Industry taskforces
Fashion Taskforce
The Fashion Taskforce 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 Taskforce 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 Taskforce operates as an industry sub-group of the SMI and is chaired by Federico Marchetti, Founder of the YOOX Net-a-Porter Group. Its members are drawn from across a range of brands, platforms and retailers from all over the world, including; Brunello Cucinelli, Burberry, Chloé, Eon, Gabriela Hearst, Giorgio Armani, Johnstons Of Elgin, Moda Operandi, Mulberry, Selfridges, Stella McCartney, The Dubai Mall, Vestiaire Collective and Zalando.
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Letter of Intent
Download the full Letter of Intent
The Fashion Taskforce recognises the key role that the fashion industry must play in individually and collectively driving and accelerating the transition towards a more sustainable and circular economy, through its deep engagement with suppliers and customers.
The Fashion Taskforce has focused its attention on delivering action across two specific areas throughout 2021 and 2022, which includes:
1. Unlocking Circularity through Digital ID
Consumer shopping habits have changed dramatically in the last year, with an increased interest in sustainable assortments. The workstream will work towards a common definition for sustainable products and explore how protocols such as the Digital ID can unlock new services for customers while delivering circularity at scale.
2. Regenerative Farming
For brands, the highest environmental impact takes place at the very beginning of the supply chain, at the raw material level. A significant source of raw materials for apparel are agricultural products such as cotton, linen, wool and leather. The workstream will explore how a common approach to regenerative farming practices could represent a concrete solution not only to reduce emissions but to even reverse the climate crisis with a focus on nature-based solutions.
Membership composition
The Fashion Taskforce is chaired by Federico Marchetti, Founder of the YOOX Net-a-Porter Group. Its members are drawn from across the global fashion industry, including:
Mohammed Alabbar
Thierry Andretta
Riccardo Bellini
Maximillian Bittner
Simon Cotton
Natasha Franck
Marco Gobbetti
Gabriela Hearst
Gabriele Maggio
Giuseppe Marsocci
Anne Pitcher
Lauren Santo Domingo
David Schneider
Riccardo Stefanelli
HRH The 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 Taskforce and Founder of the YOOX Net-a-Porter GroupI am deeply honoured to have been asked by His Royal Highness to lead this Taskforce. 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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Further information
For roundtable and taskforce enquiries please contact, Nick Autiello, Director, SMI Financial Services, Sustainable Markets Initiative:
Email: n.autiello@sustainable-markets.org
For media enquiries please contact Lotte Griffiths, Events & Communications Manager, Sustainable Markets Initiative: