The 2023 edition of the Fashion CEO Agenda for the first time includes action areas for brands, retailers, and producers, and also presents the ‘2030 Fashion Sector Vision’.
- The annual survey, intended as a tool to support establishment and implementation of leadership strategies to achieve a net positive fashion sector, is published by the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA).
- The report was releaed on 27 September at the Boston edition of the Global Fashion Summit.
SUSTAINABILITY PRIORITIES: The Agenda is meant to be a guide to what every fashion leader needs to prioritise to future-proof their company.
- It outlines the most pressing issues and the biggest opportunities for environmental and social impact and provides guidance on how to move from words to action.
The Agenda presents five socio-environmental sustainability priorities the industry should focus on in order to secure prosperity for people and communities while working within planetary boundaries. These include:
- Respectful and Secure Work Environments;
- Better Wage Systems;
- Resource Stewardship
- Smart Material Choices; and
- Circular Systems.
The report reiterates the need to adopt existing industry-aligned targets, including UNFCCC's time-bound targets on decarbonisation and the uptake of preferred and low climate impact materials.
- It highlights the imperative need for the coexistence of environmental and social sustainability as neither can be achieved without the other.
ACTION AREAS: The action areas outlined in the report include promoting worker access to effective grievance mechanisms, promoting fair compensation and living wages, establishing water stewardship, and addressing overproduction.
- The material actions outlined are based on consensus across industry stakeholders and topical experts.
- Extensive stakeholder engagement demonstrated that substantial action is still urgently needed from all actors in the value chain, while such action must be informed by local contexts.
2030 FASHION SECTOR VISION: The 2030 Fashion Sector Vision presents where the sector at large should be in relation to each priority area within seven years’ time—a critical milestone on the road to net positive by 2050.
- It is important to acknowledge that companies’ ability to deliver on these actions, require significant effort, investment, and multi-stakeholder action, with the support of governments and financial institutions in the creation of an enabling environment to scale industry transformation, while empowering citizens and consumers.
PREPARING THE AGENDA: The action areas have been established through several years of stakeholder engagement and reinforced through the global ‘Fashion Industry Target Consultation’, led by GFA in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
- The organisations consulted several hundred industry stakeholders through numerous regional workshops and surveys translated into several languages to help inform a holistic framework that captures global perspectives on social and environmental sustainability.
- With less than seven years to deliver on the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, fashion industry leaders, together with the broader sector, must take urgent steps to make sustainability an integral part of their business strategies.
WHAT THEY SAID:
Promising pockets of development confirm the industry's commitment to revolutionise the garment sector. To spur more action, I am proud to present to you the new Fashion CEO Agenda - a concise checklist outlining the implementation pathways for GFA's five socio-environmental sustainability priorities to support fashion executives in establishing and implementing leadership strategies that will protect and benefit us all. I hope this report can be a source for tangible guidance and act as a companion for the industry as it embarks on the pathway to becoming net positive.
— Federica Marchionni
Chief Executive Officer
Global Fashion Agenda
