Conscious Style Podcast

5 Key Pillars for a Net Positive Fashion Industry with Holly Syrett of Global Fashion Agenda (Bonus)

Episode Summary

Episode Notes

How can fashion take action right now for a net positive future?

From climate and biodiversity to worker livelihoods and fair wages to overconsumption and textile waste, the gaps between where we need to be and where we are right now feel… vast.

But in this episode, we're discussing ways that fashion act right now — like tomorrow — on 5 key pillars that encompass both people and planet. These are areas where the research, and tools are readily available, even for implementing at a large scale.

Ahead you'll hear my conversation with Holly Syrett, the Impact Programmes and Sustainability Director at Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), a nonprofit organization that accelerates measurable impact in the fashion industry.

Perhaps what GFA is most known for is their Global Fashion Summits but they also drive impact through collaborative commitments, impact programs, thought leadership publications and by engaging with policy & advocacy.

Their flagship report — which is freely accessible for all — is the Fashion CEO Agenda. And this year's edition, released at the Boston Fashion Summit, is offering more specific tangible action than ever. I kind of think of it as the no-excuses actionable sustainability playbook for fashion brands.

I was excited to be able to have this conversation with Holly and be able to share it all with you for free because I know that there are so many of you that work in sustainable fashion or aspire to and want to dive deeper into these types of industry insights but they're not always accessible. So enjoy this conversation with Holly!

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PRESENTED BY...

The Conscious Fashion Collective Membership

If you are a sustainable fashion professional or aspiring to transition into this industry, check out our sister platform Conscious Fashion Collective. We have a free career newsletter with jobs and resources dedicated to supporting your conscious fashion career journey.

We also have a membership community where you can access extra jobs, attend career-focused member events and workshops, access tons of time-saving resources, and connect with a like-minded group of fashion changemakers. You can find out more about this membership at consciousfashion.co/community.

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Episode Transcription

Elizabeth Joy:

How can fashion take action right now for a net positive future? From climate and biodiversity to worker livelihoods and fair wages to overconsumption and textile waste, the gaps between where we need to be and where we are right now feel vast and overwhelming. But in this episode, we're discussing ways that fashion can act right now, like tomorrow on 5 key pillars that encompass both people and the planet. These are areas where the research and tools are readily available even for implementing at a large scale. Ahead, you'll hear my conversation with Holly Seirek, the impact programs and sustainability director at Global Fashion agenda, a nonprofit organization that accelerates measurable impact in the fashion industry. Perhaps what GFA is most known for are their global fashion summits, but they also drive impact through collaborative commitments, impact programs, thought leadership publications, and by engaging with policy and advocacy. Their flagship report which is freely accessible for all is the fashion CEO agenda. This year's edition released at the Boston Fashion Summit is offering more specific and tangible action items than ever. I kinda have been thinking of it as the no excuses, actionable sustainability playbook for fashion brands and producers.

And I was excited to be able to have this conversation with Holly and to be able to share it with you all for free because I know that there are so many of you that work in sustainable fashion or aspire to and wanna dive deeper into these types of industry insights, but they're not always accessible. So sit back, get comfortable, and take a listen to this conversation with Holly. And then afterwards, definitely head over to GFA's site to download the fashion CEO agenda for free. I'll drop the link in the show notes below. And if you are a sustainable fashion professional, or are aspiring to be 1, definitely check out our sister platform as well, Conscious Fashion Collective. We have a free career newsletter with jobs and resources dedicated to supporting your conscious fashion career journey. We also have a membership community where you can access extra jobs, attend career focused member events and workshops, access tons of time saving resources, and connect with a like minded group of fashion change makers. You can learn more about our membership at conscious fashion.co/community.

Alright. Now onto this week's bonus episode. This will probably be the last episode of 2023 before we come back in 2024 with a fresh season of the podcast. So for today, Holly is starting us off with a bit about her background and how she got to where she is today at global fashion agenda. Sustainability has become little more than a buzzword in fashion. What would it really take to build a more sustainable, responsible, and equitable fashion system? That's what we're dedicated to exploring on the Conscious Style podcast. Each Tuesday, you can join me, Elizabeth Joy and me, Stella Hurtantio, along with our lineup of Change making gifts to navigate the sea of greenwashing. And to build a better future for fashion.

