By Carly Slager

In 2019, CEO of luxury conglomerate Kering announced the launch of a Fashion Pact. This initiative grouped a coalition of companies with a shared commitment to sustainability and eco-conscious business practices. The coalition agreed to an overarching agenda with three pillars: stopping climate change, restoring the planet’s biodiversity, and protecting the health of our oceans. 

This push towards sustainability could not have come at a more pressing time. The threat posed by climate change has worsened exponentially over the last few decades. The fashion industry has a lot to answer for in this regard. It’s the second most polluting industry in the world, falling only behind the oil and gas sector. Fashion is fun, and a valuable tool of self-expression, but it’s damaging – every step in the fashion supply chain has significant environmental impacts, from textile production to shipping to garment disposal.

Luxury fashion is a small part of the overall fashion industry, but it’s influential nonetheless. Conglomerates like Kering set industry standards, which is why it’s vitally important for them to hold both themselves and their fellow companies accountable. The Fashion Pact was one step in the right direction, emphasizing the need for collective action and science-based solutions. Now, with the benefit of hindsight, we can take a measured look at the initiative – what has it accomplished, and what work is still to be done?

It’s been four years since the launch of the Fashion Pact. The initiative had a slow start, but has been picking up momentum in recent months. In December of 2022 the coalition announced a Collective Virtual Power Purchase Agreement (CVPPA), under which 12 companies agreed to seek renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power for their manufacturing and production in Europe. Another project is focused on finding sustainable and regenerative sources for the raw materials used in the production process, such as cotton.

These projects are facets of a larger goal; the Fashion Pact aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by the year 2050, meaning that all of the greenhouse gases produced by these industries will be removed from the atmosphere through reduction measures.

These initiatives are hopeful harbingers of an all-encompassing push towards sustainability and regenerative business practices. They show a recognition that symbolic posturing is insufficient; concrete problems require concrete action, and the Fashion Pact’s emphasis on creative and innovative science-based problem-solving seems like a good place to start.