The Swedish clothing manufacturer H&M invited people to a new event format in Berlin on Tuesday. In the former Jewish girls’ school in Berlin Mitte, H&M officials, industry leaders, experts and the press came together to accept the invitation to “Innovation Day” with a panel discussion about the future of the fashion industry.
Under the title: “Development instead of perfection: Prospects for scalable, tangible progress in the fashion industry,” four panel participants spoke about approaches and ideas for circular business models in view of new EU legislation.
Linn af Klint Kansmark, Head of Circular Business Models at H&M, and Hendrik Heuermann, Public Affairs Manager for Central Europe at H&M, met Magdalena Schaffrin by Studio MM04 and Max Gilgenmann from the non-profit organization Fashion Revolution Germany, which provides information about social-economic aspects in the fashion industry. The discussion was moderated by Jessica Marati Radparvar, former journalist and founder of the strategy and communications consultancy Reconsidered.
H&M’s overall goal was to provide insight into the company’s current status. Various well-known options and strategies for circular business models were discussed under the keywords transparency, honesty and reflection. One thing in particular quickly became clear – there is no one right solution.
Product longevity, adjustments in the supply chain and accessibility have emerged as the three most important pillars for the development of circular business models. Possible ideas, initiatives and projects that were discussed and considered were among others Nearshoring, Textile recycling, Rental Services and Secondhand. However, exact strategies for achieving and implementing this could not be mentioned. Rather, it was about the process nature of implementation – it is a learning process in which setbacks are to be expected.
A prerequisite for the establishment of circular business models is the removal of barriers and the creation of “equal scope” for all competitors. According to the participants in the discussion, this can only happen through legislation and government regulations. The EU is taking important steps in this direction with the textile strategy of the ‘European Green Deal’, which is intended to promote the circular economy in the textile sector and curb the environmental impact of fast fashion. The introduction of the digital product passport advocated in order to create more transparency for customers. Another way to sustainably change business models in the long term is to introduce sanctions and compensation payments to guarantee product quality and redesign supply chains.
The complex problems when it comes to discussing sustainable business models also became clear in this round: There are many good approaches, but one alone is not enough in the long term. Thorsten Mindermann, Regional Manager for Central Europe at H&M, concluded by summarizing that it requires the implementation of various approaches and, above all, collaboration with other stakeholders. Mindermann doesn’t want to offer a final solution with his company, but rather take a pioneering role, try things out and share experiences.