This event was recorded live on 24 November 2022 at the National Gallery.
The rise of ‘Circular Fashion’ is defined by a shift by producers and consumers in global fashion value chains to products which retain their value for longer. There is a changing consumer market for circular fashion driven by new government policies, shifts in business practices by producers, and consumer demands that are prioritising responsibly sourced and more sustainable fashion products.
This event will explore these steps to reduce the fashion sector’s impacts and explore what the most effectives tools will be to move towards improving sustainability in the clothes we wear. It is being held in partnership with the Netherlands Embassy and the EU Delegation to the UK.
Moderator:
Bella Webb – Bella is the Sustainability Editor at Vogue Business. She takes a holistic approach to sustainability, reporting on diversity and social responsibility as well as environmental issues. Bella is particularly interested in systems change, and how brands are attempting to meet the climate emergency while embedding inclusivity and equity throughout their supply chains. She is also an associate lecturer at Central Saint Martins, where she developed the university’s Manifesto for Sustainable Fashion Communication (2020).
On the panel:
Shailja Dubé – Shailja is the Institute of Positive Fashion Programme Lead at British Fashion Council, responsible for the strategy and delivery of the BFC’s commitment on climate action. She also leads the IPF’s inaugural programme, The Circular Fashion Ecosystem Project. This is a multi-year endeavor to lay the foundations for the UK to move to a circular fashion economy by 2030. Passionate about system-level change, prior to the BFC Shailja was Responsible Retail Lead at Accenture where she focused on the intersection of sustainability and business in the fashion and retail sectors. With over 20 years’ professional experience, she has held business strategy, digital transformation management, market growth, and social policy roles.
Emilien Gasc – Emilien is the Climate & Environment attaché at the Delegation of the European Union to the UK. He works on the implementation of Brexit treaties in the environmental sector, and liaises with the UK authorities on related policies. As a member of the European Green Deal team in the European Commission’s Secretariat General, he worked on the Circular Economy Action Plan of March 2020. The Action Plan paved the way for the EU strategy for sustainable textiles announced in March 2022.
Hasna Kourda – Hasna is the CEO and co-founder of Save Your Wardrobe, a digital wardrobe platform that offers users access to a curated eco-system of on-demand aftercare services, including alterations, repairs, eco-cleaning, customisation and upcycling, thereby extending the life of garments. Hasna was born and raised in Tunisia with strong values of circularity and zero waste. After witnessing how people in the UK are disconnected from the clothes in their wardrobe and the resulting waste driven by such behaviour, Kourda’s idea for Save Your Wardrobe was born. Save Your Wardrobe’s B2B arm supports brands in reaching sustainability and circularity targets through a personalised standalone platform offering an ecosystem of aftercare services.
Safia Minney – Safia is the founder of People Tree and Fashion Declares. At People Tree, a pioneer of sustainable fashion, she led the business as Global CEO for 20+ years in Japan and Europe. Safia recently founded www.fashion-declares.org – a bottom up, industry wide movement to promote rapid action to redesign the fashion industry to operate within planetary boundaries whilst delivery a Just Transition in the Climate, Ecological, and Social emergency. Safia is an executive coach and mentor of nine books including: ‘Slave to Fashion’, campaigning to eradicate modern day slavery in the fashion industry and ‘Slow Fashion – Aesthetics meets Ethics’ and ‘Regenerative Fashion’, published November 2022. Safia founded www.REALsustainability.org to promote awareness and action for sustainable living and leadership.