Climate Actions in Fashion: Policy, Business, and Innovation ... - State of the Planet
Climate Actions in Fashion: Policy, Business, and Innovation | Columbia Climate School
Fashion is one of the world’s largest industries, employing over 75 million people and generating around 2 trillion USD revenue per year. While fashion serves as an important medium for expressing self-identities and shaping social values, it also stands as a major contributor to climate change due to its carbon- and chemical-intensive processes. Those impacts are further exacerbated by the growing demand for fast fashion. The apparel and textile sectors are estimated to be responsible for up to 10% of the global greenhouse gas emissions annually, alongside having other consequential impacts such as water pollution and biodiversity loss.
As the fashion industry becomes increasingly aware of its environmental footprint, many brands have made pledges to decarbonize through strategies such as using renewable energy and sourcing more eco-friendly materials. However, it still requires significant additional efforts and collaborations throughout the entire fashion value chain to keep up with the 1.5-degree pathway outlined by the Paris Agreement.
Our panel of experts, representing diverse facets of the fashion industry, will share insights covering various aspects, including policymaking, innovative materials, sustainable design, and business practices. The discussion will revisit recent notable developments and identify future opportunities to help the fashion industry become beautiful, sustainable, and responsible at the same time.
Speakers include:
- Dr. Anna Kelles, Assemblymember, New York State Assembly
- Sarah Kent, Chief Sustainability Correspondent, Business of Fashion
- Tiago Valente, Global Creative Director at Journee; former Director of Partnerships & Culture, Assistant Professor of Fashion Design and Materiality Pathway Leader, Parsons School of Design
- Neeka Mashouf, CEO & Co-founder, Rubi Laboratories
The panel will be moderated by Sally Qiu, a Research Associate at the Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”