Holly Syrett:

Thanks so much for having me, Elizabeth. Yeah. I guess we have to rewind a little bit to how I got on the sustainable fashion journey. When I was 16 and still in high school, I had an opportunity to go to Uganda With a group of other high school students, it was an initiative called Going Global. And we went and traveled around Uganda and visited all of these different types of projects. And I think that was a real turning point for me and gave me a broader perspective on the world, where we are, and the privileges that we have have and, yeah, really, like, broadened my horizons to, like, the beauty and the diversity of the world around us, but also, like, Solidified this commitment that I wanted to make the world a better place. So that's something that started around my teenage years and then I've always had this love for fashion and Went on to study fashion and branding at the Amsterdam Fashion Institute, but it was only when I actually started my first job, Which was for the Amsterdam Fashion Week. And actually, on my very first day of my very first job, it wasn't actually at the Fashion But I got this address and I was like, this is strange.

It's the National Zoo in the Netherlands. And Then I sat around this table with my new boss and then all of these ecologists. And it was the International Year of Biodiversity in 2010. And that was really this pivotable point where my love for fashion and my yearning to make the world a better place came together As I started learning about biodiversity and I was tasked to develop an entrepreneurial competition and, like, workshops and different tools that would help how fashion and biodiversity are connected. So that was a very steep learning curve for myself, but it really, Yeah. It was a a beautiful point in time where I understood or started to see how these different puzzle pieces came together and all of the choices that we make Even in the fashion industry that they influence ecosystems around us, and they all tie into the climate and impact people around the world. And I think That was the main turning point. And then I worked at Fashion Week for a few years in different roles.

Then I worked independently for about 5 years as a consultant. Really quite varied assignments. So one of the projects I worked on what's called Modebelofte, which is a Dutch word which means fashion promise. And we Organized these huge exhibitions as part of Dutch Design Week on all of these different themes that bridge, like, what's happening in society, but also what's happening in fashion. Yeah. I I think I've been very lucky working on lots of different things. But my what led to me joining GFA and sorry. This is the longest answer you've probably ever had.

Now about I went from I went from working predominantly in the Netherlands, and I really wanted to expand my horizons And have more awareness of global value chains. So I actually joined an organization called the Sustainable Apparel Coalition where I worked for 3 years on HIG Index transparency. So it's about transparency of data that we have about sustainability of, for instance, manufacturing facilities and brands, And then that led to me then joining Global Fashion Agenda where, I currently work. I've been there for three and a half years now in the role of Impact program and sustainability director. And I'm basically responsible for the research that we do and how we translate that into publications to inform the broader industry. So in a way, it really ties back to that very first role where I was also responsible for developing these tools on biodiversity to inform the industry. And then with GFA, I'm I'm also working on, what we call impact programs, and they're collaborative projects between Different types of industry actors such as brands, manufacturers, and recyclers, or different types of solution providers to tackle Issues that are bigger than us all, like circularity of the global south or gender pay gaps or renewable energy infrastructures. And, yeah, that's where I am today.

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah. That context is so helpful. It ties everything together and how you got to the role that you have now in global fashion agenda in it. And I love that because there's a lot of listeners and audience members who are interested in pursuing a career in sustainable fashion, and it's really fascinating to hear how each person's journey is so different and how, you know, looking back, you see how it all ties together, but probably in the moment, it didn't feel like it was gonna lead you here necessarily. So very interesting.

Holly Syrett:

Yeah. I really get that as well because I think when we're we're, like, passionate about topics and I mean, I always knew I wanted to make this world a better place, and I love fashion and they came together. I've always worked very hard in it, but you have no idea what type of jobs are out there. And so I think Yeah. You I don't think, like, rewinding, like, 10 or 15 years ago, I could have laid out this career path or career trajectory. But I guess Being in, like, networking roles, always wanting to learn more and meet people, I bet I think that definitely helped me Have a better vision of what type of companies would be a good fit to me or how to work towards them.

Elizabeth Joy:

Mhmm. Yeah. That's great advice to keep networking, and just lean into that curiosity to see what is possible. So one of Your other projects I know you worked on at Global Fashion Agenda was co authoring the Fashion CEO Agenda. Can you just share a bit about this agenda? Like, how did you and your collaborators go about creating it? Why did you create it? What is the CEO agenda?

Holly Syrett:

Absolutely. Yeah. This is really one of Global Fashion Agenda's flagship publications, and we have been, publishing now. I think this is the 7th edition already. And it's basically intended as a concise checklist For sustainability strategy and for leadership strategy. So we've basically gone out to the broader industry, engaged experts in all of these different topical areas, spoken to brands, spoken to manufacturers to then determine what are the key topics On the fashion industry sustainability agenda and how can you take action on these different topics today. So it's Quite a concise publication. It consists of 5 main chapters, and then within each chapter, it presents why a topic's important, how you can act upon it, and where the industry stands today.

