for all of us that we shape together with people and nature,” says Singh.
“We should concentrate our energy and resources on the organizations that were founded as the basis with alternative business models and the health of the planet as the basis, in their core and through their actions,” agrees Caine.
Who is responsible?
When asked whether there is a certain stakeholder group or management category, which is the greatest responsibility to actually enable fashion to be able to protect nature, this is for Thu LE, Creative Director of Culture and Creative Advice Xavan Inc.
“They indicate the tone, they make the rules and standards for the entire industry, the global industry. However, we will find that the legislation often leaves behind the development of industry. Therefore we cannot wait for the governments to change and new laws are created. The private sector comes into play and he has to get involved because it works within a system. Enter new territory and discover new things and campaign for new changes, radical changes in the system, ”says Le, which is also the Vietnamese representative of the Environmental NGO Redress.
Cooperation is crucial
As a member of the Next-Gen Assembly, she also emphasized the importance of student initiatives and movements that set at the base. “If we ask the question of responsibility, I think it is important to see that this is not a guilt assignment. We are not fingering. We are mutually involved in accounting, but we also have to find out who is responsible for what else we can work together. Each: R covers a different part of the overall solution, and then it is a common exertion,” she advises.
“We are often in training or professional environments in which we can be provocative and experimental, to which more established experts often do not have flexibility. With these interactions we want to create more common paths in which we learn from each other and use our ideas, our energy and our vision and you can combine with the extensive networks, resources and the influence of others in the area,” adds Contador-Kelsall, Strategic Designer and Graduate of the MA Design at the University of New South Wales.
What will the future bring, long -term and short -term?
It is urgently needed to act now, but long -term goals must be kept in mind, as well as a cultural change so that previous mistakes are not repeated. “Long -term climate disorders require a cultural change, and fashion is one of the most visible forms of self -expression. It is so unique to lead this change because it not only reacts to culture, but also creates it,” notes Vibhuti Amin, Studentin, Master of Material Futures at Central Saint Martins, London.
“Fashion has changed culture before – the Chanel costume not only changed the cloakroom of women, but also its place in society, and I think that’s the kind of power we need now,” she adds.
A “culture of care” along the supply chain seems to be the bid of the hour. “Fashion often has this beautiful facade, which makes you forget what is below it, but everything we wear, everything we touch has such a complex supply chain – the work, the materials, the waste. These systems with regeneration and justice at the core is long -term climate work.
The question remains what the industry can create for people and communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change due to the way fashion is consumed. “That means designing nature and marginalized communities in the back of the head right from the start, instead of going back and correcting our mistakes. We have to build up cultures of care in which people act locally, are innovative and connect to the systems in which we all belong. And fashion can do this and drive this by means of the picture that it extends,” concludes Amin.