On the eve of its Global Fashion Summit, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) has released a new report to help guide fashion leaders towards a net positive fashion industry.

Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), the non-profit organisation that fosters collaboration on sustainability in fashion to drive impact, has unveiled its ‘The GFA Monitor‘ report to accelerate alignment with the 1.5-degree pathway and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals laid out by the United Nations. 

GFA fosters collaboration on sustainability in fashion to accelerate impact. It consulted over 30 partners and organisations to form a cohesive resource that presents expert insights on the status of the industry, available solutions, clear actions to take, and proven best practices.

The GFA Monitor presents guidance according to the five sustainability priorities of the Fashion CEO Agenda: Respectful and Secure Work Environments, Better Wage Systems, Circular Systems, Resource Stewardship, and Smart Materials Choices. Building alliances through shared industry knowledge, each priority includes expert insights from GFA’s Impact Partners, which include Fair Labor Association (FLA), the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP), Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Apparel Impact Institute, and Textile Exchange.

Through action on these priorities, GFA believes that the industry will progress towards achieving a living wage and fair compensation for all, a significant reduction of conventional virgin resources, and decreased emissions that will lead to a net positive fashion industry.

“The fashion industry employs an estimated 70m people and generates tremendous economic value, but its current practices take a toll on the planet and value isn’t distributed fairly among the people that generate it,” the report states. “To create a net-positive fashion industry that gives more than it takes, fashion leaders must continue to join forces with their peers and partners across the fashion value cycle to achieve systemic change on five fronts: Respectful and Secure Work Environments, Better Wage Systems, Resource Stewardship, Smart Material Choices, and Circular Systems.”

Federica Marchionni, CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, notes: “With such an array of information circulating about sustainability, it can be challenging for leaders to identify which actions will lead them on the path to progress. Through this report, we aim to create an aligned resource for the industry. We have created alliances with multiple expert organisations with different specialties to combine existing knowledge and reduce complexity. The solutions and tools that the fashion industry needs to improve already exist. It’s time to use them ambitiously. I hope this report can be a companion for the industry on its journey to reach a net positive industry by 2050.

Through a newly formed partnership with sustainability insights platform Higg, GFA is working to establish a measurement baseline to improve the availability, reliability, and consistency of data to measure industry progress. Data from the brands and retailers that completed the Higg Brand & Retail Module (BRM) indicates that they have made more progress in areas of Resource Stewardship, Respectful and Secure Work Environments, and Smart Material Choices, whereas there are still significant improvements to be made related to Better Wage Systems and Circular Systems. The data demonstrates that more action is urgently needed across all five priority areas to improve industry performance.

Building on the inaugural 2022 edition, GFA intends for The GFA Monitor to become an annual gauge of the fashion industry; to monitor industry progress to increase accountability, present the latest insights and impact data, and identify critical actions required to meet its objectives. GFA welcomes further cooperation with other industry organisations as the annual report evolves and responds to industry and scientific developments.
 
Jason Kibbey, CEO of Higg, data partner for The GFA Monitor, says: “Higg is honoured to have been selected as GFA’s data partner. We look forward to helping close the information gaps that exist today to bring businesses the data necessary to make critical interventions and reduce impact.”

GFA and its Impact Partners will discuss the findings during Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition, the international forum for sustainability in fashion, taking place on this week at the Royal Opera House, Copenhagen. 

GFA recently forged a new alliance with UN Climate Change secretariat (UNFCCC) to accelerate the fashion industry’s action on climate change. 

By Just Style