So it's really intended as this this tool, a really converged overview of insights, and I think quite importantly, It's holistic. So with that, we mean it incorporates both environmental and social sustainability, and and we feel that's very important because oftentimes when we talk about sustainability, it can be limited to, for instance, climate or carbon emissions or focus on one specific topic, But we believe that there needs to be this holistic, consulted effort towards achieving what we call net positive industry. And so that's, yeah, that's the intent of the publication. It's we it's called the fashion CEO agenda, but it's really for any type of fashion leader working with the in the industry. So Both for brands, for manufacturers, even if you're not a CEO like myself, we really hope it can be a helpful tool for you to Become perhaps a leader within your own field of work, being empowered by the knowledge on sustainability or even to help you in Addressing or engaging your your superiors on how to talk about these different topics. What's new about the the fashion CEO agenda this year is that we actually had a year long break. So we used to publish it every single year, but we skipped a year last year and that's because we Took a time out to really consult the global industry and global stakeholders. So we, Global Fashion Agenda established a partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme and took about, what, almost 18 months to conduct workshops around the world, interviews and, we designed a very comprehensive survey that was available in all languages to really understand whatever type of company you are, Whatever size of your organization, wherever you're based within the world, what type of issues are you facing on addressing sustainability? What is most important for you as an organization? What challenges are you facing and what support do you need? Because we realize that as A global industry or as a sector at large, we need to achieve our climate targets.

We need to work towards net positive. We need to improve wages. What that journey will be will differ for every different type of organization around the world. So we really wanted to take a year, 18 months to understand What are the current realities that the industry is facing? And we use that consultation to inform the contents of the fashion CEO agenda.

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah. That's super interesting, and I love that you're considering the global view and really integrating all the different stakeholders in the fashion supply chain. And I'm curious, through this research, what was different this year about the CEO agenda?

Holly Syrett:

So definitely, the level of detail. So in previous editions, we talked about 5 main topics, Respectful, secure work environments, better wage systems, resource stewardship, smart material choices and circular systems and We talk about those 5 topics again this in this, publication, but we go into a lot more detail. So we give very specific concrete examples for how you can act those specific topics. So for instance, on respectful and secure work environments, we don't Say, why does this matter? Because it's upholding our standards and respect for universal human rights. But we also say these are the key actions that you can take as a company today. They're readily available. You can do it. The tools, the knowledge there.

Yeah. No excuses, basically. And we provide, suggestions and tools so that you can actually take that action. So for instance, on the topic of respectful, secure work environments, we explain that you could achieve that by driving transparency in an open and standardized way, By, implementing purchasing practices that are responsible and that benefit both actors within the dialogue, By presenting progress towards success on, implementation of purchasing practices, of instance, how you can implement grievance mechanisms that will help, support workers' access to them. So they're just a few examples. But I guess, long story short, it's A lot more comprehensive. It's very action oriented, and it's also addressed to not only brands, but to producers as well.

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah. I found that really interesting about the the agenda that it included these really specific action items for brands and retailers and then really specific action items for producers or manufacturers. So, I guess before we dive into the nitty gritty of some of the things in the agenda, just to Sort of back up for listeners a bit, I think it would be helpful if you could lay out what the 5 key priorities or chapters that were in the report are, what are the 5 ways that global fashion agenda has found to make fashion become net positive?

Holly Syrett:

Absolutely. So the 5 key sustainability priorities that we believe will enable the fashion industry to become net positive are respectful and secure work environments. And with that, we mean upholding the standards for the respect of universal human rights for all people employed along the Better wage systems, establishing the necessary systems to enable the payment of fair compensation and living wage and this is something that needs to be underpinned by responsible purchasing practices and workers' rights to freedom of association. So they're the 2 social priorities. Then we talk about resource stewardship, and that's decoupling value creation from finite resource extraction and from a mission group through coordinated and multi stakeholder action, so that talks more about water stewardship, Chemical use, obviously, emissions as well. And then we have 2 other chapters that are perhaps more skewed towards The environmental together with resource stewardship, so looking at smart material choices and circular systems. And on smart material choices, This is really looking at the choices that brands and manufacturers make as they design products and choose materials. So really guiding the responsible sourcing of preferred Biodor of raw materials that really deliver on reduced impacts and increased benefits for climate, nature, and people.

