Impakter
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
    • Shape Your Future
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
    • Shape Your Future
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy
No Result
View All Result
Impakter
No Result
View All Result
Home Environment

Paris Fashion Week: Can the Fashion Industry Deliver on Sustainability Promises?

Plans by the Fashion Industry to control and limit the environmental impact of fashion shows may not be sufficient 

byHenrietta McFarlane
October 18, 2021
in Environment, Fashion
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Prior to what is regarded as one of the biggest fashion events globally, Paris Fashion Week outlined plans to measure and control the environmental impact of all fashion shows taking place. Pascal Morand, executive president of Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode (the French fashion’s governing body) stated that he had “developed a tool that can be duplicated in space and adapted to different types of events”. He also added that as the world’s capital of fashion, it is “our responsibility to develop the necessary tools in terms of sustainability”. However, clear details of such plans were never publicly released and an Extinction Rebellion protest at a Louis Vuitton show reflected the opinions of many that the new policies and tools were insufficient. 

Extinction Rebellion crashed the runway at Paris Fashion Week – https://t.co/5ioMhgO1Bw pic.twitter.com/7XhOpsU2ip

— Nuevo Culture (@nuevoculture) October 11, 2021

The Paris Fashion Week developed “tools” aimed to measure sustainability around 11 different themes including travel, waste, scenography material and communication. They also aimed to measure the environmental impact of the digital shows by conversion of the video into kilowatt-hours, followed by a conversion to carbon footprint. It was hoped that the measurements provided by the tools would allow for uniform transparency for impact and sustainability. Chief executive of the Copenhagen Fashion Week, Cecile Thorsmark has commented that “measurement is an important step to gain insights and knowledge”. 

Despite these efforts, measurements can only go so far. Without clear plans to implement rules or policies as a result of these measurements, what effect the tools really have in reducing the impact of Paris Fashion Week remains to be seen.


Related Articles: From Hardwear to Quickwear: The Evolution of the Apparel Industry | Why Sustainable Fashion Must Converge With Intersectional Environmentalism 

Many of the designers attempted to tackle climate issues in their clothing designs. Gabriela Hearst, creative director of the label Chloé, stated that Chloé “believe[s] luxury fashion has become overly industrialised”. The label’s collection for Paris Fashion Week 2021 included handbags made from deadstock fabric and necklaces made from seashells and leftover fabric. Hearst hopes that although the high-end nature of these products means that their impact on the fashion industry’s sustainability balance will be minimal, putting these items on show at the world’s biggest fashion event will have a knock-on effect on wider fashion culture. Despite this promising show, Chloé did not disclose information on a number of other sustainability themes such as travel and communication.  

In the photo: Chloé stand at Samaritaine, Paris. Photo Credit: Henrietta McFarlane

Implications for the wider Fashion Industry

The Chloé show is a case in point and an answer to Jess Cartner-Morely’s warning that “unless the industry starts taking sustainability seriously, it risks becoming the thing it most dreads – uncool”. Whilst a movement towards a more sustainable fashion industry is taking place, nothing is happening quickly enough with fast fashion being the biggest driver of the industry’s issues.

In a report released last month ahead of COP26, Eco-Age and the Geneva Centre for Business and Human Rights reported that “all major fashion brands claim to be engaged in sustainability efforts … many are struggling and indeed failing because they are using a flawed definition of sustainability, unscientific methods and selective implementation”. It also suggested “greenwashing” – i.e. the attempt to appear more sustainable that one actually is – to be a huge problem for the fashion industry. The fashion industry accounts for one-quarter of the global climate budget at its current rate. Furthermore, brands such as Marc Jacobs, Hermes and even Chloé who claim to be committed to sustainability, still use real animal fur in their clothing.

Today in Brussels, @MakeLabelCount launched its campaign calling on the EU to stop #greenwashing and to address the proposed #PEF legislation.

