Global Fashion Summit locating the Fashion Industry in the Spotlight of the Environmental Crisis

Federica Marchionni, the CEO of the Global Fashion Agenda, spoke at the 2023 Boston Global Fashion Summit.

When the conversation shifted to sustainability, it often centers around topics like fossil fuels, recycling, renewable energy, or other practices impacting the global environment, society, or economy. Fashion rarely comes to mind initially. However, the fashion industry contributes to nearly 10% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions and consumes approximately 215 trillion liters of water annually. With such a significant environmental impact and widespread, often unwitting participation from consumers, addressing sustainability in the fashion sector has become an imperative topic.

Organizations like the Global Fashion Agenda, headquartered in Copenhagen, are established to bring tangible change to the industry through policy engagements, impact programs, and collaborative commitments. They aim to raise awareness of the fashion industry’s global impact and advocate for positive change, including achieving net-zero emissions, championing labor rights, and ensuring fair wages for those involved in the industry. The GFA hosts an annual Summit conference in Copenhagen, and this year, for the first time, they held the Global Fashion Summit in Boston, focusing on the theme “Ambition to Action” to drive the transition towards a net-positive fashion industry, bringing North America into the conversation.