Holly Syrett:

And then circular systems looks more about the, as it says in the name, like, the system behind the fashion industry. And it's again about how you can decouple the economic Development from the consumption of finite resources, really eliminating waste and pollution, ensuring products and materials are circulated And nature itself is regenerated. And so we believe that these 5 themes or buckets will Help fashion become net positive and perhaps important also to reference that with net positive, we mean the fashion sector Can put more back into society, the environment, and the global economy than it takes out. So for instance, really help Ensure people have a prosperous livelihood and a dignified future that can support their communities that the environment's generated, The obviously, global economies that that can benefit from the fashion industry, but it's not completely extracting all of the value from it. Yeah. I guess we see it to a degree as our responsibility to help lay out what is the pathway to achieving that positive, and The fashion CEO agenda is one of the tools that we developed for that purpose.

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah. And I do really appreciate how it does As you mentioned before, it is a holistic view and we're looking at all these different elements because while time is running out, the clock is ticking when it comes to meeting global climate, biodiversity, and other planetary related goals. But at the same time, the fashion industry is still failing to offer safe work, livable incomes, and good livelihoods for the workers, and they can't be left behind. How do you see all these issues as interconnected? And also how are the solutions potentially interconnected did as well?

Holly Syrett:

I think that's a really great question and it talks a lot about how complex all of these different topics are. So I'll do my best to answer. I have one example of how we see the interconnection, for instance, between climate change and how their industry is emitting greenhouse gas, greenhouse gases, for instance, manufacturing and The resilience of manufacturing countries. So obviously, as a fashion industry or or perhaps not obviously, but the fashion industry emits A huge amount of greenhouse gases throughout the production phase, throughout basically the whole life cycle of production, and this contributes to climate change, Which also in itself contributes to increased frequency of extreme weather events. And these impacts of, Although I feel they're more and more in the global north as well, but predominantly impacts of these extreme weather events are felt in Quite high risk garment manufacturing hubs. So for instance, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Pakistan, Vietnam, these are all countries that are classified as High risk areas that might not have the infrastructure in place to really mitigate and adapt around these extreme weather events. And These are key production countries for the fashion industry, so I believe it was Cornell University and the Industrial Labour Relations School that developed a report together and that really looked into what these countries are and how vulnerable they are for climate change, but also how interwoven they are to the fashion industry. And they estimated that there'll be 1,000,000 of jobs lost, like 1,000,000,000 of dollar earnings, it's all due to high heat and more flooding events as well.

So I think that's one example there and if we look at the solutions, we definitely see opportunities in for the fashion industry to contribute to social protection systems. So So you could think of emergency relief packages and severance, also looking into climate adaptation financing with local governments. I think it's having a More holistic approach to how you engage with a specific region that might have lower wages than where you actually retail your products And how you take responsibility as a company to really invest in the infrastructural solutions that are needed to protect the most vulnerable.

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah. Completely. And going further in this chapters or focus areas of respectful and secure work environments and better wage systems. We know that the fashion industry hasn't made much progress on either. We've seen more transparency, you know, Of course, audits are very commonplace, but this alone isn't enough to lead to substantial improvements. So what are some other solutions? You know, once that transparency is established, what is the next level that fashion brands and retailers can take towards real tangible progress in these areas in collaboration with producers and manufacturers, of course.

Holly Syrett:

I mean, I think transparency, it's great that you touch upon it because that's not there yet. And it's Absolutely an enabler to achieving tangible progress, and But we we don't see it happening at the degree that it should be and without understanding who manufacturing partners are, Further down the value chain or basically throughout the value chain, it's very hard to to know, if The people that are working within the factories are being treated right, if the compliance is at the level that you'd have, and if, basically, the the types The policies that you'd have within your organization are also being replicated throughout your value chain as well. So I think transparency in an open, so publicly and standardized way is really imperative for brands and producers. I think the Open Supply Hub is a brilliant public platform that I'm seeing you used more and more. Definitely recommend to check that out as a transparency tool. But then other specific solutions that we also talk about in the Fashion CEO agenda are, for instance, purchasing practices. And it's basically they talk to the agreement between a brand and their manufacturing partner, the type of products that are bought, the The contractual agreement on the payment terms, on the delivery terms, on sometimes ring fencing wages, the severance that is paid and and many other different components. We really see purchasing practices as quite, I don't know if pivotal is the right word, but almost like as an unlock, as a solution to make sure that Workers are protected that they have access to freedom of association or where that's not possible.

