European Fashion Alliance outline first steps of long-term plan in new summit

The members of the newly formed European Fashion Alliance (EFA) came together for the first time in Las Palmas in October for their debut summit, bringing together 59 representatives from 29 member organisations, spanning 23 European countries.

The aim of the summit was to discuss and ultimately decide on a package of measures and actions to support and promote the transformation of the European fashion industry, with a particular focus on the ‘Green Deal’ formulated by the European Union (EU) in 2019.

Led by Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, the deal set the goal of reducing net emissions of greenhouse gases to zero by 2050, a mission the EFA has also adopted as its own in light of the destructive footprint of textile production and fashion consumption.

During the summit, the group defined four pillars to base measures on; sustainability, education, politics and innovation.

These pillars have helped define the EFA’s goals for the period from 2023 to 2027, which include defining a code of conduct for EFA members, presenting a ‘Green Deal’ for fashion at European level, which will include the publishing of an emergency paper at the end of 2023, the creation of sustainable and technological training for EFA stakeholders by 2027 and empowering Gen Z to be the leading voice of value creation in the industry’s transformation.

The objectives are set to be translated into concrete action plans and political frameworks in the next two years, a press release stated.

For 2023, however, the organisation will launch a pan-European survey via its members, to help understand the needs and challenges of companies operating in the industry.

The data collected will contribute to the creation of a policy framework, responding to current legislation and new EU strategies and programmes.