Watch more: https://t.co/JVj2jySVNt
Join the campaign: https://t.co/Mh0EmSjiMY#MakeTheLabelCount #sustainablefashion @liviafirth pic.twitter.com/oUc36cEMFG

— ECO-AGE (@ecoage) October 13, 2021

 

The Paris Fashion Week committee is yet to release the figures found by the tools used during the events. However, an Extinction Rebellion protester’s interruption at a Louis Vuitton show last week, holding a sign that read “Overconsumption = extinction”, demonstrated the view that a plan to measure environmental impact and hints at sustainable fashion solutions throughout the week-long festival were not good enough.

Stay tuned for more to come at the next fashion shows.


Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by Impakter.com columnists are their own, not those of Impakter.com. — In the Featured Photo: Luxury Fashion stands at Samaritaine, Paris. Featured Photo Credit: Henrietta McFarlane

Tags: fashion carbon footprintfashion showsfast fashionGreenwashingParis Fashion WeekSustainable fashion
Previous Post

What Being a Conscious Consumer Really Looks Like

Next Post

Data Manipulation: To Trust Reports, Begin and End with Integrity at the Top

Henrietta McFarlane

Henrietta McFarlane

Henrietta McFarlane is a journalist at Impakter. She has recently graduated from the University of Cambridge with a degree in Music and has grown up in both the UK and Australia. She enjoys writing about Indigenous Australian culture and has previously worked as a columnist for Varsity Newspaper where she wrote articles on topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the representation of Indigenous Australians in cinema.

Related Posts

boom overture supersonic jet
Business

Supersonic Renaissance: Can Speed and Sustainability Coexist?

May 14, 2025
Yemen climate change
Climate Change

Yemen’s Climate Battle: Green Climate Fund Lays Groundwork Amid Conflict and Crisis

May 13, 2025
European Union Deforestation Regulation and its impact on small coffee farmers across the globe
Environment

How the EU’s Deforestation Regulation Could Affect the Coffee Industry

May 9, 2025
Next Post
Data Manipulation: To Trust Reports, Begin and End with Integrity at the Top

Data Manipulation: To Trust Reports, Begin and End with Integrity at the Top

Recent News

Burberry Shares Jump 18% With Workforce Layoffs

Burberry Shares Jump 18% With Workforce Layoffs

May 14, 2025
boom overture supersonic jet

Supersonic Renaissance: Can Speed and Sustainability Coexist?

May 14, 2025
freediving

What Freediving Can Teach Us About Training With Compassion

May 14, 2025

Impakter informs you through the ESG news site and empowers your business CSRD compliance and ESG compliance with its Klimado SaaS ESG assessment tool marketplace that can be found on: www.klimado.com

Registered Office Address

Klimado GmbH
Niddastrasse 63,

60329, Frankfurt am Main, Germany


IMPAKTER is a Klimado GmbH website

Impakter is a publication that is identified by the following International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) is the following 2515-9569 (Printed) and 2515-9577 (online – Website).


Office Hours - Monday to Friday

9.30am - 5.00pm CEST


Email

stories [at] impakter.com

By Audience

  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & MACHINE LEARNING
    • Green Tech
  • ENVIRONMENT
    • Biodiversity
    • Energy
    • Circular Economy
    • Climate Change
  • INDUSTRY NEWS
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
    • Editorial Series

ESG/Finance Daily

  • ESG News
  • Sustainable Finance
  • Business

Klimado Platform

  • Klimado ESG Tool
  • Impakter News

About Us

  • Team
  • Global Leaders
  • Partners
  • Write for Impakter
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

© 2025 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • FINANCE
    • ESG News
    • Sustainable Finance
    • Business
  • TECH
    • Start-up
    • AI & Machine Learning
    • Green Tech
  • Environment
    • Biodiversity
    • Climate Change
    • Circular Economy
    • Energy
  • Industry News
    • Entertainment
    • Fashion & Lifestyle
    • Food and Agriculture
    • Health
    • Politics & Foreign Affairs
    • Philanthropy
    • Science
    • Sport
  • Editorial Series
    • SDGs Series
    • Sustainable Cities
      • Copenhagen
      • San Francisco
      • Seattle
      • Sydney
    • Shape Your Future
  • About us
    • Company
    • Team
    • Global Leaders
    • Partners
    • Write for Impakter
    • Contact Us
    • Privacy Policy

© 2024 IMPAKTER. All rights reserved.