EFA Conference "The Status of European Fashion" in Brussels

The European Fashion Alliance (EFA) held its first conference ‘The Status of European Fashion’ in Brussels, Belgium on the 5th of March 2024. At the conference the results of the previously conducted industry-wide survey on the impending sustainability legislation affecting European fashion were introduced, along with keynote speeches, insightful presentations, and engaging panel discussions.

On March 5th, the European Fashion Alliance (EFA) held its first conference ‘The Status of European Fashion’, in Brussels, Belgium. The event brought together industry leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders who discussed crucial topics shaping the future of European fashion. In preparation for the conference, EFA conducted a comprehensive Europe-wide survey on the impending sustainability legislation affecting the fashion industry, which results and recommendations will be published until end of April. The survey aimed to assess the current state of the European fashion landscape and identify significant challenges and opportunities in anticipation of impending regulatory changes. First learnings were presented to the audience.

In his opening keynote, Scott Lipinski, Chairman of the EFA, emphasised: "We created the European Fashion Alliance because we saw a gap. There was no organisation representing the creative side of the European fashion industry. There are a lot of brilliant regional organisations – also well-established textile organisations, but there was a missing link for a European fashion alliance focusing on a creativity driven sector - an alliance of knowledge sharing, an alliance of shared interests, and a big ambition to create a better fashion ecosystem.".

At the conference, 150 attendees experienced a dynamic program featuring keynote speeches, a presentation on ‘the Status of European Fashion’ report and four engaging panel discussions, which took place after a presentation of the study’s key facts by Elke Timmerman, Board Member of EFA. The study showed that the negative image of the industry is mainly influenced by fast fashion, but that a positive change is influenced by SMEs. According to the survey participants, three main solutions would help improve the public opinion: consumer education, regulatory action and sustainable business models. One further main learning of the survey is that SMEs, despite reasonable efforts and investments in durability services to ensure the longevity of fashion products, are not fully aware with neither prepared for the upcoming EU regulations. Important and well overdue CSR-manager positions mainly can’t be created due to missing resources. The following panel discussions on policy, education and innovation, led by prominent figures from the fashion industry, allowed panellists to share their perspectives and expertise on navigating the evolving sustainability landscape.

The first panel moderated by Simone Cipriani, UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion, Founder Ethical Fashion Initiative, ITC focused on policy and featured Guy Morgan, Director of Sustainability at Chanel; Henrik Vibskov, fashion designer; Ruth Reichstein, Policy Coordinator at Cabinet von der Leyen, President of the European Commission; and Julia Aruni Kirschner, Director of Impact and Innovation at Armedangels. The discussion explored the intersection of EU sustainability policy and legislation for SMEs, including insights into the Green Deal, the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), digital passports, upcoming legislation and the international impact of EU decisions. Panellist Guy Morgan, remarked: “How do we ensure that sustainability is simple but not simplistic? It gets really complicated when you consider the holistic sustainability of different product categories, all the savoir faire, the craftsmanship and how many thousands of companies and SMEs actually support this industry. They are the heartbeat of the sector when we legislate the performance of different categories” and Julia Aruni Kirschner, commented: “Even though it is a challenge to keep track of the upcoming regulations, we as a company still lobby for these regulations to come, because you can then see, that there is a level playing field. We want everybody else to share this knowledge of sustainable practices and that is what regulations and legislations can do for us.”

The second panel of the conference explored the future of skills development and education systems and their role in promoting sustainability and empowering young talent and entrepreneurs. The discussion was moderated by Jasmien Wynants, Co-Founder of Masjien, with experts Prof. Dilys Williams, Director of the Centre of Sustainable Fashion, Paolo Naldini, Director of Fondazione Cittadellarte, and Carlota Barrera, fashion designer. Prof. Dilys Williams commented: “Creativity is about our culture, it's about our values, visions and capabilities in our practices. We need to teach in schools how to develop the capabilities for thinking about value in cultural terms, social terms, in economic terms and in environmental terms. That means a curriculum that talks about the aesthetics, the technical expertise, material know how and suitability of materials more deeply than that to think about our perceptions of ourselves in the world.”

