Industry Task Force
Fashion Task Force
The Fashion Task Force is committed to being leaders and exemplars to the global fashion, textile and apparel sectors, working to accelerate the transition towards a more sustainable future. The Fashion Task Force will begin work on a Digital ID system designed to inform consumers of the sustainability credentials of their garments, through the development of verifiability around what can be considered as a sustainable fashion product. The group is also exploring how regenerative farming practices, across raw materials, can reverse the damage being done to the planet.
The Fashion Task Force operates as an industry sub-group of the SMI and is chaired by Federico Marchetti, technology entrepreneur and sustainable fashion pioneer. Its members are drawn from across a range of brands, platforms and retailers from all over the world, including; Aura Blockchain Consortium, Brunello Cucinelli, Burberry, Chloé, Emaar Properties - Noon.com, EON, Gabriela Hearst, Giorgio Armani, Johnstons Of Elgin, Moda Operandi, Mulberry, Puig, Selfridges, Stella McCartney, Vestiaire Collective and Zalando.
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The former Prince of WalesThe fashion industry is one of the biggest polluters on the planet and so if we are to tackle climate change, we need to make clothing production much more sustainable. To do this correctly, we need cross-industry collaboration that goes beyond borders and brands. That is why I am so pleased that some of the world’s top fashion businesses have joined forces to transform the industry and work to ensure our fashion choices don’t cost us the planet.
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Federico Marchetti, Chair of the Fashion Task Force and Founder of the YOOX Net-a-Porter GroupI am deeply honoured to have been asked by The former Prince of Wales to lead this Task Force. The fashion industry is an incredibly creative and economically powerful world but if it is to survive and indeed thrive in the future it has to use technology to put sustainability at the very heart of its operating models. It is what consumers are demanding and it is what the planet desperately needs.
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Digital ID
The Fashion Task Force announced the rollout of the Digital ID, a transformational technology that uses data to inform customers of the sustainability credentials of their purchases and facilitate the delivery of circularity at scale, at G20 2021.
Giving products a Digital ID, will allow key players in the fashion value chain — including manufacturers, brands, retailers, resellers, and recyclers — to provide unprecedented transparency and traceability of the products they sell. It will also unlock new circular services for customers, such as care and repair services, as well as ones focused on resale and recycling.
The ultimate objective is to provide customers with access to credible information about how products are designed, manufactured, and distributed, and thereby, empower customers to make more informed sustainable purchase choices. At the same time, the lifecycle tracing element of the Digital ID system aims to extend the longevity of products and enable brands to scale circular business models.
Members of the Task Force have committed to begin the Digital ID roll out process within their brands, along with the adoption of a circular data protocol.
Learn more here
Regenerative Fashion Manifesto
On Wednesday, 20th April 2022, the Fashion Task Force announced its new Regenerative Fashion Manifesto, which has been developed in partnership with the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance led by scientist Marc Palahi.
In signing up to the Manifesto, the Fashion Task Force members are committing their brands — which are amongst the biggest names in the fashion industry — to a progressive shift towards Regenerative Fashion — a circular bio-based industry that is inclusive, climate and Nature-positive — using newly created or restored regenerative landscapes as the basis for circular bio-economy value chains.
Regenerative landscapes are resilient, biodiversity-rich, and deforestation-free. They produce a diversity of goods and services such as food, energy, and biomaterials, as well as ecosystem services — including carbon sequestration. Such regenerative practices empower local and indigenous communities, support their prosperity, and respect their ancestral rights.
Download the manifesto here