Collaboration in Action: Education, Convenings & Events
Fashion industry professionals are gearing up for the year ahead – setting travel plans, securing budgets and plotting out key campaigns and launches. At Fashion Conveners, a global collaborative of non-profit alliances working individually and collectively to accelerate positive action in the fashion industry, one of the key ways we drive positive, collective action is by coordinating efforts among our member organizations.
In this quarterly briefing, we spotlight our Education, Convenings & Events Working Group to share how Fashion Conveners members collaborate to align events, avoid duplicative efforts and support one another’s educational initiatives. This working group includes representatives from Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), Cascale, Fashion Makes Change, Textile Exchange and ZDHC.
INDUSTRY RESOURCE
The Fashion Conveners Events Calendar is your go-to resource to stay up to date with industry gatherings hosted by our members. We’ve just updated it with all the 2024 gatherings that have been scheduled so far, so you can plan out which events to prioritize well in advance.
HOW WE COLLABORATE ON EVENTS & CONVENINGS
To make it easier for fashion and sustainability professionals to participate in industry events, our Education, Convenings & Events Working Group meets regularly to share plans and align on dates. This keeps members informed about what’s coming up and reduces overlap, while also surfacing opportunities to support one another with event agendas, keynotes and panels and benefit from each others’ expertise.
Andrés Bragagnini, Manager of Stakeholder Engagement at Apparel Impact Institute, adds that identifying opportunities to amplify collaborative efforts is another key part of these discussions. “When we work on content together, we’re always thinking about when it makes sense to come together and share updates with the wider industry,” he says.
For example, Fashion Conveners members have collaborated by:
Aligning on timing and location: Global Fashion Agenda and Cascale coordinated the timing and location of their annual events in 2023, with both taking place in Boston one day after each other.
Coordinating joint announcements: The Apparel Impact Institute and Cascale came together at Planet Textiles 2023 — an event they knew drew a number of their key stakeholders — to announce a new strategic partnership aimed at scaling decarbonization programs.
Inviting other members to share expertise: ZDHC featured several member organizations at its 2023 South Asia Conference in Bengaluru, India — including representatives from Fashion for Good, Textile Exchange and Cascale.
HOW WE COLLABORATE TO EDUCATE THE INDUSTRY
The Education, Convenings & Events Working Group also comes together to coordinate educational initiatives – from sharing ideas and consulting different perspectives, to aligning on shared objectives.
“It’s incredibly valuable to have access to each other’s specialized knowledge,” says Frank Zambrelli, Vice Chair at Fashion Makes Change and a working group member. “We hope to leave the fashion industry feeling inspired and equipped with a clear path forward after they engage with our work.”
A few recent examples of how this comes to life include:
Co-creating industry resources: The Apparel Impact Institute and World Resource Institute (WRI) research consultant Michael Sadowski tapped in experts from Textile Exchange and Cascale to help write its Roadmap to Net Zero: Delivering Science-Based Targets in the Apparel Sector report, which was published in 2021 in partnership with the WRI. Looking ahead, the organizations plan to publish a progress report in May 2024.
Aligning on educational programs: ZDHC and Fashion Makes Change are working together to support the next generation of sustainability professionals through ZDHC Academy programming. Fashion Makes Change is collaborating with ZDHC to strengthen sustainable chemical management modules at post-secondary institutions in New York, where certain elements of the training will augment the existing curriculum. Students interested in continuing their learning journeys can then be further connected to opportunities at ZDHC once the semester ends.
LOOKING AHEAD
Our member organizations will continue to coordinate efforts and identify collaboration opportunities through the Education, Convenings & Events Working Group, with the goal of accelerating positive, collective action across the industry.
WHERE TO LEARN MORE
Follow us on LinkedIn to stay up to date with our member organizations’ latest resources, collaborations and announcements.
Don’t forget to bookmark our consolidated Fashion Conveners’ 2024 Events Calendar, which will continue to be updated throughout the year.
The Fashion Conveners is a global collaborative of non-profit alliances working individually and collectively to accelerate positive action in the fashion industry. We are on a mission to accelerate collective action through connected partnerships within the apparel and accessories value chain, with the ultimate goal of building greater social, economic and environmental prosperity.
Learn more about the Fashion Conveners here.
Read our Q1 briefing on the latest launches, events and collaboration opportunities in sustainable fashion here.