UNDP launches “Making Sustainability Fashion Statement” campaign

03 / 10 / 2021

By Marwa Nassar - -

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has launched “Making Sustainability a Fashion Statement” campaign with an aim to raise the climate and environment ambition of the fashion industry in the lead up to COP26, due to be held in Glasgow in November 2021.

On 7 October, UNDP – that is supporting 119 countries to increase the ambition of their national climate pledges through the Climate Promise initiative – will host an Instagram live discussion between Robert Opp, UNDP Chief Digital Officer, and Federico Marchetti, founder of Yoox-Net-a-Porter and professor of entrepreneurship, innovation and sustainability at Bocconi University.

Marchetti is an innovative thought leader in the fashion industry who has initiated new ways of doing business by incorporating digital technology and sustainability at the core. Referred by the New York Times as “the man who put fashion on the net”, he has masterfully paired artificial intelligence with luxury and fashion, transforming the luxury and fashion shopping experience for millions of people, while relentlessly advocating for a sustainable and socially responsible business model, where inclusion and diversity can be made centrepieces.

The fashion industry drives a significant part of the global economy. It is a $2.4 trillion industry and is responsible for an estimated 2 to 8 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, up to 20 percent of industrial wastewater and 24 percent of insecticides. The industry has a significant impact on biodiversity, climate and nature.

Still far from achieving environmental sustainability, or carbon neutrality, the industry – a critical contributor to help achieve the 2030 Agenda with linkages to all Sustainable Development Goals – needs a complete rethink that brings people and nature to the forefront, striving for ecosystem regeneration, waste minimization, circularity, responsible production and consumption, and innovation.

Digital technologies can be part of the solution.

Using big data and analytics is crucial to monitor markets and identify opportunities and threats and to inform sound and conscious business decisions. Developing tools to analyze the life cycles of materials and products, and to measure companies’ environmental footprints, are essential means to move towards a circular economy.

Artificial intelligence for inventory tracking, trend forecasting, and supply chain management helps reduce over-production and waste. Using virtual reality allows customers to virtually try on outfits, and in turn reduces the carbon footprint due to returns.

Blockchain technology enhances transparency, allows tracking of raw materials, and traceability that guarantees greater efficiency and responsible practices in the supply chain.

Ecodesigns, repurposing, reusing, upcycling or 3D printing allow us to create clothing in harmony with nature, reduce waste and the stress on forest, land and water resources.

Global social media campaigns can influence consumer behavior and encourage young people and society at large to act as changemakers.

By now, scientists, international organizations, governments and civil society all agree that to avert the worst irreversible consequences of climate change, the whole fashion sector needs to act ambitiously, today.