Conscious Fashion Campaign partners with the UN, fashion industry on sustainability event

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Nov 25, 2020

The United Nations and major members of the fashion industry -- from Kering to the Council of Fashion Designers of America -- have lent their support to a new month-long virtual event focused on sustainability. 

The event, set to run from December 1 through 30, is led by The Conscious Fashion Campaign; an initiative founded by social entrepreneur Kerry Bannigan to accelerate fashion industry action in support of the Sustainable Development Goals -- in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships. 

Entitled 'Discover the Sustainable Development Goals - To Power the Decade of Action,' the event will run from December 1 through 30 of 2020. The event "aims to advance knowledge and strengthen engagement from the global fashion industry to further support the Decade of Action to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) - the 17 goals to transform our world," the organizers said in a press release. 

A focal point of the event will be the 'Discover the SDGs' online exhibit, which will include "a wide range of SDG informational tools along with fashion sector focused on-demand discussions," with U.N. officials and advocates, as well as industry leaders, including Kering, Lenzing, Allbirds, PVH, Vogue Business, the CFDA, the British Fashion Council, Messe Frankfurt, Collina Strada and the Swarovski Foundation.

The event will also feature speakers, including fashion designers Anyango Mpinga, Gabriela Hearst, Maria Cornejo and Tracy Reese; Marsha Cooke, senior vice president Impact, Vice Media Group; Emily Chan, sustainability editor, Vogue Global Network; Dominic-Madori Davis, reporter, Business Insider; Sara Maino, deputy editor in-chief, Vogue Italia, head of Vogue Talents; Jill Martin Wrenn, business reporter, BBC and Fiona Sinclair Scott, global editor, CNN Style. 

Other industry supporters of the event include Drapers, Fashinnovation, Kingpins, Transformers Foundation and Raw Assembly. 

Organizers said the event "serves as a catalyst for a new era of fashion; exploring the intersection of the SDGs and fashion business including climate action, gender equality, industry innovation, digitization, life of land and responsible production and consumption."

“This is a critical time to accelerate partnerships to address the world's biggest challenges – from eliminating poverty, hunger and inequalities to reversing climate change and unsustainable consumption and production practices,” said Annemarie Hou, acting executive director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

“The fashion industry is an important ally for the United Nations in this Decade of Action
to deliver the SDGs by 2030.”

The Discover the SDGs virtual event is powered by Arch and Hook, Artistic Milliners and Lenzing; with support from Interwoven, ITL Group and Orta.