“Nature-Positive: The Future for Fashion” Display supported by Kering at IUCN World Congress 2021
The Sustainable Angle’s display “Nature-Positive: The Future for Fashion”, supported by Kering, will be showcased at this year’s IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille, France, from 4-9 September 2021. With over 160 countries participating, the IUCN Congress is a key milestone before pivotal UN conferences in Kunming and Glasgow, and aims to drive action on nature-based recovery, climate change and biodiversity.
According to the IPCC report, the threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius warming is now perilously close. Global warming is affecting every region on earth and accelerating sharply, with many of the changes becoming irreversible. We are witnessing extreme weather conditions and climate disasters increasing in frequency and intensity. The fashion industry needs to take immediate action in its production systems, as there is a clear moral and economic imperative to protect the lives and livelihoods of those on the front lines of the climate crisis, such as those in our fashion industry’s production systems.
Fashion needs to urgently focus on sourcing its raw materials from regenerative and restorative production systems. This will help the sector embed sustainability into products while mitigating the climate crisis and contributing positively to livelihoods and biodiversity and ultimately achieve a truly circular economy. Agricultural practices and systems — if managed appropriately — could also integrate ecological connectivity, wildlife protection, restoration of micro-habitats, soil health, and ecosystems. In this way, agriculture for fashion can go beyond reducing negative impacts and move towards nature-positive.
The display will feature fabrics and materials grown and produced with regenerative agricultural practices: examples such as silk and wool from fibres that are Wildlife Friendly® Certified; organic cotton, regeneratively farmed leather and cashmere; forgotten plant fibres such as linen, bast and ramie; and wild animal fibres that diversify the fibre basket, ensure animals’ welfare and protection and integrated into the ecosystem while supporting farmer livelihoods.
Materials on display are contextualised by informational content around regenerative agriculture for fashion, soil health, and natural materials from production systems that incorporate wildlife friendly practices, as well as special projects focused on biodiversity that are undertaken by Kering such as the Regenerative Fund for Nature.
Kering and Conservation International announced the first 7 grantees under their “Regenerative Fund for Nature” following its launch in January 2021. The initial round of funding focuses on promising and innovative projects to help drive the transition of 1 million hectares of land to regenerative practices in luxury and fashion’s cotton, wool, cashmere and leather supply chains. The first recipients of the Regenerative Fund for Nature form a diverse and influential portfolio across critically important landscapes in need of improved stewardship. They will initially support over 840,000 hectares transitioning to regenerative approaches, directly benefiting 60,000 people engaged in small and larger scale farming systems.
Join The Sustainable Angle at Booth E21 at the Business & Nature Hub, learn more about how fashion can move towards nature-positive and discover materials made from regenerative and restorative production systems. Open to general public from 4-9 September 10AM – 5:30PM. Follow us on Instagram @thesustainableangle for updates and news at IUCN.
Thank you to Kering for their generous partnership and support for the “Nature-Positive: The Future for Fashion” display.
Supported by
Event Details
IUCN World Conservation Congress 2021
Dates: 3-11 September, 2021
Website and Event Information: https://www.iucncongress2020.org/
More about the Regenerative Fund for Nature: https://www.kering.com/en/sustainability/safeguarding-the-planet/regenerative-fund-for-nature/
