Fashion Awards and UN to recognise sustainability leaders

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Dec 2, 2019

The British Fashion Council and Fashion Awards have unveiled a collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) to recognise those who are helping deliver the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Award for Positive Change, granted to Vivienne Westwood last year, is being tweaked to focus on businesses and individuals in fashion that make concerted efforts to support the UN’s sustainability targets.

This year, the signatories of The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action will be honoured at the opening day of COP25 in Madrid, Spain on Monday.

More than 70 fashion brands, including Kering, Inditex and Burberry, committed to support the implementation of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals within their own organisations at the UN Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland last year.

The Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action also aims to drive cross-industry collaboration.

Going forward, the BFC and UNOP will continue to recognise those making a distinct impact with the Award for Positive Change which sits in line with the goals (SDGs).

Caroline Rush, BFC chief executive, commented: “We know that alongside the signatories of The Fashion Industry Charter, there are many great initiatives globally already in action – and our aim at the BFC is to continue to work in support of the United Nations in celebrating those that are setting new standards upholding the 17 Sustainable Development Goals.cCelebrating those businesses that have joined the Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action and working collaboratively to find climate solutions is just the start.” 

“By joining forces, we can leverage the creativity and talent of leaders within the fashion industry to make the Sustainable Development Goals a reality,” said Robert Skinner, executive director of the United Nations Office for Partnerships. 

“The Charter, as the first initiative to be recognized by the Award for Positive Change, represents the unprecedented mobilization of the fashion industry on SDG13 – Climate Action. In doing so, we hope that others may follow suit, so that success stories are scaled, and commitment is catalysed to promote models and practice that work for people and planet.”

The SDGs will be further promoted at the Fashion Awards through #TOGETHERBAND, a non-profit campaign led by sustainable accessories brand Bottletop, the UN Foundation and UBS.