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The Fourth UN Environment Assembly laid the groundwork for a radical shift to a more sustainable future, where innovation will be harnessed to tackle environmental challenges and development will no longer cost the earth. Complementing five days of deliberations by delegates drawn from more than 170 United Nations Member States, were a crescendo of events laying out a vision for sustainable fashion in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.
The UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, launched at the Sustainable Innovations Expo on the fourth day of the UN Environment Assembly (Nairobi, 14 March 2019), featured a series of pop-up fashion installations with guest appearances from UN Environment Goodwill Ambassadors Indonesian-Australian conservationist and media personality Nadya Hutagalung and Chinese popstar Karry Wang.
“Many people succumb to buying seasonal trends that then get thrown away within a couple of months, and it’s just not sustainable,” said Nadya Hutagalung, a household name across Asia.
“At the launch of the UN Sustainable Fashion Alliance we get to see people developing new fibres that are sustainable, have low water impact and low impact on the environment where they’re produced.”
Nadya Hutagalung wore a hand-crafted dress made by Studio One Eighty Nine, produced by International Trade Centre’s Ethical Fashion Initiative, a founding member of the Alliance.
The launch event also included a series of ‘instastories’ from 20 key players in sustainability, each explaining their vision for the future of environmentally-friendly fashion. Interactive presentations are being given by clothing experts wearing the best sustainable designs and materials.
“In the face of growing environmental threats, there is an urgent need to radically change our consumption and production systems. In this regard, a more sustainable fashion industry has a critical role to play,” said Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the Global Environment Facility.
“By using fashion as a form of activism and empowerment, the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion doesn’t perceive sustainability as a limitation to fashion, but rather a trigger for bringing real creativity and passion into the industry,” said H.E. Siim Kiisler, President of the UN Environment Assembly.
“Research shows that fashion presents many opportunities for reducing waste and improving the environment. But the fashion industry cuts across many sectors, and so to capture the full opportunity, the UN and its partners need an integrated approach that goes beyond individual Sustainable Development Goals.”
Estonian industrial upcycling designer Reet Aus delivered prepared remarks at the launch event on behalf of President Kiisler.
She was joined by Moustapha Kamal Gueye, Coordinator of the Green Jobs Programme, International Labour Organization (ILO); Eva Geraldine Fontanelli, Fashion editor (Italy); Ulf Jaeckel, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany; Laura Louise (Elle L), music artist and environment advocate (United Kingdom); Andrea Reyes, Chair, NYC Fair Trade Coalition (USA); Byron Peart and Dexter Peart, co-Founders, GOODEE (Canada); Heron Preston, Designer and DJ (USA); Ted Richane, Director of Engagement & Impact, Vulcan Productions (USA); and Liesl Truscott, Director of European & Materials Strategy, Textile Exchange (UK).
‘Future Fashion.Now’ (@futurefashion.now), a unique collaboration of fashion artists, conservationists, influencers and producers, supported the launch of UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion with a series of fashion pop-ups with local and international designers and interventions by international role models.
‘Future Fashion.Now’ events began with a roundtable, “Accelerating Circularity Actions for Sustainable Textile Value Chains”, moderated by Kenyan fashion designer and entrepreneur Sunny Dolat with interactions from Dr. Helen Crowley Head of Sustainable Sourcing Innovation, Kering, Roald Lapperre, Vice Minister for Environment, Netherlands, and Lena Pripp-Kovac, Head of Sustainability, Inter Group IKEA. Lucia Masau and Elle L showcased looks created with pieces from Alina Schuerfeld, Buki Akomolafe, Ecoalf, Folkdays, Kiko Romeo, Langer Chen, Lara Krude, Magpies & Peacocks, Nat-2, Reet Aus, Schmidttakahashi and Zazi Vintage.
Special guest speaker New York DJ and designer Heron Preston (@heronpreston) presented upcycled pieces from his latest project the ‘Re-Design’ Programme using materials that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
Curation of the pop-up installations was by Elle L (@ellel); Max Gilgenmann, content director, Kaleidoscope (@neonyt.berlin); and Eilean von Lautz-Cauzanet, founder, VEPSI (@vepsi_official), through the generous support of African Fashion Fund, C&A Foundation Fairmont Norfolk Hotel (@fairmontnorfolk), Fashion for Development (@fashion4development), Frankfurt Messe / Textpertise Network, Lenzing AG, Hoja Nueva (@hojanueva), Sustainable Angle (@thesustainableangle) and Tencel.
An interactive video campaign streamed-lived on ‘Future Fashion.Now’ social media (@futurefashion.now) with voices from co-Secretaries to the Alliance Simone Cirpriani, International Trade Centre (ITC), and Michael Stanley-Jones, UN Environment, sharing their hopes for Sustainable Fashion live from the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion launch. They were joined by Jeanine Ballone from Fashion 4 Development and from afar by Patrick Duffy, Clare Press, Bandana Tewari and Roberta Annan, who began supporting on Instagram (@unfashionalliance).
The video, Future Fashion Now – Call For Collaborative Action, captured the flavor of the launch event.
The event opened in memoriam with the tolling of a steel triangle 35 times for the lives lost in the Ethiopian Flight 302 tragedy on the eve of the UN Environment Assembly. Among the passengers on the flight were leaders of the sustainable fashion community traveling to attend the Assembly. Ultimately, the Alliance Steering Committee chose to go ahead with the launch to honour their sacrifice in support of sustainable development.
Other fashion-related events and activities at the Fourth UN Environment Assembly included:
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