In some countries, it's not possible. Where there are other systems in place that they can have a similar type of rights to organize and bargain collectively. Other topics that can be included and are really important to achieve respectful and secure work environments are, for instance, diversity, equity and inclusion policies. They're the types of policies that we see implemented more and more at brand and retail level, but they're not really trickling down the value chain. And they're quite complex because it's not only about, okay, do we have, like, a diverse mix of people working together? Do are there equal opportunities for everyone in the system? But also going a little bit deeper and understanding if the culture within an organization and the opportunities that are offered to minorities, Such as women or people from different ethnic backgrounds are the same as those offered to the majority within an organization. And so I think, yeah, that there are lots of topics That can be implemented today. A new topic that we've included this year is a specific focus on informal workers. They make up quite a large part of the the fashion industry supply chain, and we see and forecast that that group will be increasing more and more.

As for instance, we look at transitioning to more circular practices, we'll be engaging new groups of workers that weren't part of the fashion supply chain before. So for instance, textile waste collectors or textile waste sorters, that's quite a new role and a growing role. How are we going to ensure that we don't make the makes the same mistakes as we're made before and that we create safe working environment that They can benefit and profit from the whole system of the fashion industry and really protect them as they come into this new system as well.

Elizabeth Joy:

Mhmm. And the other 3 chapters in the CEO agenda focus more on, I guess, the environmental factors such as resource stewardship, smart material choices, and circular systems, which you've Already touched on how that is also connected to social elements like fair wages and safe working environments, but what are some key ways that fashion brands, retailers, and producers can make progress towards more sustainable, responsible sourcing in line with planetary boundaries?

Holly Syrett:

I think when you look at sustainable sourcing, you're Partially looking at design. So what are the design choices that are made? But, of course, has a huge influence Throughout the fashion supply chain, you're looking at the material choices. You're also looking at the partnerships you have with your manufacturing partners and how they're supported in their sustainability journey as well. So for design, we look at circular design and how products can be designed So that they're used more, that they're made to be made again, that they're made from safe and recycled and renewable inputs. So I think adopting circular design criteria is the first step because it's these design choices that will determine your How sustainable your product is, how long it can last, importantly, how durable that is, but also determine the material choices that you make. So So I'd say that's the first step. And then when you're looking at actually sourcing or producing sustainable materials, You really need to look at what is the preferred option in each material category. So cotton, polyester, and man made cellulosics are the Predominant materials used in the fashion industry.

The cotton the ideal scenario is regeneratively farmed cotton. So that means basically cotton That is from a farm that regenerates its natural environment instead of having, like, a monocorrupt that it actually It's circulating that there are different crops around it, and that brings more value to the soil instead of depleting it. But, of course, it's organic and not using chemicals. You can also look at cotton that is harvested in a way that is in areas that are water resource intensive or that they don't have water scarcity and there are I mean, they're really different criteria on what the best cotton options are depending on where we source, so it's quite approach as well. For polyester, of course, there are some people that really advocate for not using polyester as a synthetic material, But we believe that there are many positive characteristics to our polyester products and that we can't simply completely design it out of the industry, But that we do need to step away from virgin polyester and instead drastically increase the amount of Textile to textile recycled polyester that's used. And I say specifically textile to textile because When we look at many recycled polyesters today, they're actually made from plastic bottles. And if you follow the waste hierarchy, Plastic bottles should really be recycled back into plastic bottles and textile polyester should be recycled back into textile polyester. We have a huge, huge waste issue.

We need to tackle all of the waste textiles and garments. So, yeah, we feel that For sourcing polyester, the focus should a 100% be on textile to textile recycled. And then maybe lastly on the Man made cellulosic fibers. So they're fibers made predominantly from, from wood that is chemically processed and it's, of course, imperative that When sourcing man made cellulosics, they should really come from certified forests that are conversion free, deforestation free, and potentially recycled as well. So that like, if you look at design and sourcing, I'd say there are a few key areas to look at. And, of course, you can choose other preferred material types in different categories, like if you're looking at materials or, yeah, wool or leathers as well. There are, of course, preferred options there as well.

Elizabeth Joy:

Mhmm. Yeah. And, it it was gonna ask you about when you mentioned polyester because in an ideal world, to me, thinking through the lens of of sustainability, there would be no synthetics, no microplastics, no toxins, no connection to fossil fuels. But I do understand that right now, it's 2 thirds of the textiles that are getting produced, and that will be very challenging to wean off from. So looking at the preferred options and making the most out of the the polyester that at least has been already produced and repurposing that.

