Insights from the Global Fashion Summit 2024

The Global Fashion Summit 2024, held at the iconic concert hall in Copenhagen, gathered industry leaders to discuss and implement sustainable solutions looking beyond 2030 to 2050. The theme “Unlocking the Next Level” urged participants to turn the forum’s teachings into concrete actions.

Federica Marchionni, CEO of The Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), highlighted the most pressing issues the fashion industry faces today. “The most urgent issues affecting the fashion industry today include the accelerated rate of global warming intertwined with the growing environmental impact of clothing,” she stated. “Over 70% of the sector’s emissions come from the energy-intensive production and processing of raw materials, while the remaining 30% is generated by downstream activities such as transport, packaging, and retail operations.”

The Centrality of Sustainability

The Summit reinforced the importance of collective and decisive action to achieve the sustainability goals of 2030 and 2050. Through strategic initiatives and collaborative efforts, the event laid the groundwork for the industry’s next steps toward a sustainable future. Marchionni emphasized the need for an inclusive global approach: “Growing inclusively allows us to engage more producers, especially since most greenhouse gas emissions occur where products are manufactured.”

The Fashion CEO Agenda 2024

The 2024 edition of the Fashion CEO Agenda aimed to empower fashion leaders and the industry as a whole, embracing five key opportunities:

Operationalizing Sustainability
Redefining Growth
Activating Consumers
Prioritizing People
Mobilizing Materiality

These opportunities are designed to guide the industry towards more sustainable practices and a transformative impact.

Collaboration in the Fashion Industry

An especially interesting presentation was given by Naiomi Glasses, designer and artist in residence at Ralph Lauren. Glasses emphasized the importance of celebrating, collaborating with, and compensating the cultures and communities that inspire the fashion industry. Her talk explored what authentic collaboration should look like and how to transform the model of inspiration into a partnership of intent.

Glasses concluded: “Collaborating fully for the next level. Telling these stories allows people to see indigenous cultures and how they present themselves in the world today.”

On this topic in this link you can find an excerpt of our speech at the Teddy Supplier Summit.

Reflections from the Global Fashion Summit 2024

The Summit highlighted crucial themes for the future of sustainable fashion, including the synergy between brands and the supply chain and the importance of data. Claire Bergkamp, CEO of Textile Exchange, emphasized how data represents people, highlighting the need to recognize the human element behind every statistic.

Traceability at the Heart of Innovation

Traceability solutions are essential but must actively engage the supply chain. Real change is possible only through strong partnerships. If all actors in the product life cycle deepen their knowledge of impacts, reducing them becomes a shared and accessible goal.

Our Commitment

In Copenhagen, we didn’t just talk about sustainable processes and digital technologies; we also presented real products like fabrics and shoes already capable of displaying traceability and impact data. We were excited to be part of the Global Fashion Agenda 2024 alongside our partners from 4sustainability, bringing our innovative solutions and sharing the stories of over 3,000 supply chain companies that we support in data collection for traceability and impact reduction.

Are You With Us?

Since the first Summit 15 years ago, we have made great strides in methodologies and tools. However, neither consumer purchasing behaviors nor the necessary investments for systemic change are yet sufficient. The true value of the Global Fashion Summit lies precisely in this: shaking the minds of decision-makers, accelerating projects, and harmonizing them to meet the urgent sustainability goals our planet needs.

Fashion can and must make a difference, and with the support of all involved parties, we can truly “Unlock the Next Level” for a better world. 🌍💚

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