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Business of Fashion: "The Year Fashion Woke Up"
by Modem – Posted April 01 2015
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MODEM chose to highlight this particular article in order to reflect the fashion industry’s growing interest for ethics and sustainability, and to show how luxury conglomerates and fashion brands deal with this new awareness.

In this context, Business of Fashion highlights the improvements that the fashion and luxury industry has made throughout the past year, by pinpointing Kering’s sustainable initiatives, among others (H&M, Inditex, Primark...). In fact, the group set its focus on a sustainable agenda, which comprises a vast range of sustainable projects, including a five-year partnership with the London College of Fashion to support sustainable practices and innovation in fashion education; the ‘Smart Assessment of Materials’ tool to evaluate the environmental performance of plastics; the ‘Smart Supplier Program’ to reduce emissions, water consumption and waste from suppliers; the ‘Clean by Design’ program for textile mills, the Kering Materials Innovation Lab, at which a team of technical experts work to create greener solutions for materials and manufacturing, among other initiatives including fair-trade and improved sourcing practices in regards to precious materials and exotic skins.

“I don’t want to sound like greenwashing,” stated François-Henri Pinault, CEO of Kering, earlier this year. “If we wait for governments to solve the environmental crisis, not much will happen. It is up to us to show initiative, to be extremely proactive and go beyond simple compliance rules.”

That said, Business of Fashion also stresses that Kering’s position is an exception in the industry. "There is still a huge way to go and much of the positive momentum comes in the form of pledges and promises whose true worth will only be proven when followed by real action," reads the article.

Picture courtesy of Business of Fashion. Francine Lacqua, François-Henri Pinault and Marie-Claire Daveu by Alex Maguire | Source: LCF

© Modem