Holly Syrett:

Exactly. Yeah. And I fully agree with that as well because I think the ideal scenario, if we think about the the future fashion industry that we're trying to establish, It's a 100% aligned with you that it should be, an industry that does not extract more fossil based Materials or finite materials. But I do feel that we have a responsibility to circulate all of the materials that we already have and have to move value from them as well. Mhmm.

Elizabeth Joy:

Right. We have to do something with all the existing textiles that I've produced, and it is maybe not gonna be all natural because in general, the natural fiber content of garments has gone down over the the decades.

Holly Syrett:

Exactly. And I I know that you also touched upon planetary boundaries and how we can make progress to, I I believe your question was how can we make sure that the fashion industry falls within planetary boundaries. Was that correct?

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah.

Holly Syrett:

Yeah. I think that's a really important topic to touch upon as well because whatever we're doing within the fashion industry, and I guess you could say we're we're failing drastically, We're continuing to grow, right? So we're consuming more and more if you follow Textile Exchange's brilliant work, how they're monitoring Material consumption and growth. The sad thing is is that we are producing and consuming more and more. So Mhmm. We need to be quite realistic with on all of the different topics that we've talked been talking about, the number one focus is how do we Really reduce the amount of resources that are used. And we think that, This needs to be approached from both the decoupling value creation from material extraction, so basically making more from less, while considering what negative social Consequences could come from that. So if you look at countries like Bangladesh or Vietnam or Cambodia or Indonesia that are quite dependent on fashion production, We really need to consider we're trying to drastically reduce what we produce, but how will that influence that type of a country? So that's a very important caveat to have. We need to address overproduction.

We need to increase revenue from circular business models. We really need to very carefully consider all of the resources and have more and more examples of successful business models that are producing more from less. And so I think examples of that are, thankfully, the growth of the secondhand market, more and more types of learning models. But those types of initiatives need to go beyond being a subset of an organization's full operations and really drastically replace what is currently business as usual.

Elizabeth Joy:

Mhmm. Completely. And I recently read an article about Eileen Fisher's new CEO and how the company is on a mission to figure out how to grow their revenue levels while reducing new production. And, you know, they've been at this circularity game for a while, longer than most fashion brands, and they have more established systems, but I found that really interesting. That was the 1st established brand I've seen say something like that publicly that they are trying to reduce production while sustaining or increasing revenue so we'll see how that pans out I'm I'm more optimistic in recent years with all of the new players that have come to the scene and the industry's more focused efforts on that. So we'll see.

Holly Syrett:

Yeah. I think that's an amazing example. I and I Eileen, they should definitely be pioneers in what they do. And I think it also ties back again to what we talked about earlier on Transparency. How cool would it be and how important and how impactful if disclosure was mandated on the amount of products that are made and the amount of products that are sold and that we know what is currently being wasted to a degree and how we can recapture that. And I feel Legislation has such an important role in mandating the change that we need to see. I know many of my colleagues have been Working in social sustainability and environmental sustainability for many decades and with The forthcoming legislations, I'm now seeing drastic momentum. So I feel there's yeah.

I definitely feel positive as well with you. Daunting, but Positive because we definitely see some acceleration, and we think that legislation has a big part to do with that.

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah. Totally. Or there's just gonna be a big portion of companies that aren't gonna act until they absolutely have to. And that kind of brings me to another question that I had you regarding policies. So in the CEO agenda alongside each pillar you have listed out related policies and even in the specific action items sometimes there were policies linked. So, I find that super actionable, super helpful. So, What do you think that fashion could do or should do when it comes to policy making to, you know, help achieve social and environmental goals for the sector knowing that the policy is going to accelerate progress?

Holly Syrett:

Yeah. Absolutely. I mean, I think first, it's quite important to understand the complexity of the current policy landscape and Whereas we definitely see this positive momentum and perhaps a little bit of stress, concern on what is going to be mandated amongst Brands around the world and other types of organizations. It's also quite a beast to get your head around because Where the fashion industry has previously been, I don't know, I think maybe under the radar when it came to legislation, That is all really starting to change and there are currently 16 legislative files that are ongoing and each of those files has different measures, Different timelines. So within our, within GFA, we have a policy team and they are helping the industry navigate those different challenges. So we actually have on our website, like all of our tools, I'll do a bit of promotion if that's okay. Everything that we do is freely accessible on our website. So both the Fashion TO agenda but also our policy matrix and we have one that's for the EU and we also have one for the Americas and they pretty create an overview of What type of legislation is coming? What is the pathway towards it? What is the timeline? And what does this mean for your organization? And then we also have series of master classes and specific, meetings that can be joined as well to support.

