The United Nations (UN) has officially launched the ‘UN Alliance on Sustainable Fashion’ with the goal of creating an industry-wide push for action to reduce fashion’s negative social, economic and environmental impacts.
The Alliance launched at the UN Environment Assembly in Nairobi, Kenya last week (14 March). It aims to improve collaboration between UN agencies by analysing their efforts in making fashion sustainable, identifying solutions and gaps in their actions, and presenting these findings to governments to trigger policy.
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The UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion creates a common platform and dialogue for a host of UN agencies that are working to make fashion sustainable: The Food and Agricultural Organization is promoting Blue Fashion, which uses sustainable marine materials and protects arable land; the International Trade Centre has set-up the Ethical Fashion Initiative to spotlight artisans from the developing world; and UN Environment is pushing governments to foster sustainable manufacturing practices.
At the event, interactive presentations were given by clothing experts wearing sustainable designs and materials.
The UN Environment agency said the fashion industry, valued at around US$2.4trn, loses about $500bn of value every year due to the lack of recycling and clothes that are thrown into landfill before ever being sold. It is also said to account for around 8-10% of global carbon emissions, coming from pumping water to irrigate crops like cotton, oil-based pesticides, machinery for harvesting, and emissions from transport. The industry is responsible for 24% of insecticides and 11% of pesticides.
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“In the face of growing environmental threats, there is an urgent need to radically change our consumption and production systems,” said Naoko Ishii, CEO and chairperson of the global environment facility. “In this regard, a more sustainable fashion industry has a critical role to play.”
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By GlobalDataSiim Kiisler, President of the UN Environment Assembly, added: “By using fashion as a form of activism and empowerment, the UN Alliance for Sustainable Fashion doesn’t perceive sustainability as a limitation to fashion, but rather a trigger for bringing real creativity and passion into the industry.
“Research shows that fashion presents many opportunities for reducing waste and improving the environment. But the fashion industry cuts across many sectors, and so to capture the full opportunity, the UN and its partners need an integrated approach that goes beyond individual Sustainable Development Goals.”
