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A wakeup call for London Fashion Week on sustainability

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A wakeup call for London Fashion Week on sustainability

Is it time high-end designers caught up with the rest of the fashion industry?
Credit: Shutterstock

In 2024, London Fashion Week is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

Taking place from 12-17 September, the event is certainly more eco-conscious than previous iterations. Not only do some events take place online, but there will also be an increased focus on secondhand fashion.

On Thursday, eBay will host the Endless Runway, showcasing “archival pieces from designers that have shaped the last 40 years of UK fashion”.

The same day, Oxfam and Vinted will team up to host a show demonstrating “the joy and innovation of pre-loved clothing”.

It might seem that London Fashion Week is greener than ever and luxury brands tend to be perceived as being better for the planet than cheaper alternatives thanks to their higher price points.

But are these brands performing any better than fast fashion companies on sustainability?

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A report recently published by non-profit Collective Fashion Justice (CFJ) claims just 3.39% of British Fashion Council members – that’s seven brands – have shared emissions reduction targets.

Worse still, just 2.4% of member brands – that’s a total of five brands – have a target aligned with the Paris Agreement, which would make them “effective targets worth working towards”, according to the CFJ.

“This finding is an embarrassment for an industry that considers itself one of the most creative and innovative in the world,” the CFJ’s report reads. “This industry has failed to invest in climate action meaningfully and government policy has failed to necessitate that investment.”

By contrast, nearly half (47%) of the major fashion brands included in Fashion Revolution’s What Fuels Fashion report were disclosing emissions reductions targets verified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative.

When I met with the team at Fashion Revolution for the report’s launch last month, they were clear that this was nowhere near good enough. But their fast fashion data certainly puts the stats from luxury brands in context.

Despite their reputation for slower, greener fashion, without publicly-shared emissions reductions targets, it’s hard to know whether high-end brands are actually performing any better than fast fashion alternatives.

With the climate crisis only getting more critical, is it time the high-end designers at London Fashion Week caught up with the rest of the industry?

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