And it really starts with education because I think traditionally, in many fashion companies, you didn't have a public affairs team. So you need to get the knowledge and to really understand what is being required of you. And then as an industry, we need to come together and have one voice towards policymakers because otherwise, if we have Every different type of fashion company, big and small, engaging their individual policymakers, then You yeah. You just get a very disjointed, unclear approach. Whereas, our industry has very specific characteristics, It has a global value chain, it has a great influence on consumers, it is very resource intensive, so we have this Responsibility to come together and to communicate with the likes of the European Commission in the this joint or one voice, And there are organizations that are working on this. So we do this at GFA, but we also have, for instance, the policy hub And that's an initiative that that brings together I think it's over 700 brands and manufacturers to work together on, providing feedback on policy pieces.

Elizabeth Joy:

Oh, wow.

Holly Syrett:

So, yeah, I think these are important areas. Yeah. I think it's one thing, like, looking at educating yourself, making sure you're aware of what is coming. I think the industry has a responsibility to speak within within 1 voice. And then if I think about what the industry should be doing towards policymakers, I think it's really stepping up and engaging with them in an active way. Not only educating yourself, but being able to, participate in discussions and consultations. That can be through joining the policy hub, participating in the GFA events, and helping Educate the policymakers in themselves in the intricacies of our industry as well because it's quite a specific industry. And then beyond that, I feel the fashion industry really has to be more transparent about its practices, Shared data inform policy makers openly about the work that's already being done, the progress that's being made, The impacts that are being achieved so that policy makers can take those examples and have informed decisions, But also help scale best practices because a lot of things are already being done, and I feel that that's a big opportunity, I'd say, for our industry to Scale what is working.

Mhmm. It's not like there aren't examples of successful living wage projects or Greenhouse gas emissions projects or freshwater basin projects or but they they really need to become more visible. We need to inform policy makers so that they can make Policies and legislations that will help create this level playing field and build upon what's working well.

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah.

Holly Syrett:

Yeah. And maybe that one last thing, I think, and that ties a little bit into policy, about how the fashion industry harnesses Power to influence consumers.

Because we have, like, the one of the world's or the industry's, strongest Marketing mechanisms. I mean, you fall in love with fashion, you buy things because you're influenced with it. Obviously, it's a multi $1,000,000,000 industry For those reasons, how can the fashion industry harness that power to influence consumers in a positive way And how can it engage policy making to support initiatives that will educate consumers? So for instance, empowering consumers to make sustainable Purchasing decisions, and that's terribly complex now. How do you know if a garment is sustainable or isn't? Does that mean If a product is marketed as green or eco, does that say something about the materials? Does it say something about the factories? Does it say something about the workers, about the wages, about the durability of a product, about how you'd launder it, how long it will last. And I feel that, Yeah. The industry has a a responsibility towards policymakers to help establish those mechanisms that will be implemented across brands and across all types of products. And I think that's really an imperative that we as citizens and individuals can make purchasing PrEP Choices on basis of our own values, and we really need to have transparent, accessible information to do so.

Elizabeth Joy:

Yeah. Totally. There was so much there. And, yeah, I think just that education piece, like, I know with the the fabric act, which is proposed federal legislation in the US led by organizations like remake, you know, a lot of it even just comes to education. Like, policymakers I have no idea that garment makers in the United States are still earning piece rate and not an hourly wage. So many many garment makers in the US are not earning a minimum wage. And there was the garment worker protection act in California that now is going to prevent that from happening. But it's just so interesting that it's I feel like fashion has gone so under the radar for too long with governments, and it's exciting to see that that's changing in the EU.

And I I hope that we'll see similar progress in the US. I know there's, like, groups like American Circular Textiles, which is a group of, like, secondhand consignment stores and other players in the circular fashion economy that are trying to educate policymakers and propose legislation to support circularity. So Lots to watch out for and I'll definitely link GFA's policy matrixes in the show notes because I think those are invaluable resources that sound incredible.

Holly Syrett:

Absolutely. Please do. And we actually at our Boston summit, we, we also had a panel on, policy In the Americas, and we had a representative from the ACT organization as well. So you can check that out on our website, and we did have a really interesting dialogue on many of the pioneering legislation in from both California and New York and how We need, like, this transatlantic type of engagement around policy, but not only that, we then need us to go from Europe and the Americas to The global south and the different regions as well.

