Copenhagen Fashion Week – Sustainability

Copenhagen Fashion Week is the leading fashion week in the Nordics and has become the capital of sustainability. A true example for all fashion weeks and fashion brands. Last year they launched a Sustainability Action Plan and in this post we are going to talk about it and why it is so important.

Today just ended Copenhagen Fashion Week and it is very interesting to see how they are introducing ethical and sustainable practices into their shows. But not only that, in their Sustainability Action Plan they also included requirements that brands have to meet for 2023 in order to be able to participate on the official calendar.

“Fashion weeks are a symbolic, cultural focal point of the fashion world, a platform where new visions, trends and talents emerge. I therefore believe they hold tremendous potential to drive change and, if we dare to be bold, we can change how business is done. We can move from being a source of inspiration and a conversation starter to a facilitator of action”.

Cecilie Thorsmark – CEO, Copenhagen Fashion Week.

Fashion industry impact

The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world after the oil industry. It emits 10% of the global carbon emissions. That’s more emissions than international flights and maritime shipping combined. And this is due the energy used during its production, manufacturing and transportation of all the million pieces each year. The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of the total waste of water globally. This is the equivalent of the amount of water that 5 million people need to survive. And the list continues…

Copenhagen Fashion Week Sustainability Action Plan

Copenhagen Fashion Week published a Sustainability Action Plan 2020-2022 last year. In order to reinvent their event reducing negative impacts, innovating their business model and accelerating industry change.

The Sustainability Report lists plans to become zero waste by 2022. “Having embarked on this journey, we will transparently report on our progress and milestones in an annual Sustainability Report. Revising the present action plan as needed to continue advancing the sustainability agenda of the industry and our platform”, said Cecile Thorsmark on the report. And then she added: “By doing so, we wish to inspire and openly invite brands, trade fairs, fashion weeks and other stakeholders to engage in close dialogue and brave joint efforts”.

Copenhagen Fashion Week believe that they hold the potential to accelerate the industry’s transition to responsible and innovative business practices. By January 2023, the sustainability requirements stipulate that fashion brands must achieve a certain score to participate on the official schedule of Copenhagen Fashion Week. Furthermore, brands who wish to showcase at Copenhagen Fashion Week must also comply with minimum standards in each focus area to be considered, regardless of how high their overall score is. For example: pledging not to destroy unsold clothes. Using at least 50% certified, organic, upcycled, or recycled textiles in all collections. And using only sustainable packaging and zero-waste set desings for shows. And much more.

Danish fashion brands

The good things should be shared and here are my favourite Danish brands from Copenhagen Fashion Week:

Skall Studio

Skall Studio was founded by sisters Julie and Marie Skall in 2014. They work with natural materials creating classic essentials made to last. And they are going to be soon GOTS (the leading textile processing standart for organics fibers, including ecological and social criteria) certified. They support animal welfare and local production and craftsmanship. Furthermore, Skall Studio ensure a transparent supply chain.

The Garment

Co-designers Sophia Roe and Charlotte Esklildsen founded The Garment in 2020. Responsible, minimal, timeless and sustainable is some of the words that best describe the label. One of their sustainable initiatives is carbon offsetting. The Garment offset the C02 impact of each garment they produce. This represents a tangible way of combatting climate change.

Rains

Rains is an outdoor lifestyle brand that creates waterproof pieces created in 2012. Its influence is Scandinavian heritage and the Danish landscape. Simply beautiful. The brand practices considered development for long-lasting products. They specially use fluorinate-free polyurethane in their products, offering durability and consideration of environmental impact.

Ganni

The brand calls itself as a global fashion brand of the future. Husband-and-wife team founded Ganni: Creative Director Ditte Reffstrup and Founder Nicolaj Reffstrup since 2009. They bet their costumers find and explore their personal style wearing Ganni.

They don’t identify themselves as a sustainable brand. Anyway, to date they have introduced more than 30 sustainable initiatives inside and outside Ganni. Including a take-back scheme, rental platform & introducing and increasing more certified, organic & recycled fabrics into their collections.

Conclusion

The Scandinavians are known as pioneers of progress. This radical change that they are not only doing but also invite others to join them is fantastic. It’s a true example to follow because fashion industry have to change the way they do things. And someone had to make the first step.

What do you think about the Nordics initiative? Thank you for reading me and if you have any comment or question you can leave it on comments 🙂

If you liked this post I recommend you to read Upcycled clothing: art on clothes.