Creators criticised traditional fashion marketing at the Global Fashion Summit

Last Month at the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the U.N. Climate Change-convened Fashion Charter released the first-ever Sustainable Fashion Communications Playbook. In the Playbook, the creators call for fashion leaders to change and «eradicate all messaging encouraging overconsumption», influencers to focus on «alternative models of status and success (like focusing more on thrifting) and fashion media to «decouple identity from newness» 

The UNEP argues that fashion communicators have a responsibility to do more to encourage social change and a more sustainable fashion industry. 

The Playbook is made in collaboration with 160 industry executives and questions the role of traditional fashion shows and influencer marketing when it comes to promoting overconsumption. The Playbook encourages big fashion communicators to lead with science to support sustainable claims. It also focuses on low-impact living, the importance of inclusive values and driving advocacy. The makers of the book argue that there needs to be a change in how we market fashion to support a more sustainable industry. 

The Fashion industry has long been the leading industry in polluting the planet. The industry is responsible for between 2% and 8% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as water extraction. It consumes 215 trillion litres of water per year and is also responsible for 9% of annual micro-last losses to oceans. This is exactly why the UNEP has decided to present this playbook, in hopes of change from the leading voices in fashion. «There is so much power in the stories fashion tells. If the fashion sector is to meet its sustainability targets, we need its enormous marketing engine to redirect its efforts towards sustainable consumption. The Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook provides the practical guide that is needed. Importantly, it highlights how there is scope for huge creativity to envision and realise the world we want to live in,» Director of Communications at UNEP, Daniel Cooney said. The Playbook includes helpful dos and don’ts, as well as examples to help guide the industry. The creators hope that fashion communicators adopt these guidelines today to help a greener shift in the industry.