Elizabeth Joy:

Mhmm. Yeah. There's a lot of complexity there, but we're we're starting to get the wheels turning, and there's a long path ahead, but at least there's there's something going now, which is exciting. I have one Well, actually, 2 more questions for you. The second to last question that I have for you is just about knowing that fashion brands and retailers have a lot, especially CEOs, especially executive teams, have a lot of considerations that they're balancing. So how do we really start to make these ecological and social goals a priority when I know that they're they're worried about sales and profit and global crises that are you know, and just tons of other factors that come into running a business? Like, how do we really make sure that the social environmental goals are front and center?

Holly Syrett:

I love that question. And and it's challenging as well. Right? When you are currently being evaluated on basis of Different terms and predominantly on economic indicators. How are you then going to prioritize social impact and environmental impact? I feel it has to tie a lot into timing and what is your evaluation today, what is your evaluation in 5 years, and The changes and investments that you can make now, if I'm thinking about talking to a financial team, are far more Affordable than the investments and the changes that you'll have to make in a few years' time if you're looking at topics on climate and social impact as well. And we also believe it really starts with an organization's own values and their own materiality. So We feel as an industry, we've really been evolving. And, of course, we learn more and more every day about environmental and social impacts, from what the science dictates and teaches us and whereas a few years ago, many industry actors were setting big, ballsy targets not knowing if or how they could be achieved, we see now a quite different approach to understanding more complex and nuanced approaches to target setting, for instance, with the Global Commons and the Science Based Target Network. And part of that process is understanding what is material to your organization.

It's not based on your preferences, but your reality. So where do you operate? Who do you partner with? What are the characteristics of those specific regions? What are the characteristics of your specific operations? And for instance, is this an area that faces water scarcity? Or Is this a country in the world where human rights are violated? How advanced are chemical management in your factories? And there are many different questions that you need to be asking yourselves, and this is again where the Fashion CEO agenda comes in because it has an overview of All of those material impacts that each organization then needs to consider, and on basis of that, prioritize, These are the main focus areas of this is the what the materialist materiality assessment demonstrates for my organization, And this is how I can create an action plan around it and perhaps even factor in. This is the ROI that I'll need to present internally to our finance team and to our Climate team, and I think it's how do you create an internal environment within your organization that you can pull in specialists from different areas, and finance is definitely an important team that you'll need to engage with to create a a real I guess it's like future proofing of your company as well.

Elizabeth Joy:

Mhmm. Yeah. I love that you brought that in because I have heard that from many professionals who have said that those are departments that need to be working together more. And I have 1 final question for you that we ask every guest that comes on to the show. I know we've covered so much when it comes to improving the fashion industry. But if you had like a concise answer in your view, what would a better future for fashion look like to you?

Holly Syrett:

A better future of fashion to me would be a Fashion industry that is way more interconnected and that the storytelling around this connects us to The journey that the products that we own have been on that allows us to connect our journey to those products. And and we need to have this sense of community brought back into it in the same way that we can harness the excitement, the creation, the Emotion, the expression that at least I personally always felt as I was falling in love with the fashion industry in my younger years. And do that in a way that it's that it's really, yeah, connecting us to the people behind our clothes, really. So for instance, If we think about storytelling, and we just created a series with BBC Storyworks. We followed the journey of the Navajo Nation And how they created Thunderboys hat and partnered with a brand called, Bahati. And really understanding That level of connection to a garment, I feel it's something that we miss when we have, like, this throwaway relationship with them. And I feel that digital identities will have a very important role to play with that, connecting us to those stories and to the sustainability journey of a garment as well. And What I personally have a very strong passion for is circular offerings like fashion libraries.

We have an amazing fashion library in Amsterdam and I feel so spoiled that it's here. It's called Lina, the fashion library and basically, I feel that I have the world's biggest closet Because it is this library of clothing items, I have my library card, I go in every other week or once a month and I just borrow the clothes that I want to wear for a period of time, I wear them then I return them. So I still have that same excitement around products, wearing new things, Experimenting, perhaps borrowing something for a work trip abroad and then returning it back, but I don't have that big impact And I feel if we have more connection to our clothes and more emotion to them and to the people who made them, and if we can find and keep that excitement and experimentation without just consuming more and more and more, I feel that we'll be getting a lot closer to an industry that is net positive and that can give more back than it takes.