The , launched back in 2009 to put on the map, celebrated its 15th anniversary this week. But what has actually changed in the fashion industry since it first began? “Honestly, I am disappointed that we’re not further [along],” Eva Kruse, founder of the summit, told . “When we first started, we didn’t think it would go on for so long, I thought we would solve the problem and get on with another topic.
” Indeed, a stark report by the found that greenhouse gas emissions are set to rise by 40 per cent by 2030, despite the fact that the industry needs to slash emissions by half in order to be in line with the Paris Agreement’s ambition to keep global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. While it’s clear that legislation will be needed in order to hold brands accountable (a message that has been repeated a lot in recent years), below see six other key takeaways from the 2024 edition of the Global Fashion Summit, themed “Unlocking the Next Level”.
Bold leadership is lacking The need for “bold and brave leadership” came up multiple times during the summit, considering the amount of work that still needs to be done. “Do you care?” Paul Polman, author of questioned the audience, adding that if people weren’t “uncomfortable” then they weren’t doing enough. Brands can’t keep selling more and more new product One major challenge for brands is that the current business model is based on selling more and more products – meaning their greenhouse gas emissio.