How Paris Plans to Become the Epicenter of Sustainable Fashion by 2024

Paris, an Old World bastion in a changing world, has its eye on becoming the capital of sustainable fashion by 2024.

Over the next five years, the City of Light will roll out Paris Good Fashion, an initiative to rally some of the most revered names in the industry to shift with the times and adopt eco-friendlier practices.

“Paris Good Fashion is an open community regrouping fashion professionals, brands, entrepreneurs, designers and experts who will be working together to establish a roadmap of the steps that can be taken to make Paris the sustainable capital of fashion,” said Isabelle Lefort, a former fashion journalist who helped announce the project at the Institut Français de la Mode late last month.

“When I started out in fashion 20 years ago, no one talked about sustainability,” she added. “But the world has changed: We are in a situation of ecological disaster. This is a huge concern for the younger generations, who are appealing to fashion brands to change their processes. We need to create a dialogue between those two worlds.”

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Industry heavy hitters such as the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, Galeries Lafayette, Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and the fashion incubator Les Ateliers de Paris have pledged their support to the initiative, which will revolve around the themes of creating a circular economy, improving sourcing and sustainability, and developing more sustainable avenues for processes, like distribution, energy and communication. (Paris Fashion Week falls into that last bucket.)

“It’s our task to invent a new future for fashion,” said Antoinette Guhl, deputy mayor of Paris. “Our role is to encourage creation while fighting against climate change, to continue production in France while protecting natural resources and to develop our industry while looking out for our artisans.”

Paris Good Fashion will release its sustainability roadmap in June during an event that will include an awards ceremony for the new Eyes on Talent prize for inclusive design, a round of conferences and a campaign promoting textile recycling. The project’s end date coincides with the 2024 Olympic Games, which will be held in the city.

The announcement comes on the heels of the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s own drive across the pond to encourage brands to take on the mantles of diversity, inclusion and sustainability.

Editor’s Note: This story was reported by FN’s sister magazine Sourcing Journal. For more, visit Sourcingjournal.com.

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