Fashion’s Key Takeaways From Climate Conference ChangeNow

Elsewhere, attendees can visit Plastic Free Place, an event curated by Plastic Planet. In addition to plastic-free cleaning products and reusable packaging, a number of fashion and beauty-related innovations were showcased at the show, including refillable roll-on deodorant brand Rollr, plastic-free performance activewear brand Mover, bio-based glitter alternative Sequinnova and natural glitter and pigment company Sparxell.

“We want to show that it’s possible to make things without toxic, indestructible plastic. There’s nothing like being here and touching new hemp and flax faux fur, or seeing how things are made from banana crop waste and seaweed. There’s nothing better than seeing is believing,” said Plastic Planet co-founder Sian Sutherland. Recent Netflix documentaries have sparked renewed interest Plastic detoxshe added. “Suddenly, this isn’t just a pollution crisis because pollution is in our bodies. So human health information is the catalyst. We have to get to where people care and really demonstrate the risks to industry and government, especially when there are solutions and it’s entirely possible to scale them up.”

Plastic Planet co-founder Sian Sutherland holds a plastic-free artificial stuffed animal produced by BioFluff at the Plastic Free Land exhibition.Photo: Ludovic Lekuste

This climate conference is also a stark reminder that many of the solutions that work well in fashion urgently need to be scaled up and applied to other industries. Regenerative agriculture, renewable energy, decarbonization, ocean degradation and biodiversity loss are just a few of the cross-sectoral problems and solutions.

“As a leader, what’s most helpful to me is understanding how others are coping with challenging situations,” said Elisa Niemtzow, vice president of corporate social responsibility (BSR) Consumer and co-founder of sustainability platform Racine. Nimzo moderated a panel discussion on the social impact of leadership, where Sébastien Bazin, Chairman and CEO of AccorHotels, discussed the need for “leadership from South to North.” The idea, she explains, is that you know what your gut (stomach) should do, but you have to do it with your humanity (heart) and make the decision based on time (mind). “The biggest thing for me this year is seeing truly engaged CEOs and non-sustainability leaders on stage. When business leaders speak authentically about sustainability and inclusion and how it supports business performance, it feels like we’re making progress.”