The third panel dove into the forefront of industry transformation with a panel discussion on supply chain transparency, Digital Product Passports (DPP), digital fashion, digitization, new skills, and innovative business models. The talk was moderated by Christine Goulay, Founder of Sustainabelle Advisory Services and featured Semora Mangnoesing, Commercial Director of EON, Alexandre Capelli, Deputy Environmental Director of LVMH, Federico Brugnoli, Founder and Sole Director of Spin360, and Dr. Andrée-Anne Lemieux, Sustainability Chair Director IFM-KERING, Full Professor Institut Français de la Mode. Alexandre Capelli said on the challenge of data collection: "It is a tech but also a human challenge. We can have the most efficient and powerful tool and we still need to train and to incentivize suppliers and farmers to identify and share the right figures. Currently, we are talking a lot about this issue in regards to regenerative agriculture. Here that means speaking to the farmers and not only to tier-one-suppliers and find out how we can aid in identifying and collecting the right data.”

Furthermore, the conference culminated in an engaging panel discussion led by EFA Board members, including Carlo Capasa, Chairman of Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana; Caroline Rush, CEO of British Fashion Council; Pascal Morand, Executive President of the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode; Elke Timmerman, International & Business Relations at Flanders DC; Scott Lipinski, CEO of Fashion Council Germany and Zuzana Bobikova, CEO of Slovak Fashion Council:

“We appreciate the path the European Commission has taken on sustainable fashion issues, but we ask for some legislative changes to protect and promote the creative fashion and its values in line with the commitment of the European high-level brands. The Alliance has advocated to extend the notion of emotional durability related to the final garments. In order to value and protect the creativity we have to consider a certain amount of virgin and biodegradable fibres as necessary into creative fashion products promoting the circularity with other industries. EFA supports the general ban on destroying unsold products but stresses the importance of clearly defining products suitable for consumption and sale. We support the need to provide manufacturers with flexibility in choosing alternatives to destruction, such as reuse, upcycling, and recycling, based on the characteristics of their products. Regarding reporting requirements for unsold goods and discarded products, EFA recommends the disclosure of sensitive data to the Commission or relevant national authorities to reduce risks from a commercial and competition perspective. In order to achieve a strong impact, these principles must be extended to fast fashion from which the strongest change is required to evolve into an ethical, democratic fashion that respects people, environment and creativity.”, said Carlo Capasa.

Caroline Rush added: “From the policy perspective we're hearing more from the bigger businesses, which is why it's really important that the SMEs have a seat at the table. They have to be a part of the roundtables and conversations to make sure, that policy absolutely plans to protect these businesses at the heart of creativity and at the heart of European culture. It is so important for all of us to protect, to make sure, that we have the skills, workforce, culture and identity for the future.”

Pascal Morand emphasized the “remaining big challenges concerning environmental performance and the measurement of durability: there is still a “lot to do” concerning the environmental impact databases which require a higher degree of granularity as concerns in particular quality and location, and the full integration of extrinsic durability.” He also stressed that “environmental and social labelling cannot be dissociated”. He elaborated on the DPP: “the information challenge is crucial at any level: which information to collect and how to collect it, which illustrates the importance of the traceability factor; how to present it and to communicate it; how to ensure the information is right. Like any passport the DPP requires control, to avoid counterfeiting and the content of wrong and incorrect information.”

In addition, Commissioner Iliana Ivanova, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, provided an inspiring conclusion to the conference day in her keynote speech: "The insightful panels today underscored the vibrancy and resilience of your industry. The discussions also showcased the European Fashion Alliance's key role in supporting the European fashion and textiles industries based on creativity and cooperation - the driving forces of innovation. And as we look into the future and embrace the spirit of innovation, sustainability and education that has animated today's discussions, the European Fashion Alliance and its members have demonstrated that Europe is not just the cradle of fashion, but it is also its future."

The results of the survey as well as a summary of the conference day will be published via the EFA website by end of April.