The Fashion Pact’s guide, developed with non-profit Conservation International and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, includes an introduction to the SBTN, a case study showing how targets are calculated and set, and actions companies can take immediately.

“Fashion is one of the biggest manufacturing industries, but it is also uniquely dependent on natural ecosystems. Biodiversity is the glue holding those natural ecosystems together,” von Alvensleben told Vogue Business. “We want to avoid what we did in climate — everyone came out with individual tools and methodologies which you can’t compare or sum up at an industry-wide scale. We see an opportunity to accelerate impact by working collaboratively.”

The United Nations also published its long-awaited guide to sustainable fashion communication on the summit’s main stage, calling on fashion media and marketers to play a more active role in tackling the climate crisis. “Fashion’s stories are currently directed towards a linear model of production and consumption,” playbook author Rachel Arthur, advocacy lead for sustainable fashion at the UN Environment Programme, told Vogue Business. “The industry’s dominant narratives will not allow us to reach our sustainability targets.”

Global Fashion Agenda news

GFA had a few announcements of its own. It showed the first clip of its Fashion Redressed online film series, launching in September in collaboration with BBC Storyworks Commercial Productions, and revealed the outcome of the 2023 GFA Designer Challenge, which matches designers with circular solutions providers. Collina Strada collaborated with Circulose on a bag made with recycled cotton from post-consumer clothing waste, and Puma developed a prototype for a patchwork shoe with upcycler Nicole McLaughlin, using its own offcuts. A third Designer Challenge film will be released in September, featuring Scandinavian brand Heliot Emil.

GFA also launched a new platform, Global Textiles Policy Forum, which seeks to standardise the industry response to international fashion policies. This includes a policy matrix resource, summarising key legislations around the world and highlighting how they will impact fashion industry stakeholders.

“Legislation was the missing piece when it comes to achieving impact at scale,” says GFA’s public affairs director María Luisa Martínez Díez. “There is a need to educate around policy, and spell out the legislations on the table as well as those ongoing, which is what the matrix will do. GFA is now advocating for a coherent and ambitious regulatory framework.”

There was a renewed sense of urgency underpinning all of the announcements and initiatives. “There is no more time, everyone understands that now,” says GFA’s Marchionni. “My only concern is how much action is happening and how much progress is made.”

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