Copenhagen Fashion Summit and The Sustainable Fashion Research Agenda
How can we engage the industry with sustainable design research?
Photo credit: Cathryn Anneka Hall
Copenhagen Fashion Summit is the industries sustainability event of the year. For the first time researchers got together before this event to take stock of the current state of affairs regarding sustainable fashion at the Sustainable Fashion Research Agenda (SFRA).
Over the last ten years the fashion industry has started taken notice for its need to be more sustainable and this is clearly shown by the growth and popularity of Copenhagen Fashion Summit. This brings together brands, consultants, designers and small businesses to collectively discuss how the industry can move towards a more sustainable future. However, as Sustainable Fashion Research Agenda (SFRA) points out “there is often an absence of concrete information about the actual progress towards sustainability”. Before the launch of this year’s tenth summit researchers from across the globe meet to discuss the “current scale and scope of sustainable fashion initiatives”. Attended by both Dr Kate Goldsworthy (co-director of CCD) and PhD researcher Cathryn Anneka the conversation was varied, sometimes contested and refreshing. The summit itself provides a platform for innovation and conversation. But research also has an important place. If we are to achieve the mammoth task of transitioning from their current linear models to a circular economy collaboration between both research and the industry will be vital.
