The idea behind the FABTalks is to host fresh fashion talks in an inspiring environment and connect them with business-networking in a new innovative way. The aim is to trigger interesting discussions about the topic of fashion and let experts respond to open questions. Ultimately, we want to build an interdisciplinary network and establish and implement projects together in the long run.
On the 3rd of July the FABtalks were back in Berlin, this time during Fashion Week at the NEONYT in Kraftwerk. Four speakers shared their expertise about the SDGs in the context of fashion – this time in form of a panel discussion. The panel was composed of Pam Samasuwo-Nywiri, PhD researcher; Mark Bloom, Managing Director of KOMODO; Christian Mäntele from Engagement Global, and Kerry Bannigan, leader of the Conscious Fashion Campaign.
SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTATIONS:
INTRODUCTION: SDGS
After a brief introduction about ABURY and the speakers on the panel, Andrea spoke about the history of the SDGs: Back in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, 178 countries adopted the Agenda 21, which was a global partnership for sustainable development to improve human life and protect the environment. That was 27 years ago, and we had already begun addressing the challenges out there.
In 2000, the Millennium Summit in New York City adopted the Millennium Declaration, which led to the 8 Millennium Development Goals – to reduce extreme poverty by 2015.
2015 marked a milestone for International Policy Shaping with the adoption of several nature-related agreements. In August of the same year, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change was signed alongside the Agenda 2030 – with the 17 SDGs that were defined that year. The agenda provides a shared goal for the peace and prosperity of people and the planet, now and in the future. There are 5 major subjects:
- People: End poverty and hunger in all forms and ensure dignity and equality
- Planet: Protect our planet’s natural resources and climate for future generations
- Prosperity: Ensure prosperous and fulfilling lives in harmony with nature
- Peace: Foster peaceful, just, and inclusive societies
- Partnership: Implement the agenda through a solid global partnership.
INTRODUCTION: SPEAKERS
The first speaker on the panel was Pam Samasuwo-Nywiri, a journalist and handbag designer with roots in Zimbabwe, currently living in Canada. Pam is pursuing a PhD in Sustainability and Innovation with a focus on “Exit Strategies” in craft communities.
Mark Bloom is the Managing Director of Komodo, one of the first brands to focus strongly on sustainability in fashion. Their business started in Bali in 1988 – back then, their business strategy seemed quite unusual. They started by upcycling clothes, jeans, and jackets. At that time, terms such as upcycling and sustainability did not exist, “so it was all about passion.”
Kerry Bannigan presented her project, the Conscious Fashion Campaign, which is a call to action for retail and media to influence, commit to, and co-achieve the SDGs. Her background is in fashion and retail events, but as a personal advocate for good, over time she began consulting and working alongside the UN with the SDG Media Zone, which brings together well-known personalities to highlight actions and solutions in support of the SDGs.
Christian Mäntele represented Engagement Global, a German non-profit that offers information, advice, support, and qualification to one-stop shops in associations, educational institutions, non-governmental organizations, companies, foundations, and municipalities. Their goal is to raise awareness for the SDGs in Germany, and their strategy is based on encouraging people to take action.
They use two approaches:
- Set up collaborations with organizations and let them speak about the SDGs to relay the information to their audience.
- Try to develop creative ideas for media to communicate with the general public.
THE DISCUSSION
The discussion began with Andrea posing a question to Pam and Mark:
“Are the SDGs relevant to your work? Do you take them into consideration, or does it happen by chance? Do you analyze it at the end? How do you use the SDGs as a guideline in your work?”
Pam explained that she came across the SDGs rather by accident, but she described it as a “beautiful” accident. The most relevant SDGs for her work were SDG number 8 – Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all – and SDG number 12 – Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Pam makes use of these goals as they fit well with her line of work and drive growth, address risk, and focus on purpose. The SDGs provide a universal framework that helps her understand how she can bring all stakeholders together to proactively solve challenges with her research. Her research is about having everyone — the designer, the stakeholders, and the artisans — come together to implement policies. Making decisions from the outside does not work; rather, one must have a conversation with everyone at every level.
Mark described that at Komodo, they do not follow a specific goal or a specific list to align with the SDGs. However, when the opportunity arises, they seize it and make progress that way. One of the things they have recently worked on is getting rid of all plastic in their packaging.
As well as that, they are always looking to improve things in the supply chain: switching to suppliers that dye in a more sustainable way, eliminating the source, etc. Within a busy company like Komodo, you don't make progress every day, but you make progress sometimes, and that is sufficient. If you try again and again, you will make progress eventually.
