Who are key players steering this sustainable fashion machine?

Brands

• Levi Strauss & Co.  “Our commitment to sustainability goes far beyond regulatory compliance or minimizing the environmental impact of our business practices. Our vision is to build sustainability into everything we do, so that our profitable growth helps restore the planet”.   levistrauss.com
• Nike – “By using innovations like recycled polyester, which has diverted nearly 2 billion plastic bottles from landfills since 2010, we are we producing better products, transforming markets and improving lives by leveraging sustainability as the world’s greatest innovation opportunity”.   nikeinc.com
• adidas – adidas highlights its sustainability efforts in its Sustainability Progress Report 2013, which focuses on people, product, and the planet.  Within these three areas, adidas has committed to being more ethically and environmentally responsible.

Designers

• Stella McCartney -“I design clothes that are meant to last. I believe in creating pieces that aren’t going to get burned, that aren’t going to landfills, that aren’t going to damage the environment. For every piece in every collection I am always asking what have we done to make this garment more sustainable and what else can we do”.  stellamccartney.com
• Edun – Started by Ali Hewson and her campaigner husband Bono [U2].  LVMH bought a significant stake in the company helping them to provide long term business structures to the communities they work with in Africa.   Edun Live Tee shirts are 100% fairly made in Africa.  – read more marieclaire.co.uk/
• Michael Kors – “. . . technology will continue to have an impact on fashion, particularly the way people shop. I think quality will be increasingly important—we’re moving away from a time of fast fashion.  But really, the only constant in fashion is that you must keep moving forward, otherwise you’ll be left behind.”—American fashion designer Michael Kors, writing about the future of fashion in the Wall Street Journal’s 125th Anniversary Report on July 7, 2014.
• Vivienne Westwood –  “Business is good. If anything, I want to reduce my product range, to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. I might have to put up prices and see what happens”. — British designer, Dame Vivienne Westwood, speaking to journalist Chris Blackhurst in the June 8, 2014 edition of The Independent.

Retailers

• Zara – Zara’s new flagship is its biggest in Hong Kong, and is also the first store to meet the Inditex group’s latest sustainability commitment where it reduces energy consumption by 30% and water consumption by 70% compared to its regular stores.   wgsn.com
• H&M – From their Conscious Actions Sustainability Report,  H&M reported that 47 percent of its customers are interested in more environmentally friendly products in 2013, up from 27 percent in 2012. They offer a product line labeled “Conscious Collection” made out of more sustainable raw materials. They believe fashion can look good, be affordable and sustainable at the same time.
• Marks and Spencer – their Plan A initiative is to become a sustainable, international, multi-channel retailer.  marksandspencer.com
  
• Macy’s – Terry Lundgren, CEO,  was featured in Business Roundtable’s 2014 sustainability report – “Create, Grow, Sustain: Celebrating Success.” – Macy’s/Bloomingdale’s Green Living

People of Influence – Eco Fashion Activist

• Livia Firth [wife of Colin Firth] – “We’re trying nowadays to eat healthy, avoid pesticides, eat fresh and green,” she said. “Why not care about the clothes we wear in the same way—where they were made, and what they really cost in human and environmental terms?”   vanityfair.com
• Suzy Amis Cameron [wife of James Cameron] – founder of MUSE School California.
• Pharrell Williams – co-founded the textile company Bionic Yarn – a textile made from plastic debris from the sea.

Fashion Weeks – New York, Portland  and Vancouver, to name a few, have attracted international press for their efforts to sustainably produce a fashion week that showcases 100% Eco-friendly designs.

The Green Shows [TGS] – TGS fashion week caters to a community that values beautifully-designed modern apparel that is produced ethically and sustainably, crafted for lasting value, and generating minimal waste. Working with the local, national, and international luxury sustainable fashion community.

Websites

• EcoWatch – Sustainia’s research team reviewed more than 900 projects in fashion, resources and eight other sectors before selecting the 10-category list of 100.
• Slow Fashion Forward – a creative agency with a comprehensive site of guidelines, values, and resources.
• Ecouterre – online guide to the best ideas, innovations and emerging trends in Eco fashion, sustainable style, organic beauty and ethical apparel.

Summits and Conferences

• The Source – The global platform for sustainable fashion.
• Copenhagen Fashion Summit – The world’s largest event on sustainability and fashion, the Copenhagen Fashion Summit will be the platform for leading voices to discuss the fashion industry’s social and environmental responsibility, as well as solutions.

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