In response to Andrea’s question regarding how the company was inspired to create a sustainable fashion business in the first place, Mark concluded that it is important to be different in fashion to stand out from the rest. When Komodo started back in the 80s, there were many big brands but not very many different brands. Sustainability was not a major topic back then, so they were one of the first brands to focus on it – though not intentionally. They wanted to keep their suppliers in Bali and Kathmandu, and their real inspiration was doing things naturally – it felt natural, and even though it was not their initial plan to start a sustainable business, it just happened and felt right.
The second question was addressed to Kerry and Christian: “Why do you think it’s important to have something like the Global Sustainable Development Goals?”
Kerry explained how the world is so well-connected digitally these days and it seems we are all ”trying to speak the same language.” It is a situation where we cannot isolate a problem in one place; we need to think globally since we are all moving in the same direction. Kerry also spoke about how some countries could help others that are not as developed or concerned about these topics – and teaching and learning goes both ways. Talking to people from different countries opens our minds to different approaches and ideas from other cultures and communities.
Christian agreed and elaborated that all dots are connected, and so should the solutions be. It all comes down to acting locally and starting to join other people, governments, or businesses to think about what we can contribute to every problem we face. Especially in the fashion business, the supply chains are global, so there is no other way to address problems than by thinking globally.
Andrea continued by leading the topic to the fashion industry. The impact and potential of fashion to be optimized and more sustainable becomes clear when realizing that it is the second-largest labor market in the developing world and that it has a huge impact on the Earth: from optimizing international shipment to the low prices of some products due to cheap imports and cheap production.
Andrea’s final question to the panel guests was: “What is the fashion industry struggling with most when it comes to the Sustainable Development Goals?”
Kerry’s idea was that the fashion industry is a very influential sector and touches on all 17 SDGs – from employment to chemical use, disposal, packaging, and emission limits. The industry has the power to solve and empower these 17 goals by pushing and encouraging conscious consumerism; however, the indicators are quite overwhelming. So, sometimes it seems more reasonable to look at what you can do within your own company and what makes sense. Juggling between driving the economy to be alive and thriving, and being sustainable by following all goals, is a challenge.
Lastly, Andrea stressed the high potential and responsibility of the fashion industry to work toward the SDGs by pointing out that it is a glamorous world with influencers, bloggers, models, and opinion leaders who can use their voices to communicate important subjects such as the Sustainable Development Goals.
Christian agreed with that and explained that fashion is very important as it is very close to people – it is a fantastic context in which to communicate with people. Trying to communicate all 17 goals at once is too much information for people to understand. At Engagement Global, they try to raise interest in their mission first, and then share more about what is happening in fashion specifically. This proved to be a good way to do it because you can break down the whole issue of sustainability into very practical questions and answers.
AUDIENCE QUESTIONS
The first question from the audience was posed by a woman working at a sustainable fashion brand that used to work in Nepal but moved production to India and Portugal because of certification requirements:
“Some factories in developing countries do not have certifications because of the high costs associated with them. Should brands or other institutions help and support – with time and/or money – these factories?”
Mark replied to the question, agreeing that certifications can require high costs. Often there are no certification offices, so they have to travel back and forth, pay for hotels, and so on. We can encourage suppliers to get certified, but we are not in a position to demand it. These kinds of costs could be subsidized by bigger countries or brands, which could ultimately also foster a more loyal and secure relationship between the factories and the brands. However, at the moment, this is not yet common practice.
A representative of a factory producing in Ethiopia was also present at the FABtalks and shared her experience with a Fair Trade certification they received. Her main motivation for getting the certification was to have a more open discussion with all the different staff, from the management team to the artisans: discussions about discrimination, living wages, ethnicity, religion, gender, environmental issues, and so on. The certification brought them a great internal benefit by bringing employees and management closer, but it did not have an impact on their market size.
The next question would close the round of questions:
“What can we do in North Africa to protect the artisans from being exploited during this economic system change?”
The answers focused strongly on the education of artisans through explicit conversations about what is happening and how it will affect their communities, their children, their lives, and so on. It was pointed out that brands have the responsibility to teach artisans about the value of their work, for example by calculating the prices of leather or other materials and the hours of work.
We thank our partner NEONYT, the fantastic panel speakers, and all members of the audience who came and joined us this evening!
SEE YOU NEXT TIME!
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